Leander Boat Club (Canada)

Leander Boat Club (LBC) is a community Rowing club on the south shore of Hamilton Harbour (alternatively Burlington Bay) in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[1] Rowing has a long history in Hamilton with races attested from the mid 1800s and formal clubs operating from the latter half of that century such as the Hamilton Rowing Club, that shuttered its doors as the bicycle craze took off around the turn of the century.[2] The current club was established by the issue of letters patent by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Ontario dated 28 May 1927.[2]

Since its founding, the Leander Boat Club has produced a number of National, World and Olympic Champion rowers and crews.[2][3][4]

The club takes its name from an earlier Leander Rowing Club near that site of the current boathouse that has a namesake in the original Leander Club, one of the oldest and currently the premier rowing club in the United Kingdom.[3]

Both the Canadian and UK clubs trace the name to the Greco-Roman mythical hero Leander (Leandros), who died while swimming between Europe and Asia to visit his lover, Hero, across the Hellespont near the ancient cities of Sestus (Greek: Sestos) and Abydus (Greek: Abydos).[3][5]