One of the largest fields on the first day of the regatta, the Men’s Intermediate Quad should serve up some good racing. With only 12 crews progressing to the A/B semi-finals, the heat will be on for the morning time trials
Reading
Reading University Boat Club will be one of the main protagonists in this field. As a club who focus exclusively on sculling, they have a substantial entry of five crews. With a strong showing in both the quads and doubles at Met Regatta, multiple boats qualifying for A finals and doing well within them, and a win and sixth place in Tier 2 Quads at Marlow should point towards a strong performance here.
Queen’s Belfast
Queens University Belfast also have a strong contingent of quads racing in this event. The A crew raced in Tier 2 Quads at Marlow, where they finished second to the aforementioned crew from Reading. Given the margin was less than three seconds, they will be looking to overturn that deficit on Thursday. The second crew appeared to race a coxed four at Marlow, where they placed in the C final in what was a hotly contested event. The final boat also raced in Tier 2 Quads at Marlow, where they placed fifth in the B final, however, with only three other university crews ahead of them, this could be indicative of a speedy crew, who will want to get one over on their clubmates.
Durham
Durham University are a name that is one would expect to see towards the higher end of events in which they are entered, and the quad that is racing here should be no exception. They are a club who have done a lot of racing, with local rivals Newcastle at Boat Race of the North, and also at the larger domestic events at Met and Marlow. As for this crew, they don’t seem to have raced as a combination, but given the strength in depth that comes about from the way Durham select their athletes, writing this crew off would be a dangerous game to play.
Imperial
Imperial College BC are another household name on the university rowing scene, and they have a single entry into this event. More commonly a club associated with eights rowing, it will be interesting to see how these guys adapt to the more technically demanding discipline that is sculling. The crew is under the name of Thomas Duvignacq who was a part of the Imperial second eight at Marlow Regatta where they took a comfortable win the C final, with a time that would have had them in the mix in the B final. As such, this crew should be a good one, and one that will have aspirations of at least the A final.
In terms of some of the other names in the draw, there are entries from the likes of Newcastle, Bristol, Hartpury and Glasgow, as well as a vast range of others, all of whom will want as strong a performance as possible. Given the importance of all events and crews towards the men’s and overall Victor Ludorum standings, every place matters in the fight for BUCS points.
The intermediate categories often produce some of the best racing at the regatta, and with such a large field and standard of entry, the Men’s Intermediate Quad should prove to be a good watch.
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