A quartet of quads is the theme here. With only four boats entered into this year’s Women’s Championship Quad event, the ladies representing Durham, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Nottingham universities will undoubtedly give us an exciting display of sculling prowess in their bid to claim one of the three spots up for grabs on the podium. Quality over quantity is certainly the impression given by these crews across the board.
Durham University
With Durham entries spanning the majority of the categories across the weekend, and many athletes therefore doubling or tripling up with events, it comes as no surprise that those sporting Palatinate purple are once again bringing a women’s championship quad to Holme Pierrepoint. Second to Edinburgh in this event at BUCS Head back in February, it will be interesting to see if this Durham crew can take one step further over a 2,000-metre sprint to overcome their Scottish rivals and claim the desirable gold this season.
Edinburgh University
As mentioned above, based on their previous winning performances such as that of BUCS Head in this very event, Edinburgh University are likely the favourites to take home the gold once again at this 2021-2022 Regatta. Boasting a dominant performance programme year on year, the Edinburgh women’s squad is never short of talent, particularly in sculling. Looking back into the archive, we also saw Edinburgh top the podium in this very event at BUCS Regatta 2021, for example. Whatever the combination racing here, it will be swift and tough to beat as Edinburgh look to retain their golden age of success in women’s championship quads.
Newcastle University
Another crew hailing from the northern university scene is that of Newcastle University. No strangers to medals in women’s sculling events at BUCS, I am not surprised to see yet another powerful combination of Blue Star ladies rising to the challenge of claiming a medal here in championship quads. Stroked by local powerhouse Eve Larsen, this Newcastle crew will undoubtedly look to disrupt Edinburgh’s winning streak on race day. Ever a high performing university at BUCS, I have little doubt that one of the medals will go to this crew, though the colour of which remains yet to be determined.
Nottingham University
Last but certainly not least, this Nottingham University quad should not be overlooked amidst the above-mentioned trio of traditional high performers at BUCS Regatta. Benefiting from home advantage, Nottingham will likely seek to build on their fifth-place finish at BUCS Head back in February and make that mighty climb up into a podium position.
Prediction
The beauty of an event with such a small pool of entries is the lack of predictability that comes with it. Based purely on track record this season and the dominance of the individuals competing in this crew, I foresee an Edinburgh gold medal on the day. Nevertheless, it would be naive to say that the Edinburgh ladies will have a seamless run down the track, and they will certainly be met with gutsy performances from Durham, Newcastle, and Nottingham alike. Will Edinburgh be able to hold strong and solidify their season-long dominance, or will they just lose out to one of their English university rivals? I can’t wait to find out.
BUCS Images credit: Drew Smith
Drew Smith Photography
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