Calcutta Rowing Club to celebrate centenary year

KOLKATA: Come November 2023 and Calcutta Rowing Club (CRC), founded in 1858, will be celebrating the centenary year of its association with the London Rowing Club (LRC). Known as the second-oldest non-academic active rowing club in London, the 166-year-old LRC was established in 1856.

Meanwhile, talks are on about a team coming down from London Rowing Club to Calcutta Rowing Club, which has attained a heritage plaque from the Indian National Trust for Art, Culture, and Heritage (Intach), Kolkata Chapter. The team from LRC will stay in Kolkata and eventually row in Dhakuria Lake.

Honorary secretary of CRC, Chandan Roy Choudhury, recently visited London Rowing Club and discussed how to celebrate the centenary year. He also admitted that a team from LRC will visit the CRC in November 2023 and the two clubs will participate in a friendly race.

In 1923, CRC's first paid visit was to participate in the rowing competition in Rangoon. Soon after winning the competition, CRC got its affiliation from LRC.

Founded in 1858, CRC is one of the oldest rowing clubs of its kind outside the UK. In 1862, the club had lost its history including documents, boat house, and records. In 1901, CRC received its affiliation from the Amateur Rowing Association.

London Rowing Club was founded by the members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta. Known as one of the most successful rowing clubs in Britain with its patron being Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, LRC started in rented rooms at Star & Garter Pub in Putney.