Regatta success celebrated in new climate stripes kit

Reading rowers have returned from Henley Royal Regatta with multiple milestones and a striking new team kit. 

The club made history by sporting a new kit emblazoned with the University of Reading’s climate stripes visualisation, created by Professor Ed Hawkins, for the first time. The climate stripes show the change in average annual global temperatures since 1850. Red stripes indicate hotter years and blue stripes indicate cooler years, against the average of the period 1961-2010. 

24 current Reading University Boat Club athletes tackled the 2,112m course alongside a large number of alumni racing across 8 different events from Tuesday, 30 June to Sunday, 5 July. 

Will Rand, RUBC Director of Rowing, said: "We had a fabulous regatta and we're really excited about what next season will bring. 

“I'm incredibly proud of our athletes, who have achieved so much in increasingly difficult conditions this past year. Climate change is already affecting our sport in real ways. Winter days with heavier rainfall makes training more difficult as the river becomes too high and fast. Hotter days are making it much harder for our athletes to train safely. 

“Wearing the climate stripes at Henley shows we care about this issue. We're starting important conversations about our changing climate on a world-famous sporting stage.”

Historic milestones

The club achieved several historic milestones, including their largest Prince of Wales contingent since 2018 with three full quads. RUBC 'A' progressed confidently to Saturday before meeting the eventual winners from Bonner Ruder-Gesellschaft.

In the Princess Grace, RUBC successfully qualified two full quads for the first time in the club's history. RUBC 'A' sailed through to Saturday before falling to a strong crew from Ruder-Club Potsdam.

The Queen Mother event saw RUBC field their first full Reading crew since 1999, with four athletes facing a challenging task against Rowing Australia. Masters student Daisy Bellamy represented the club exceptionally in both the Town and Remenham events as part of GB team boats, reaching finals in both competitions.

Alumni success was equally impressive, with former students securing wins in the Queen Mother, Wyfold and Thames Cup respectively.

More regatta success

Before Henley Royal Regatta, RUBC walked away with two championship wins at Henley Women’s Regatta 2025 (19-21 June). 

Rowers claimed the Borne Trophy for Championship Quadruple Sculls and the W Peer Cup for Championship Double Sculls.

Seven crews entered the regatta in total, with each boat qualifying for head-to-head races after successful time trials. 

Will Rand said: “Winning at this level really shows how much our focus on sculling has paid off over the last decade. It truly felt like a "coming-of-age moment" for our sculling programme.

“Even if not every crew brought home a trophy, their strong showings across the board really demonstrates the strength and comprehensive nature of our programme.

“It's clear that all our hard work and strategic focus on sculling for the past ten years is truly bearing fruit.”

At Marlow Regatta, the Championship Quadruple Sculls ('A' crew) took home the top prize.