The Women’s Intermediate Coxed Four is an extremely popular event this year at BUCS Regatta and, with an impressive 81 entries, the event will showcase the variety of rising talent on the university circuit, especially for athletes who may have been hindered by a COVID-limited 2021 season. It is hard to theorise the success of crews without knowing its members and their respective pedigrees, however boat club reputations and past results may help fill the gaps.
Newcastle University BC
Newcastle have entered three crews in full force for the intermediate fours, following an impressive first and fourth-placed finish in the same category earlier this year at BUCS Head, winning in a time of 19:16.9. They then followed this up with three crews at the Head of the River, came away second, fourth and ninth in their respective divisions. Assuming these women have Tideway racing experience, Newcastle will be a strong contender, hoping to retain their BUCS Head performance and better a narrow fourth-placed finish last season.
Imperial College London BC
Imperial have a history of success in women’s sweep, with the intermediate crews being no exception to that rule. The boat club has been decisive in the development of new talent, as they were able to demonstrate by placing fourth in the Beginner Academic event at WEHORR. Placing second at BUCS Head, the crew will be eager to bridge the final frontier to gold.
Warwick University BC
With two crews on the roster, I am intrigued to see what the women of Warwick University will be able to achieve. In recent years they have developed a level of prominence and even achieved an eighth-place finish in the Challenge Academic Eights at WEHORR (an impressive feat given the standard of university rowing). I would suggest the girls from the eight may comprise these two fours, and as such provide an impressive suite of racing calibre.
University of London BC
With only one crew, UL will be returning to retain last year’s title, where they achieved a historic one-two, a whole seven seconds ahead of fierce rivals Oxford Brookes. victory is a heavy burden to bear so it will be interesting to see what sort of performance the UL crew will produce in Nottingham.
Others
Post Boat Race, the Oxbridge crews have come out in full force for Sunday’s event, with seven crews entered between them: four from Cambridge and three from Oxford. Considering this, the respective boat clubs will be hard to ignore and shouldn’t be dismissed – reserve crews from each would often be competitive against the fastest club crews in the UK. Surrey and St Andrews, universities who have garnered a lot of positive recognition in the last few years, have also followed suit, each entering three boats.
Prediction
Given the performance of Newcastle at BUCS Head in February, I see them as a strong contender for the gold medal; the challenge is most likely to come from UL, Oxford and Cambridge. I look forward to the showcase of racing.
BUCS Images credit: Drew Smith
Drew Smith Photography
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