Rowing in Chennai happens on a 1,000-metre stretch of the Adyar between the Kotturpuram bridge and the MRTS bridge, where the Madras Boat Club trains its crews, The Bridge reported. Founded in 1867, the club calls itself the second-oldest rowing club in India, and it hosts one of the world’s oldest international rowing fixtures, the Madras-Colombo Regatta, on the same water.
The city’s other serious venue is inland: a 650-metre man-made lake at the Sri Ramachandra campus in Porur, lit for night rowing and used for national sub-junior events. Here is where you can row in Chennai, how the sport is organised, and the problems holding it back.
Madras Boat Club, Adyar
The club began on the Ennore backwaters and moved to its present site on Boat Club Road, Raja Annamalai Puram, in the late 19th century, according to its own history. Some highlights:
- 1898: First races against Colombo Rowing Club, the start of the Madras-Colombo Regatta, hosted in alternate years by the two clubs.
- 1933: Founder member of the Amateur Rowing Association of the East, alongside clubs in Bombay, Calcutta, Karachi and Rangoon.
- 1969: The Ramakrishnan sisters, four rowers and a cox, won the Ladies Fours at the Madras-Colombo Regatta.
- 1974: Members helped found the Tamil Nadu Amateur Rowing Association, which with Calcutta’s association went on to form the Rowing Federation of India.
Today the club has around 50 racing shells, ergometers for land training and two bank tubs where beginners learn the stroke before going out on the water, The Bridge reported. Boat staff called lascars maintain the fleet, act as coxes and teach novices. The club is a members’ club, so rowing access usually comes through membership or its student and youth programmes. Call +91 44 2435 4751 or email info@madrasboatclub.in to ask what is open.
The Madras-Colombo Regatta
The 84th edition was held on the Adyar on 19 July 2025, finishing at the club. Madras Boat Club took the Deepam Trophy for the men’s overall title, and Colombo Rowing Club kept the Adyar Trophy for the women’s overall title, Mylapore Times reported. The Madras women’s coxed four still won its race. The regatta alternates between the cities, so check the club’s announcements for the next Chennai edition.
Sri Ramachandra Water Sports Centre, Porur
The centre on the Sri Ramachandra campus, 1 Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, uses a 650-metre man-made freshwater lake fed by treated, recycled water. The course is fully lit, so crews can row around the clock, according to the centre’s page. It offers rowing, kayaking and canoeing, is affiliated to the Rowing Federation of India and the Tamil Nadu Amateur Rowing Association, and hosted national sub-junior and sprint championships in 2016 and 2018. Olympians Sawarn Singh and Dattu Bhokanal have trained there. Contact +91 98409 99830 for programme details.
Problems facing the sport
A Madras Musings report lists the familiar ones:
- Cost. Boats, oars and safety gear are imported and taxed heavily, so clubs depend on donations and sponsors.
- Few senior rowers. The state has plenty of sub-juniors, but numbers drop sharply at junior and senior level.
- Water. The Adyar’s condition affects training, and the state association has asked SDAT to consider other rowing courses on the city’s outskirts.
The state is putting money into paddle sports, if not rowing itself: the 2024-25 sports policy note allocated ₹258.10 lakh for a Centre of Excellence for canoeing and kayaking near the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University campus at Melakottaiyur, south of the city, according to the policy note.
Starting out
- Learn to swim first. Every club will ask for it.
- Choose your water: the Adyar for a traditional club and regattas, or Porur for a lit, still-water course with sports science support.
- Ask about trial sessions in the bank tub or on an ergometer before paying for a term.
- Students who progress can race in state championships run by the Tamil Nadu Amateur Rowing Association, the route to national selection.
Quick answers
Where can I row in Chennai?
At the Madras Boat Club on the Adyar in Raja Annamalai Puram, and at the Sri Ramachandra Water Sports Centre in Porur.
How old is the Madras Boat Club?
It was founded in 1867.
What is the Madras-Colombo Regatta?
An annual race meeting between Madras Boat Club and Colombo Rowing Club, first held in 1898. The 84th edition was on the Adyar in July 2025.
Can I kayak in Chennai?
Yes. The Sri Ramachandra centre offers kayaking and canoeing alongside rowing.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- About Madras Boat Club (Madras Boat Club)
- Legacy of Indian rowing: the historic Madras Boat Club (The Bridge)
- 84th Madras-Colombo Regatta results (Mylapore Times)
- Rowing Academy, Sri Ramachandra Water Sports Centre (Sri Ramachandra Institute)
- Rowing in Tamil Nadu (Madras Musings)
- Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department Policy Note 2024-25 (Government of Tamil Nadu)
