Rowing Clubs in Belgium: Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia

This page is for expats in Brussels, students and anyone in Belgium looking for a boat club. Belgium’s rowing history is out of proportion to its size. In 1906 a combined eight from two Ghent clubs won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, and the country’s two regional leagues still reflect its language divide. Two of the three rowers Belgium selected for Paris 2024 were Club Gent members.

Clubs to start with

Club	Founded	Location/water	Who it’s for	Website
Koninklijke Roeivereniging Club Gent	1871	Ghent, Watersportbaan	juniors, recreational, competitive	krcg.be
Koninklijke Roeivereniging Sport Gent	1883	Ghent, Watersportbaan	juniors, learn-to-row, competitive	krsg.be
Koninklijke Roeivereniging Brugge	1869	Bruges, canal	juniors, masters, recreational	krbrugge.be
Royal Sport Nautique de Bruxelles	1865	Brussels, canal at Chaussée de Vilvorde	learn-to-row, recreational	royal1865.com
Union Nautique de Bruxelles	n/a	Brussels, canal at Chaussée de Vilvorde	juniors, learn-to-row, recreational	league listing
Cercle des Régates de Bruxelles	n/a	Brussels, Quai Veeweyde	juniors, learn-to-row, recreational	league listing
Sport Nautique Universitaire de Bruxelles	n/a	Brussels, Quai des Usines	university, learn-to-row, recreational	league listing
Union Nautique de Liège	n/a	Liège, Parc de la Boverie on the Meuse	juniors, learn-to-row, recreational	league listing
Royal Sport Nautique de la Meuse	n/a	Liège, Parc de la Boverie on the Meuse	n/a	league listing
Royal Club Nautique Sambre et Meuse	n/a	Wépion near Namur, Meuse	juniors, learn-to-row, recreational	rcnsm.be
Royal Cercle Nautique Dinantais	n/a	Anhée near Dinant, Meuse	juniors, learn-to-row, recreational	league listing

Founding dates are thin because the French-speaking league’s pages don’t publish them, so we have marked those as n/a. Browse all club guides for other countries, or see rowing clubs in the Netherlands and rowing clubs in France for the neighbours.

How Belgian rowing is organised

The Royal Belgian Rowing Federation (K.B.R. Roeien / F.R.B.A. Aviron), based in Brussels, is the national body. It runs the national team, the national calendar, the Belgian Championships and Belgian Cups, and it works through two regional leagues.

• Vlaamse Roeiliga (VRL). The Flemish league, based in Ghent. Its club search lists Flemish clubs with a map.
• Ligue Francophone d’Aviron (LFA). The French-speaking league. Its club list has 12 clubs across Brussels, Namur, Hainaut and Liège, and each club page shows labels for what it offers.

Those LFA labels are a useful shortcut. Initiation means beginner sessions, Loisir is recreational rowing, Compétition jeunesse is junior racing, and Handisport means adaptive rowing.

Season and regattas

As a general rule, regattas run from spring to autumn, with winter given over to ergs and long-distance work. Two venues stand out.

• Hazewinkel. The 2,000m course near Mechelen hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1980 and 1985, plus junior and under-23 world championships. The VRL also lists a Hazewinkel Beach Sprint Cup.
• Watersportbaan, Ghent. Club Gent’s home water hosted the European Championships in 1955.
• Belgian Championships and Cups. Run by the federation. Check rowing.be or the VRL calendar for current dates, because neither page we read gave fixed dates.

The VRL also covers beach sprint, and the federation has coastal rowing on its programme, so it is worth asking about if you live near the coast.

Joining as a newcomer

Language decides a lot here. The Flemish clubs’ websites are in Dutch, and the Wallonia and Brussels clubs we read are in French. Brussels is the one place where you can choose: the clubs on this page are all listed by the French-speaking league. As a general rule, ask by email whether a coach can work with you in English before you commit.

Membership is formal. Club Gent’s rules say applications go to the board, and anyone rejected can reapply after a year. Its site lists no fees, so ask the secretariat. Bruges says rowing is open to anyone from age 10, and it lists camps and lessons for young people and adults. Wépion’s Royal Club Nautique Sambre et Meuse also has tennis, sailing and fitness sections, so one membership enquiry may cover several sports.

How to pick a club in Belgium

• Pick your language first, then your town. A Flemish club in Ghent and a French-speaking club in Liège are in different leagues, and their paperwork will be too.
• In Brussels, look at the canal map. Royal Sport Nautique and Union Nautique sit next door on Chaussée de Vilvorde in the north, while Cercle des Régates is on Quai Veeweyde in the south-west. Pick the one that suits your commute.
• Students. Sport Nautique Universitaire de Bruxelles and ULiège Sports’ rowing section are the natural starting points in those cities.
• Racing or recreation. Club Gent’s squads run from under-13 to seniors. For masters racing, Bruges names a dedicated section.
• Adaptive rowing. Club Gent has a named lead for G-sport, and Sambre et Meuse and Dinant carry the Handisport label.

If you have never rowed, try the first month on the erg and read rowing for beginners. The Henley story is in our history of Henley Royal Regatta.

Spotted a mistake or a club we should add? Let us know.