Despite poor weather condensing the programme into just one day, the 2025 university rowing season began with a roar. Hundreds of fours and eights descended on the Tyne for BUCS Head, representing universities across the UK.
The happiest bus going home is among the furthest-travelled as Reading University continued their now-traditional dominance in the sculling boats. On the men’s side, they finished first and third in the championship event, collected the top four positions in the intermediate event, and secured gold in division two’s lightweight event. The dominance of the women’s squad was not quite absolute, but they remained firmly on top with both openweight golds and lightweight silver.
The Newcastle women demonstrated real talent across the women’s sweep categories, taking home gold in the championship eight before splitting into a coxless four to repeat the feat. Local rivals Durham finished second in the eight and established dominance with a 30-second win in the coxed four.
On the men’s side, Durham claimed top honours in the men’s eight for the fourth consecutive year, continuing to rise to the occasion when BUCS points are on the line. They backed this up with a commanding victory in the coxless four. The Newcastle men finished second in the eight but won both the championship and intermediate coxed fours, powering the blue star to an overall victory in the Victor Ludorum.
The University of Edinburgh fell afoul of their rivals, only managing third in both championships eights. Their best result came from their men’s second eight, which claimed gold in the intermediate eight.
Imperial College London had a difficult day, finishing fifth and eighth overall in the open and women’s eights, but they did not leave empty-handed thanks to their men claiming gold and bronze in the championship lightweight and open coxless fours. The Imperial women took silver in the championship coxed four.
It was an excellent weekend for the cohort’s most recently minted championship programme. The University of Bristol men held up to expectation, finishing fourth in the eights and second in the coxed four, but the women provided some big surprises: winning gold medals in the intermediate eight and coxed four and posting top four times among the entire field. These results suggest that the women’s squad from Avon is positioned to match the strong performances their male counterparts have posted in recent years.
The University of Birmingham, who won bronze in the women’s championship eight, was powered mainly by standout Katie Mole, but there were strong performances elsewhere as the intermediate women’s quad won gold and silver in the lightweight event. On the men’s side, a bronze for the intermediate coxed four is a good sign that this programme is on the rise.
While the beginner quads and fours were cancelled, the organisers were able to add beginner eights to the Saturday programme, and despite a reduced field, 300 athletes got their first taste of BUCS rowing. At the front of the field were the usual suspects as the medals in the women’s eights went to Edinburgh, Surrey and Queen’s Belfast. Queen’s and Surrey finished first and second in the open beginner eights, proving the development programmes headed by Mike Hughes, Ellie Stevens, and Ryan Carney continue to have the path to success.
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