History of RRC
The Regina Rowing Club (RRC) has a proud history of developing athletes at the Regional, National, and International levels.
Charles E.D. Wood (1st RRC president), S.B. Nelles, Roy Hamilton & G.H. Marsh in front of an unfinished Legislative Building in Regina, circa 1910.
Our origins date back to June 15, 1907, when the Regina Boat Club (RBC) was founded as a private boating and yachting club. Charles E. Wood served as its first president, and the club quickly became one of Regina’s most popular summer activities.
The first boathouse was built in 1910 on the north side of Wascana Lake, near today’s 1000-metre course, marked today by a stone cairn. That same year, the RBC held its first Dominion Day Regatta, dubbed “Henley in Miniature,” featuring rowing, motorboat, canoe, and swimming competitions. After a tornado destroyed the boathouse in 1912, it was rebuilt with contributions from members. The RBC stayed active during World War I, despite most of its members enlisting and many not returning.
Women’s rowing began in 1924 under coach Harry Murray, and crews traveled to regattas in cities such as Winnipeg, Duluth, and Minneapolis. Despite the Great Depression and Wascana Lake being drained to build the Albert Street bridge from 1931–1933, the club grew steadily through the 1930s, producing national-level rowers like Harry Duckett, who went on to earn national recognition as both an athlete and coach. In 1938, Harry, along with crew members Jack Peart, Newt Hughes, and Dick Priest, won the Junior and Senior 4- at the Royal Canadian Henley and were named as Canada’s 4 to the 1940 Olympic Games. These Games were cancelled due to World War II.
Rowing paused during World War II but resumed in the late 1940s with a new boathouse built on Willow Island. The club continued to thrive through the 1950s before disbanding in 1964 due to challenges with the lake; equipment was sold or destroyed, and the boathouse was removed from Willow Island.
In 1974, Harry Duckett, Al Kerr, and Jack Peart revived the club as the Regina Rowing Club, just in time for the 1975 Western Canada Summer Games. The new club grew steadily in the late 1970s thanks to the leadership of Harry, Al Kerr, Bob Wallace, Don Jesse, and Bob Ellard. RRC began hosting major events, including the Western Canada Sprints Regatta in 1978 and the NWIRA Regatta in 1980.
In recent years, the RRC has hosted the rowing venue for the 2005 Canada Summer Games and the 2007 NWIRA Championships. In 2007, the Regina Rowing Club celebrated its 100th anniversary. Since then, the club has continued to develop quality programs and athletes, maintaining a legacy of producing rowers at regional, national, and international levels.
We invite you to watch the RRC 100th anniversary video. Please click on link below.