Royal Canoe Club
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Founded in 1866, the Royal Canoe Club (RCC) is based at Trowlock Island on the River Thames in Teddington near central London. The club promotes canoeing and kayaking, focusing on flatwater, sprint and marathon disciplines; a number of club members have represented Great Britain at World Championships and the Olympic Games including several world championship medallists (among them Alan Williams, Grayson Bourne, Chris Canham, Steve Jackson, Jeremy West) and Ian Wynne who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004. The club provides support and coaching for all levels from beginner to advanced. More recently a junior member of the club became Junior World Champion for Marathon as well as a medallist at the European Championships.
John MacGregor, a Scottish lawyer, popularised canoeing in the late 1800s. He went on extensive tours on the rivers and canals of Central and Northern Europe and the Mid-east in a boat he designed named the 'Rob Roy'. Through a series of books and lectures he formed a group of sportsmen who met in 1866 to form the Canoe Club. The first recorded regatta was held at on April 27, 1867. In the same year, Edward VII, Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII, became Commodore of the Club and in 1873 the Canoe Club became the Royal Canoe Club by command of Queen Victoria. Evidence to support this exists in club records in the form of correspondence with Whitehall.
Club members represented Great Britain at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 when canoeing was introduced as an Olympic sport and at every Olympic Games since. In 1922, Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become the Duke of Windsor), became Commodore, a position he held until he succeeded to the throne.
A notable member of the club was Warrington Baden Powell (brother of Lord Baden Powell). Someone who was not elected to membership, but was nevertheless closely associated with the club wasUffa Fox.
The Club is located in Teddington. The premises of the club are also used by Walbrook Rowing Club, The Skiff Club and Kingston Royals Dragon Boat Racing Club.
