As regatta season finally returns to the rowing world, one of the most competitive divisions rears its head once again. Seven crews will go head-to-head in the Women’s Championship 8+ division in order to see who will come out on top. With BUCS Regatta at the start of the season, it acts as a chance for competing crews to establish their dominance and lay down a marker for the rest of the season.
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club
Assuming that Oxford Brookes University Boat Club field a similar crew to their crew for Women’s Head of the River 2022, it is very likely that we will see them once again dominating this division, placing in the top three, if not winning. At WEHORR, Brookes put on an impressive display, placing second in the Open category, and achieving a 23 second gap between them and the next university crew. Moreover, Brookes’ legacy from previous BUCS Regatta’s indicates their dominance in this field, having won the 2021 Regatta.
University of London Boat Club
This year competition between Brookes and University of London Boat Club is incredibly strong and it will be interesting to see how it translates from Head season into Regatta racing. UL won the University Pennant at Women’s Head of the River 2022, demonstrating a breadth of powerful athletes with the promise to place highly at BUCS Regatta. With a wealth of UL athletes recently performing incredibly well at the final stage of GB trials this month, it’s likely that the combination of athletes in this 8 represents the technical and physical peak of university athletes. There is also the potential for this crew to be fuelled by last year’s BUCS Regatta results, as they look to overturn the result of the 2021 final, having lost to Brookes by a second.
Edinburgh University Boat Club
Likely to be among the top three fastest crews in this division is Edinburgh University Boat Club. I imagine that Edinburgh will be looking to place above UL, having come second to them in the University Pennant at WEHORR, seven seconds behind overall. Edinburgh have been performing strongly this season, winning the Women’s Championship 8+ at BUCS Head earlier this year and I’m looking forward to seeing how they fare this coming weekend.
Cambridge University Boat Club
It would be unwise to overlook Cambridge University Boat Club as serious competitors for this division. With Cambridge winning the Boat Race 2022, it’s clear that this is a competitive crew. Their lack of presence from BUCS Head and WEHORR earlier this year means that it’s hard to know how they will fare against the other crews, however, with the depth and talent of their squad, it’s likely that they will make a strong play for the win. If this crew carries the full roster of light blue talent, and have retained some of their ferocious speed from early April, I expect to see them jostling for position at the top of the podium.
In addition to the above crews, I’m interested in seeing where Newcastle University Boat Club and Durham University Boat Club will place in comparison to one another. Newcastle managed to pip Durham at WEHORR this year by one second so it appears that the crews are evenly matched, which promises exciting racing. Moreover, I’m sure that Newcastle will be looking to boost their points in this division in order to repeat their win of the Victor Ludorum, as they did earlier this year at BUCS Head. Placing ten seconds behind Durham at WEHORR, Imperial College Boat Club are likely looking to close this gap and feature alongside Newcastle and Durham.
Prediction
Overall, I think that it’s likely that we’ll see that Brookes, UL and Cambridge (provided that crew resembles the Blue Boat) in the top three positions. However, I’m excited to see the pressure the other crews will bring to the race, and whether or not they will break into the top three positions.
BUCS Images credit: Drew Smith
Drew Smith Photography
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