The trip up to Newcastle this weekend signifies the first chance for university crews to test themselves against one another, in the form of BUCS Head. With many races thus far in the season cancelled, this serves as an opportunity for crews to hit their stride as we look to Women’s Eights Head and onwards to summer racing.
Imperial College London
Returning to the Tyne to defend last year’s title, Imperial College London are certainly not a crew to be overlooked. Despite now being without their star athlete, Lizzie Witt, a new breed of Imperial rowers will be on the lookout for some silverware to ease the pain of a long journey back to London on Sunday night. ICL have already demonstrated the calibre of the program in the eight at Quintin Head, placing fifth in the Championship category among the likes of London Rowing Club and the University of London, even with a hefty time penalty. Having placed fourth at BUCS Regatta in this event last summer, I’m sure that this crew will be looking to establish themselves within the medals.
Edinburgh University
The ‘Baby Blue Army’ last took home gold in this event in 2023, and I’m sure they’ll be looking to replicate the performance this time around. Earlier in the season an Edinburgh coxless four posted the fastest women’s time of the day at Inverness Head, but then had a slightly more disappointing run down the track at Rutherford. Firmly into the swing of the new year by now, I hope to see Edinburgh having made progress over the recent months and to challenge their fellow northern powerhouses for the top spot on the Tyne.
Newcastle University
Perhaps the crew with the strongest track record this season is Newcastle University. Having taken home the win at Rutherford Head back at the end of November — beating out the likes of Nottingham University and Edinburgh University, who have also entered — I imagine that the Blue Star would be happy with a repeat performance on their home stretch. This appears to be a repeat of that very crew, with Scarlette Rijkse, Tia Lenihan, Lucy Webber, and Annie Bates taking to the water to defend their title, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take home the gold.
Durham University
Durham may have scratched their Rutherford Head entry, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a palatinate crew within the medals this time around. DUBC have previously shown strength in the coxless four, having won the aspirational Academic category at Henley Women’s Regatta, and I expect to see no less than winning form from them this weekend. Like Newcastle, this is their training stretch, and having already spent a week on camp in Banyoles this year I expect to see a gutsy row from this crew to challenge their local rivals for the top spot.
Notable Mentions
The Championship Coxless Four is one of the events that often attracts the same crews year on year, so it is refreshing to see the likes of the University of Bristol and University College London enter this time around, as well as the Nottingham derby between Trent and the University of Nottingham. Bristol’s women had a stellar season last year, so I hope that the momentum that they’ve built can carry forward into the grueling BUCS Head course, chasing down some of the more established university programs.
Predictions
It’s difficult to look past the crew from Newcastle for taking home the top spot this weekend. The quality of the rowing coming out of their program was evidenced time and time again last season, and it feels now as though they’ve established themselves among the northern powerhouses. I think that Durham are potentially the most likely to challenge this, with Imperial College nipping at their heels. Whatever unfolds, the Tyne can be an unpredictable beast, and I look forward to seeing which crew comes out victorious this weekend.
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