One of the few major events that has dedicated lightweight events, BUCS has rejigged things for this year, so the quad is now an intermediate as opposed to a championship event. With crews matched up in terms of weight (75kg maximum), lightweight rowing is renowned for producing some of the closest racing. However, lightweight events have been attracting fewer and fewer crews in recent years, and with Oxford and Cambridge’s squads absent due to the boat race being very soon, and Newcastle putting their lightweight athletes into an eight for the afternoon division, this event sees a small field.
Nottingham University BC
One of the main suspects on the lightweight scene, Nottingham have a decent track record in terms of boating fast lightweight crews. They placed fourth in Men’s Championship Lightweight Quad at BUCS Regatta last June, and they won the Men’s Championship Lightweight Quad the last time BUCS Head was run in February 2020. Despite having limited racing under their belt’s this season, Nottingham is a club with a strong history, and this crew will want to continue that with a good result here.
Edinburgh University BC
Another club with a strong history of lightweight rowing, Edinburgh are the current holders of the lightweight quad title at BUCS Regatta, after they stormed to a win in June. Edinburgh have made a very promising start to the season as a club, especially in comparison to their northern rivals from Edinburgh and Durham. Edinburgh will enter this event knowing they have the ability to win and will be expecting a medal at the very least.
Strathclyde University BC
Strathclyde shot onto the scene last year at BUCS Regatta where they took a superb bronze medal behind only Edinburgh and Oxford and beating established lightweight programmes in the form of Newcastle and Nottingham. They also topped an unofficial lightweight medal table, with one gold, and a further two silvers across all lightweight events. This continued into this season, with representation at the GB November assessment. Being a smaller club in terms of numbers, it will likely mean this boat has been a primary focus for them, so they will certainly be a threat here once again.
University of Surrey BC
Another club that is starting to make a name for itself under the leadership of Sam Tuck, Surrey will look to produce a really strong performance here. Having had a very quiet winter in terms of racing it is impossible to know about what speed they have at this point, but the club did manage to get away to Seville on a training camp recently, which can only have a positive effect. At BUCS regatta last year, Surrey didn’t enter a lightweight sculling event on the men’s side, but produced a record-breaking regatta as a club, with one of the standout performances being a silver in Men’s Championship Lightweight Pair behind Cambridge, having won the Time Trial and leading the final for 1500. As a club on the up, they will want to cement this idea with another strong performance at a BUCS event.
Predictions
Despite the small entry, this event is hard to call. With crews matched for weight, it becomes a battle of technical proficiency, which is even more important in a quad given the boat speed. For that reason, this event could favour crews who have been together for longer, so I think it is hard to see beyond Edinburgh on that basis. I think they will be followed home by Nottingham, with Strathclyde rounding off the podium.
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