BUCS Head – the most highly anticipated winter season event in the university rowing calendar – is back. While the final draw will likely remain under wraps until a mere couple of days before proceedings, I will base my predictions for the Women’s Intermediate Coxed Fours category on performances in this category at other events so far this season.
University of Surrey BC
Second only to a Cambridge University women’s crew in the Academic Coxed Fours category at the Fours Head, Surrey may just shake things up if they make the trip up north and race in this category. Surrey’s programme has been on the rise in recent years, with most of their successes coming in sculling events. However, having historically travelled to BUCS Head and performed well on the tidal Tyne against a roster of northern university crews, I could foresee a top three finish by Surrey, if entered.
Durham University BC
Ever a constant force to be reckoned with at BUCS Head, Durham University are no strangers to collecting medals. With impressive depth and numbers in their women’s squad year on year, if they provide an entry, or even two, here, they will certainly be hungry for the win.
Imperial College BC
At this point, Imperial College London’s women’s squad needs no introduction. Having observed the meteoric rise in the quality of athletes racing in Imperial colours, as opposed to transferring over to University of London BC, I would expect a strong Women’s Intermediate Coxed Four to be in attendance at BUCS Head this year.
University of York BC
When it comes to BUCS, York have historically been underdogs across many events. They have had consistently good performances at previous iterations of BUCS Head, and came away with an impressive fifth-place finish against a high-calibre Women’s Academic Coxed Fours category at Fours head earlier this season. This bodes well for York, and I would not be surprised to see them continue their upward trajectory with a top-five finish if they send a crew in this category.
Prediction
With crews from Newcastle, Glasgow, and Edinburgh also quite likely to provide strong entries into the mix, the Women’s Intermediate Coxed Fours category will undoubtedly be highly contested. Overall, Durham University or Imperial College London are perhaps the crews most likely to be battling it out for pole position, provided they supply entries, but I imagine there will be no shortage of strong crews, such as Surrey, trying to disrupt that.
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