The Jorvik Rowing Foundation
The Jorvik Rowing Foundation was started in 2025 by a group of alumni. It exists for one reason: to make sure that the University of York Boat Club can keep doing what it does best.
Since 1963, UYBC has been on the water, competing at Henley, winning Roses, and giving thousands of York students the experience of a lifetime. It's a club that believes rowing is for everyone, and it's entirely run by the students who love it.
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Now it's our turn to give something back.
Become a member. Shape the future. Make your stroke count.
Mission
The Jorvik Rowing Foundation is a charitable membership organisation set up by alumni of the University of York Boat Club. Named after this city's thousand-year-old Viking heritage, Jorvik exists to give back to a club that gave so much to so many of us.
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UYBC was founded in October 1963, the very first month the University of York opened its doors. Starting out with borrowed equipment from York City Rowing Club, the club entered its first competition just two years later, and has been growing ever since.
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Today, the club has qualified for the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta multiple times in recent years , .
With one of the biggest member base of any sports club at York, UYBC is an exceptionally close-knit community; one where high performance and genuine inclusion go hand in hand.
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The Jorvik Foundation exists to protect that. We're not a top-down institution: every member gets a real say in how we're run and where the money goes. This is your club's legacy. Help us protect it.
The Vision
The Jorvik Foundation distributes funds directly to UYBC through a member-voted grant process. That means you don't just donate: you decide.
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Each year, UYBC puts forward grant applications setting out what they need and why. As a Jorvik member, you get to vote on how that money is allocated. Whether it's new boats and equipment, coaching support, or helping to make the club more accessible to students who couldn't otherwise afford it. The membership decides.
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UYBC's senior programme is built to push athletes to their limits, while its development programme takes those with little to no experience and turns them into confident, competent rowers. As we know, all of that takes resources. Your support helps make sure the next generation of York rowers has everything they need to succeed; on the Ouse, at Henley, and beyond.
