While the Autumn heads help drive the narratives, the season begins in earnest this weekend. University boat clubs from up and down the country will descend upon Newcastle in a test of time over the five-kilometre course. The best and fastest of these will line up in the championship eights, fighting to land the first blow for their 2025 campaigns.
Durham University
The palatinate of Durham University will lead off the field on Saturday afternoon. Likely the happiest of the three northern powerhouses after the 2024 season, they started their year with a win at this event, were best of the rest at BUCS Regatta and made it to Friday in The Temple Challenge Cup, with the only blemish on their record coming from a 26th place position at the Head of the River Race. This season, they finished third at Rutherford Head, cutting their deficit to the win by 72%, suggesting that with the traditional Durham peak at BUCS events, they should be well positioned to challenge the win again on home water.
Newcastle University
Their rivals based 100 metres downriver, Newcastle University had a more challenging 2024 campaign. All started well, winning at Rutherford Head ahead of a visiting Molesey crew; they then won all but one men’s sweep event at BUCS Head (missing out on only the top honours in the championship eight). However, in the summer, things started to disappoint: sixth at BUCS Regatta, a C -final at Marlow, and their only eight at Henley Royal Regatta, making a Wednesday exit, far below the historically high standard of the blue star. With a new season and several returners from the first eight, they will look to bounce back after a tough few years, and another set of strong performances at BUCS Head will put them on track to do that. Without the gold in the fastest boat of the weekend though, I doubt head coach Angelo Savarino will be happy.
University of Edinburgh
The third member of the dominant northern trio is Edinburgh University, the sole Scottish representation in the championship eight field. Their 2024 season was typified by a great strength in depth, culminating in getting two eights and two fours into the main draw of Henley Royal Regatta, with the performance group having a 100% record at qualifiers, but were disappointed as they only managed to win one round during Regatta week, having faced a difficult draw. They look to improve this year, having finished first at Rutherford Head – their only win at an autumnal Rutherford in almost a decade. With a slimmed-down squad for their first full season under senior men’s coach Dale Flockhart, they will look to impress again on the Tyne as they target their first victory at BUCS Head since 2017.
Imperial College London
Regularly making the trip from down south, Imperial College London has been the only upset to the northern triopoly over recent years at BUCS Head. However, recent years have been challenging for the traditional powerhouse. The win in this event in 2020 seems to be quite far in the rear-view mirror, having finished in a distant fifth place in 2024 and losing in the first round in the last two Temple Challenge Cups. However, there has been a real sign of hope in recent months. At the Quintin Head in January, their only race of the season, they came out on top in the senior eights category, finishing fifth overall – a large step up from the 18th– and 19th-place finishes they earned in 2024. If this result is a real sign of improvement for the black, blue, and silver, then this weekend could be a jolt back to the old Imperial.
University of Bristol
The rising stars on the university rowing scene in the post-COVID era, the University of Bristol returns to BUCS Head after a season away. Following their sweeping of the intermediate events at the 2022 BUCS Regatta, the club from the southwest stepped up to the championship level for 2023, where they have managed to hold their own in the last two seasons. However, before this step up, they raced in the intermediate eights at BUCS Head in 2023, where they won gold in a time that would have finished fourth in the championship category. In the 2024 season, they missed out on the A-final at BUCS Regatta by less than a tenth of a second before being the fastest non-Brookes university crew at both Metropolitan and Marlow Regattas, but were still sent to qualifiers for Henley. This season, they opened their campaign at their home head race, ending in second, between two matched Leander eights, showing strong speed as they prepare to land similarly in the mix against university opposition on Saturday.
University of Nottingham
Also making the trip north is the University of Nottingham, rounding out a field of six championship eights. A traditionally strong sporting university, Nottingham has a proud history within rowing, but in the last decade or so, they have not entirely lived up to that standard. This environment drives all clubs to be focused on BUCS points, as Nottingham currently leads the standings. This leaves the crews entering championship events with limited hopes of success, finishing tenth overall at last year’s BUCS Head and being roundly defeated in this event at the Regatta. For the 2025 campaign, results are limited, but an 18th place at Rutherford Head does not inspire too much confidence. If this was a first eight, finishing behind a Durham college crew suggests they won’t be too competitive this weekend.
Predictions
With very few results to judge by, predictions this early in the season are always challenging. However, given their proximity to the victory at Rutherford Head and their history of overperformance at BUCS events, I must pick Durham for the win here.
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