Five university crews will be making trips from all across the country to race in the championship women’s coxed fours category on Saturday afternoon. BUCS Head promises an exciting showcase of university rowing talent, as crews chase each other down the course over one day, rather than being spread over a long weekend as seen in the summer BUCS Regatta. While the women competing in this category are likely to be dotted throughout other boat classes during the event, the championship fours remain some of the standout boats to watch.
Durham University
Durham University enters this year’s BUCS Head as the firm favourites, having claimed victory in this category last year. Their recent performances indicate that they remain at the top of their game, as seen by their wins in the women’s Band 1 and Band 2 eights at Tyne United New Year’s Head. Durham has also previously demonstrated dominance in fours specifically, winning the Aspirational Academic Coxless Fours at Henley Women’s Regatta last year, where they overcame strong competition from a Dutch crew. However, Durham has not always had an uncontested path to victory. At BUCS Regatta 2024, both their women’s championship eight and women’s championship coxed four finished second behind Oxford Brookes. Nonetheless, in both of these crews was Anna Grace, a standout rower associated with this BUCS Head crew. Anna won gold in the U23 women’s pair at the most recent World Championships and placed 13th in GB trials a few weeks ago. With such calibre in their line-up, Durham’s four is expected to be a dominant force in this race.
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh has consistently displayed impressive depth across their women’s squad. Their recent performances include securing the fastest women’s Band 1 and Band 2 fours at Rutherford Head, reaffirming their strength in fours over head race distances. The squad’s sweep success is further supported by their showing at Henley Women’s Regatta 2024, where they reached the final in the aspirational academic eights and clinched victory in the development four by a commanding margin of over ten seconds. Reflecting on their last BUCS Regatta performance, Josephine Briggs, associated with this BUCS Head crew, was part of both the women’s championship eight (which placed 6th) and the women’s championship coxed four (which finished 4th), leaving Edinburgh just short of the medal table on that occasion. Additionally, last year’s BUCS Head saw Edinburgh’s championship coxed four come second to Durham by nearly thirty seconds. Given these results, Edinburgh will have been putting in significant work to close the gap and challenge Durham more closely at a BUCS event this time around.
Imperial College London
Imperial College claimed third place in this category at BUCS Head last year and will be looking to add either a silver or gold medal to the collection this time. Due to challenging weather conditions on the tideway down south, the club has had limited racing opportunities on their home stretch so far this season. However, at Quintin Head, their women’s first eight finished 5th in the women’s championship category, while the second eight finished 10th in theirs. Despite the lack of recent racing data, Imperial’s BUCS Head crew will be led by Laura Ellington, the club’s captain, who will not represent her club badly. Laura was part of the crew that finished second in the women’s championship pair at BUCS Regatta, missing out on gold by less than a second to Durham; the list therefore grows longer of clubs who want to knock Durham off that top spot. With this level of experience, Imperial will undoubtedly be aiming to push their way further up the rankings.
University of St Andrews
St Andrews did not compete in this category at BUCS Head last year but has the potential to establish itself alongside Durham and Edinburgh to replace Newcastle as part of the northern triad this weekend. The club has demonstrated a growing strength in fours, having made the semi-finals of the development coxed fours at Henley Women’s Regatta last summer. In fact, one of the club’s standout achievements in 2024 was the aforementioned crew reaching the Sunday of Henley Women’s Regatta for only the second time in the club’s history, before being knocked out by Edinburgh, the eventual winners. More recently, they secured the fastest times in both the women’s Band 2 coxless fours and the women’s Band 3 coxed fours at Rutherford Head. This race will be a key test of St Andrew’s ability to compete at this level, and challenge Edinburgh once more as their Scottish counterparts.
University of Birmingham
Birmingham is also a new addition to this category at BUCS Head but are certainly not to be underestimated. Notably, the University of Birmingham had the highest number of British Rowing wins of any university club in 2023, demonstrating a strong and rapidly developing programme. The crew is associated with Aimee Newenham, who recently raced and won gold in the women’s intermediate coxless four at Bristol University Head. Birmingham’s rise in rowing performance suggests that they could be a dark horse in this event, looking to make a statement on the national stage.
Predictions
With Durham aiming to defend their title, Edinburgh and Imperial striving to close the gap, and St Andrews and Birmingham looking to make their mark, the championship women’s coxed fours promise to demonstrate a thrilling head-to-head contest on the Tyne. Each of these clubs have proven their capabilities over the past year, and with race day conditions playing a crucial role, the podium places are far from guaranteed. However, I predict Durham to maintain their edge, with Edinburgh following perhaps closer behind than usual, and Imperial providing southern representation with a bronze.
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