With only four entries, the Women’s Championship Quads could easily be overlooked at this year’s BUCS Head, but this field can potentially make for some of the closest racing of the event. Four of the biggest and most successful UK University sculling programs will go head to head, and with almost identical crews from these clubs having placed within 2.5 seconds of one another at BUCS Regatta WChamp4x Final in Nottingham last summer, some exciting racing is likely to unfold.
Durham University Boat Club
DUBC may have placed 5th in this event last year and taken 4th place at BUCS Regatta, but these four scullers have since appeared as an unstoppable force. Issy Sellers & Caroline Rijske took the win in the Haslam Trophy for lightweight doubles at Henley Women’s Regatta, with Sellers later taking a seat in this boat class at U23 Worlds in 2023. Anna Grace similarly made an appearance at U23 Worlds in the Eight, and most recently placed 2nd fastest U23 pair with NUBC’s Holly Youd at GBRT February trials. The final addition to this lineup, Mia Vickerman, also brings a wealth of experience, having been a part of the undefeated Shiplake College quad in 2021, taking wins at NSR, HWR, and HRR that year. With a strong lineup and familiar water, I don’t doubt that these girls will be looking to put out a strong performance.
Newcastle University Boat Club
Newcastle’s quad had a storming season last year and will be looking to retain their BUCS Head gold in this event from 2023. Placing ahead of Reading at BUCS Head, then in front of both Durham and Nottingham at BUCS Regatta to take bronze, we have seen already just how fast this crew can go. Holly Youd recently trialled with DUBC’s Anna Grace to take 2nd fasted U23 pair, while Rachel Bradley placed 4th fastest U23 single and Lucy Thomson 5th fastest U23 pair. With the addition of fresher Lucy Webber, who herself has had success at Junior trials and National Schools Regatta, I’m excited to see how this crew can come together and translate their speed as individuals into a solid race over their 5km stretch of training water.
University of Nottingham Boat Club
Looking to break into the ranks among three of arguably the strongest UK sculling universities, Nottingham will be looking to build on their silver medal performance at the European Universities Rowing Championships in September. The only crew in this event with no showing at trials earlier in the month, I imagine that these four scullers will be looking to make a name for themselves in this strong field, as they did at BUCS Regatta with a solid performance to take 5th in the Women’s Championship Quads event. The racing experience of the likes of Holly Burke and Sinead Turner-Frick, they will be looking to race as the underdogs this weekend.
Reading University Boat Club
Reading University sculling is notoriously strong, and this crew is no exception. Three of this quad (Ellie Cooke, Finnola Stratton, Zara Povey) went to February trials and all three placed inside the top 5 Women’s U23 singles, with Cooke taking the top spot and Povey 1st U21. Cooke and Stratton had a formidable previous season, with gold at BUCS in the Championship double ahead of DUBC’s Grace & Sellers, then silver in the championship quad and strong performances at HWR and HRR. Joined by talented freshers Povey and Izzy Lancaster, who has previously competed for GB at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, this quad is seriously one to watch.
Predictions
With such a strong field, this is a difficult one to predict, but I can’t see past the formidable Reading lineup to take the win in this event. We’ve seen what these scullers can do over the 5km Boston course, and for them to come together in this quad could dominate the field. I think it’ll be a close-fought race between Newcastle and Durham on their familiar Northern waters for silver and bronze, with Nottingham bringing up the back of the pack – by no means a less impressive feat in such a competitive draw.
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