Robinson is one of the newest colleges of Cambridge University and its men's and women's crews both appeared in 1981 for the first time.

The men's 1st VIII rose steadily in the Lent Bumps, competing continuously in the 1st division from 1998 to 2008 and rising as high as 9th in 2001.

After briefly dropping into the 2nd division in 2008, recent years have seen a resurgence, with blades in 2010, 2012 and 2015 moving Robinson up to 10th on the river in Lents.

Robinson's 1st women's VIII were positioned at the bottom of the 1st division following the reorganisation of the start order in 1990 when the May Bumps changed to eight-oared boats, and have spent most of the time since then in the top half of the 2nd division or the bottom few crews of the 1st, rising as high as 13th in 2000.

John Pritchard represented Cambridge in the boat race and won silver in the Men's VIII at the 1980 Olympics.