Performance Rowing Programme

The University of St Andrews has been at the forefront of Beach Sprints in Scotland and has been working closely alongside Scottish Rowing to develop a Coastal Rowing Performance Centre at East Sands in St Andrews, providing a world-class training and events venue, building towards Commonwealth and Olympic Games over the coming years.

The programme

The University’s Performance Rowing Programme is led by Director of Rowing Lewis McCue and enjoys a close partnership with British Rowing and Scottish Rowing.

The University has been accredited by British Rowing as one of four GB Beach Sprint Performance Development Academies across the UK – part of their Olympic Pathway as they build towards the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and beyond.

The Academy, supported by Scottish Rowing, Sport Scotland and British Rowing will provide a pathway for those targeting GB representation in both the beach sprint and endurance formats, whilst identifying athletes who demonstrate future potential.

The University’s Performance Rowing Programme is led by Director of Rowing Lewis McCue and enjoys a close partnership with British Rowing and Scottish Rowing through the GB Beach Sprint Performance Development Academy.

Athletes on the programme benefit from access to a high-performance training environment, interaction with national and international athletes, and support from coaches and other staff employed by British and Scottish Rowing, enabling them to develop at both flat-water and coastal rowing.

Through the programme we aim to provide a pathway for rowers to develop their skills and compete at national and international level. Athletes on the performance rowing programme at St Andrews get access to a full support package including:

GB Performance Development Academy

one of 4 in the UK accredited by British Rowing

sportscotland Institute of Sport

input of support services and expertise

National training camps and competitions

in Scotland, UK and worldwide in partnership with Scottish Rowing

World-class training facilities

land-based, flat-water and coastal

Professional coaching

from a team of world-class coastal sculling coaches

Strength and Conditioning

dedicated sport specific sessions

Sports Therapy

full time in-house support service

Athlete support

physiotherapy, sports psychology, nutrition, recovery, time management

Competition

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) championships

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Regatta is a pivotal event in the Saints Rowing calendar. Every year sees consistent and impressive improvement in the competitive performance of the Club at BUCS. The Club, in recent history, has had multiple medal finishes and A Finals appearances in both Men’s and Women’s events, in pairs, fours and singles, including a win in both Men’s and Women’s Intermediate pairs in 2019.

WEHoRR and Head of the River

Two of the world’s largest Head Races in London feature on the Club’s annual racing calendar. Despite our comparatively small size, the Club has had tremendous success at Men’s and Women’s Tideway over recent history. Every year since 2015, the first VIIIs have broken Club records with the Senior Women breaking the top 50 in 2018 and the Men’s 1st VIII+ finishing 63rd in 2019, winning the Medium Academic Club Pennant in the process.

Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regatta

Every summer we send athletes to compete at the prestigious Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regatta. In recent years we have had crews progress to the quarter finals of Henley Women’s, and at HRR have seen crews progress through rounds of the Prince of Wales and in 2019 our PA 4+ reached the semi finals.

Performance crews 2024-25

Scholarships

Scholarships are aimed at rowers who are already competing at a high level and who believe they have the necessary attributes to be part of a performance rowing programme whilst studying for their degree in St Andrews.

Find out more

Join Saints Rowing

If you are interested in studying at St Andrews and rowing for the University’s performance programme please complete our short online form to register your interest.

Meet the Director

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2190

Lewis McCue

Director of Rowing

Lewis began his coaching career after success as an elite rower, where he competed for Britain at the u23 World Championships and Junior World Championships.

Lewis has won multiple coaching accolades including Scottish Rowing’s Coach of the Year 2018-19 and was Scotland’s Senior Coach in the home counties in 2018 and 2019.

Lewis’s dedication to the sport and his commitment to fostering talent have been evident in his previous roles. With the continuous development of beach sprints and coastal rowing, alongside the ambitions of our flat-water programme, Lewis is looking forward to supporting the student-athletes to have an incredible rowing experience here in St Andrews.

Support staff

Our performance support team have a wealth of experience working and coaching at international level and within the professional game.

Iain Docwra

Scottish Rowing Beach Sprints Pathway Coach

Dan Scott

Strength and Conditioning Coach

Ali Smith

Sports Therapist

Dr Joan Strang

Performance Sport Coordinator

Professional services staff

Our performance teams and athletes are supported by a team of highly qualified, experienced, and dedicated professional service staff who share a passion for student sport.

Meet the Saints Sport team

Facilities

Flat-water: Lochore Meadows Country Park, just 45 minutes from St Andrews, provides 1.5km of beautiful open water in central Fife with consistent and predictable training conditions all year round.

Coastal: East Sands Beach in St Andrews is now established as one of the best locations in the country for Beach Sprints and is home to our Coastal Rowing programme, including our fleet of coastal boats.

Performance centre: Located all on one site close to the historic town centre, students at St Andrews have access to some of the best sports facilities in Scotland.

View our facilities

Supporter network

Are you a St Andrews graduate and former member of the Boat Club? Update your details and join our expanding network of alumni.

Supporting Saints Rowing

With your support we can provide greater value, more opportunities, and a better experience for our student rowers.

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Why St Andrews

With over six centuries of heritage, world-class teaching and facilities that are both historic and state-of-the-art, St Andrews offers an outstanding education.

Study at St Andrews