With 43 crews entered, the Women’s Intermediate Eight category is looking highly competitive. Though there are many crews entered by high performance clubs such as Newcastle, London, Oxford Brookes, Cambridge and Durham, there is a fairly even spread between crews, suggesting that there will be plenty of tough competition.
Newcastle
Of the Northern crews, Newcastle looks on paper to be the strongest going into this event. Following a very successful campaign at the Boat Race of the North in which they won every event – continuing their comprehensive victory streak from 2019 – and again at Durham Regatta where, despite losing to Durham in the Women’s Elite Eight they beat their rivals by a length in the Women’s Championship Eight and it seems that Newcastle is on track to have a very strong race at BUCS. Their success in the coxed and coxless fours at Durham also suggest that this is a discipline which Newcastle has been honing in recent times. Meanwhile, at Marlow Regatta, Newcastle came sixth in the A final and third in the B final of Women’s Eights. Additionally, with three crews entered, this should ensure that they are able to maximise their chances for success.
Durham
Despite this, Durham has also had some success recently, and ought not to be underestimated. With wins in the Women’s Elite Pair, Women’s Elite Double and Women’s Elite Eight at Durham Regatta, they demonstrated their strength in these events and it may be that they will continue this success next weekend. Durham has only entered one crew into this event, and given that many of their competitors have had multiple entries accepted, it may be that this works against them.
Cambridge & Oxford
Looking further South, Cambridge and Oxford have each entered four crews for this event, with Oxford Brookes and London entering two each. Cambridge was hugely successful at this year’s Boat Race, beating Oxford in every event. There hasn’t been an event where all of these crews have faced each other so far this season, making it harder to predict the results of upcoming races, but it does seem that Cambridge may have the edge here.
UL
At Met Regatta, London came fourth and fifth in the A final, whilst at Marlow Regatta they came second and fifth in the A final and fifth in the B final of the Women’s Eights, losing out on the top spot to Leander but continuing their streak of strong performances. Given their usual success at BUCS events, I would imagine that London will also be very strong in this event.
Oxford Brookes
Finally, Oxford Brookes will be one to watch. Beating London in Women’s Eight at Met Regatta, Brookes took first and sixth places in the A final and first in the B final of the event. It is hard to tell exactly how the event will turn out, but these crews are certainly looking like the ones to watch based on the results of recent events.
About The Author
