Cast your minds back to 2019. What a showdown we had for Women’s Championship Eights. Newcastle storming through Edinburgh to win gold was something that will be cherished by the Blue Star for years to come. It was a stacked crew from Edinburgh with the likes of Polly Swann and India Somerside providing some serious horsepower to the Edinburgh eight. This year, it’s gutting to see that the silver medalists are without a crew but this six boat field is still stacked with talent as we have seen throughout the limited racing season.
Newcastle University
As the defending Champions, Newcastle are a formidable crew this season. Having swept up at the Siemens Boat Race of The North against their Palatinate rivals, Newcastle went down to Marlow and faced a tough challenge from London, who put 12s into them. Rumours are this UL crew was not a full student lineup so it will be fascinating to see how a crew change effects their speed come Saturday. Newcastle race tough, this is no secret. They have three returners from 2019, Hannah Cowie, Kat Bulmer and cox, Tash Banks. They race with their hearts on their sleeves and they are certainly one of the top three crews in this event.
Oxford Brookes University
It doesn’t take a genius to figure that Brookes are probably the favourites for this event. Their direct comparison to UL at Metropolitan on the Saturday proves that if anyone wants to win they’ve got to get through Brookes. Over recent seasons, OBUBC have been bolstering their women’s side so we’ll find out this weekend if they have the potential to be as dominant as their men.
University of London
Similar to Brookes and Newcastle, UL find themselves as arguably one of the top three crews in this event. Two years ago, they were pushed off the medal podium and into fourth. However, the speed they have shown at Met and Marlow look to show they they are on a resurgence. UL raced Leander all the way down the course at Marlow, missing out on the top spot by just 0.84s, albeit with an eight that wasn’t a full student line up. That being said, there is a huge amount of student talent on board from the likes of Georgie Robinson-Ranger so this UL crew will continue to be quick as they have been all season long, no matter how short that season has been.
Imperial College London
Imperial find themselves with a very small women’s squad this season, with just this one crew and none in intermediate, we’ll see the full depth of IC on display. They have a quick coxless 4-, led by Helen Kirkpatrick, that were just over a length off UL at Met. However, the strength of the top end of this field will be too quick for IC, as was seen at Marlow as they placed 6th in the B Final of Women’s Eights.
Durham University
It’s been a tough season for the Durham women. Consecutive defeats to Newcastle at at the Siemens Boat Race of The North and Durham regatta will have stung. Hard to tell how Durham stack up compared to IC. All we can really go off is a 4- race at Met in which IC got the better of their Northern competitors. My guess is IC and Durham fighting it out for 4th and 5th.
Cambridge University
The mystery entry. One can never quite be sure what sort of a Cambridge crew races at BUCS Regatta. We’ve had everything from College, to Blondie to Blue Boats. This year I think this could be a combination of their reserve athletes and maybe some athletes from their development squad. The name listed is Vera Kunz, who won the Spare Pair Race at this year’s Boat Race. They will be well drilled but without Blue Boat fire power, they won’t be able to challenge for a medal. As I said, this could be the dark horse crew and we won’t know their full speed until the Women’s Championship Eights final is underway.
Predictions… Newcastle, Brookes and UL to medal. In what order? You be the judge of that.
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