While they don’t play host to recognisable names from years gone by or international lineups, the intermediate events often provide some of the tightest and most exciting racing at BUCS Regatta. Speaking from experience as a competitor, the intermediate events are where you want to be if your crew is not likely to pick up a medal elsewhere as even in the C or D finals, you can expect to come up against crews of a similar speed from a variety of universities from across the country.
The Men’s Intermediate Double is no exception, in fact the above is potentially amplified, with only two athletes required to put together a crew this event typically sees a fantastic range of crews and the winners have previously come from nowhere. With that said, here is my attempt to pick out the main competitors.
Bath University BC
Starting at the top of the entry list we have Bath University with three entries. However, it is only the top entry we are really interested in here, which is made up of Jamie Gare and Angus Pollock of the World Class Start programme under the watchful eye of newly promoted head of WCS – Dan Harris. These two athletes took gold and silver in the Men’s Intermediate Single at last year’s regatta and were part of the crew which made the Saturday in the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley Royal. Arguably they should be in the championship category although this lineup was not the original one planned with an injury to another member of the Start squad forcing the change.
Edinburgh University BC
The name on the entry list for the top Edinburgh entry in this event is Harry Fletcher, who has been part of Edinburgh’s second eight so far this season. Knowing the depth of the Edinburgh squad however, this still indicates that this will be a quality crew, perhaps not right at the sharp end but with such a strong programme they will have had a strong preparation for this event.
Loughborough University BC
Not exactly a mainstay of university rowing, the reason granting a mention for Loughborough here is the presence of Tom Shewell on the entry list, a former Oxford Brookes oarsman. While simply being at Brookes may not be reason to take note, Shewell was part of the Temple Challenge Cup crew at Henley Royal last summer, a crew which were it not for some unfortunate circumstances during the Regatta could well have won the event. As such, assuming Shewell’s partner is of a similar calibre, this double might be in with a shot of doing something unexpected.
Newcastle University BC
A heavyweight of university rowing, it would be inexcusable not to mention Newcastle. While they only have the one entry in this event, it looks like it could be a strong one, with Jack McGinn named on the entry list who was part of Newcastle’s ‘B’ crew in the Temple Challenge Cup last year. He was also in Newcastle’s Men’s Championship Quad crew at BUCS Head earlier in the year, finishing fifth.
Reading University BC
It would be foolhardy to write a BUCS sculling preview and for Reading not to be included. Setting themselves up in recent years as the place to be for student-level sculling, the slight drop off in their results last season should not be used to judge the club’s current form. With a win in both the Men’s Championship Quad and Intermediate Quad at BUCS Head this year Reading are without doubt back to winning ways. With three entries in this event it is likely that all will perform well, perhaps a couple making it into the A final and at least one battling for a medal.
Prediction
The crews mentioned above by no means represent an exhaustive list of the favourites, I would not be surprised to see crews from Nottingham, Queen’s, Strathclyde and Surrey to be in the mix as well. Attempting to call the top three, I am going to say Bath in first, Reading second, and Loughborough third.
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