The start of the scholastic rowing season is upon us, and as always, it will kick off with BUCS Head. It has been a tough winter for everyone across the country, with heavy rains leading to flooding anywhere you can find a body of water, making it difficult to put in serious water time, especially in the smaller boats. Fitness though, can be found elsewhere, and the coxed four is a boat class that demands it. The benefits of crew focus devoid of steering responsibilities and race management, comes with a price, and that price, felt against every catch, is weight. When rowed well though, the coxed four is a special boat class, and the lads in the Intermediate Coxed Four will be looking for that kind of synergy come race day.
Newcastle University Boat Club
Newcastle University have a strong pedigree in student rowing. They consistently make the weekend at Henley, and coming off of a fourth place finish in last year’s regatta, the lads stepping up to the intermediate event will be looking to better their Tideway-based foe, who come in the form of Imperial College.
Imperial College London Boat Club
Imperial won the event last year, perhaps owing that success to the extensive amount of time training in the coxed four. The Tideway and all its foibles mean that running coxless crews can be difficult, and so when coaches are looking to give their athletes a break from the forgiving nature of the eight and push their skills, they will often defer to the coxed four.
University of Edinburgh Boat Club
The University of Edinburgh picked up third place last year, trailing third-place holders the University of Surrey by some fifteen seconds. Edinburgh had an impressive run through the late 2010s, with representation in multiple Henley finals, but they’ve seemingly struggled to make it to the fabled Sunday in recent years. All programs owe the strength of their top end to the strength of their up-and-coming athletes, who themselves are the future of that program. Maybe for these lads from Edinburgh, this could be the start of their resurgence.
University of Surrey Boat Club
Surrey had an impressive showing last year, taking second place behind Imperial. They’re consistent podiums finishers here, and it would be foolhardy to bet against them repeating that feat this year. They’ll be hoping that the work they’ve put in over the winter will be enough to return them to the front of the field.
Predictions
Imperial are off at bow one, and they’re my pick for the win. Newcastle, Surrey and Edinburgh will scrap for the remaining podium places, with Surrey perhaps most likely to come out on top.
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