While the Championship categories are the fastest events, I would argue that the best racing at BUCS can often be found in the Intermediate Coxed Four section. In these events, the morning time trial can make or break your day. Last year, ten seconds separated the A/B semis from the ‘E’ final. This means that the racing is often very close and no doubt it will be the same this year.
Bristol University
As holders of this event, it would appear that Bristol have taken their top boats up into the Championship category. This will leave it up to their second crews to defend the title against some tough competition. While I am not sure they’ll have the horsepower to retain the crown, a second-placed finish at BUCS Head indicates that they should be able to make it into the A final at a minimum.
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes did not travel up to Newcastle for BUCS Head and we are yet to see much of them in any fours this year outside a few of their top athletes at Fours Head. The fact that they manged to get their seventh eight across the line ahead of any second student eight from any other university shows that there is, once again, serious depth across that whole program. Getting a coxed four up to speed is a very different challenge to an eight though and it wont necessarily be an easy cruise for Brookes. With three fours entered you would expect the A crew to be among the favourites.
Imperial
It was Imperial who took the win in Intermediate Coxed Fours at BUCS Head this year ahead of Bristol. The two-kilometre laned course is a very different challenge to that of a head race though, and with the likes of Brookes now entered, Imperial will be in a tough fight to the line.
Durham University
In 2022, Durham University were fastest qualifiers into the C final and just half a second off the A/B semis. Redemption is a curiously potent tool for motivation and there is no doubt they will be wanting to make amends and improve on their result from last year. 16th at BUCS Head shows they have some work to do but with the program back competing at the top table, they’re in a really promising position.
St Andrews University
Once again, Scottish crews will benefit from having already managed to get some racing under their belt at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta. This is the case for St Andrews who came away with the win in the equivalent category. They’ll face a tougher field as they travel south but there’s nothing quite like the taste of victory to boost confidence levels.
Newcastle University
A third-placed finish at BUCS Head om home water will give confidence to the Blue Star that they have the speed to get into the A final and contend for the win. After a frustrating couple of years, a few gold medals this weekend could prove to be a vital tonic approaching the business end of the season.
Glasgow University
Glasgow University’s fourth-place at BUCS Head was certainly one of the more surprising results. A recent win in the Open Coxless Four at the Scottish Spring regatta shows that they have retained this pace and could be an outside threat for the A Final.
Others
With so many different universities represented in this event it should be noted that there are some others that could produce some fast crews. Manchester University, Lancaster University and Southampton University will be represented in force with three entries each. UL also has two crews entered and having not entered in February, they are an unknown quantity. Nottingham University have a crew in the Championship Coxless Four category so it will be interesting to see how fast their two entries are in this event.
Predictions
It may be a boring prediction, but I am going to back Oxford Brookes to win. Imperial are in the hunt for a medal and we might also see a strong result here from Newcastle. For all crews, making that top twelve in the time trial will be the main obstacle that they will first have to pass before they can start thinking about the A final.
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