The Women’s Lightweight Quad is a fantastic event for smaller athletes and indeed smaller clubs to showcase their talent. While some of the classical top universities have crews entered so do others who are not always contestants for the heavyweight quads or eights.
Reading
Famed for their sculling prowess, the Reading crew will be ambitious and certainly looking to set the pace in this event. Consistently towards the top of this event at whichever race they enter, no matter who is in this crew you can back it to be quick. This crew raced at Marlow Regatta finishing fifth in the B final of the Women’s Quads, a pretty strong performance against a field stacked with some of the best heavyweight quads in the country.
Surrey
A few places above Reading in the B final at Marlow, Surrey will be feeling strong about their chances in this event and will surely hope to seal the deal with a win. While not one of the big names in rowing, Surrey University is on the rise thanks to coach Sam Tuck and particularly in the lightweight events has shown over the last couple of years that they are capable of going fast and winning medals.
Newcastle
A familiar name on the start order, Newcastle are familiar with the lightweight events and also familiar with winning them. They didn’t race at Marlow, as they will probably have raced in eights instead, indicating they haven’t been together as much as some of their competitors. But underestimate the Blue Star at your own peril, this crew will be tenacious thanks to their tough training programme and despite their preparation will have high expectations.
Exeter
Although Exeter have not raced so far this season (at least in this crew), past results and reputation alone would have them in with a shout of a medal. Exeter are one of the clubs which always enters lightweight crews and these crews are usually of a high quality, and they will undoubtedly challenge the other top crews for the medals.
Predictions for the medals as follows: Surrey to win, followed by Reading in second and Newcastle in third.
About The Author
