With lightweight rowing falling in popularity and opportunities to compete dwindling, BUCS Regatta offers the largest domestic stage for lightweight men to compete. It’s an opportunity squads across the country seize and remains an opportunity for programs not often seen at the front of open weight events to challenge for medals and wins.
Men’s Championship Lightweight Single
Two of last year’s podium finishers return to fight for the BUCS Championship once again, along with the twelve BUCS points for their home institution. Ben Parsonage of Strathclyde University came in second twelve months ago, seven and a half seconds ahead of Ciaran Purdy of Queen’s University Belfast, who will also be in Nottingham this year. He is joined by his teammate Hugh Moore, who will be a force to be reckoned with after picking up a silver medal in the Lightweight Double at the U23 World Rowing Championships. Also worth noting is Ollie Hanks of the University of Derby, who placed second in the Intermediate event last year and has so far been performing well in the GB Trials process.
Men’s Intermediate Lightweight Single
Always a curious mixture of lightweight devotees and those forced to usually race open weight, the Intermediate singles offer up unique and exciting racing. This event has returners including seven of the top twelve finishers last year, notably James Foley of Queen’s University Belfast, Joseph Bates of Reading University and Sam Taylor of Cambridge University, all A-Finalists at the 2022 regatta.
They are joined by scullers who have notable achievements elsewhere. Jack Norton of Bath University was the top-placed U23 Single Sculler at the February Trials and will be looking to continue those strong results. Another name to look out for is Kyle Sutherland of the University of Bristol, who last summer won the Junior Single Sculls at the Scottish Rowing Championships.
Men’s Championship Lightweight Double
With the highest entry of any championship lightweight event this weekend, the Lightweight Double Sculls may be hotly contested, but the clear favorites in this event are Queen’s University Belfast. Dan Moore steps up into a Queen’s boat that comfortably won ahead of the British Lightweight double that raced here last year. Without a doubt, this crew will be tough to beat.
Other crews worth looking out for include two from Cambridge University, with all four of the athletes coming from the boat that won the Lightweight Boat Race on the Tideway this March. Crews from Edinburgh University may have some speed as there has been a consistent strengthening of the lightweight senior team in the club. So too, Strathclyde University has a traditionally strong men’s lightweight program and while their biggest star is not entered in this event, they will still have some talent.
Men’s Intermediate Lightweight Quad
With only an Intermediate event offered for the Lightweight Quads, the talent on show in this event remains top quality. Queen’s University Belfast, like in the other lightweight events, brings a high-quality lightweight program. So too will the Scottish programs such as Strathclyde University and Edinburgh University that are always at the sharp end of proceedings. Oxford University’s lightweight separate structure has received criticism since their disappointing Boat Race results, but their focus will have been on BUCS since mid-march, and they will want to be in or around the front half of the field this weekend. This event has a far smaller entry last year and the lack of major lightweight events makes it tough to measure quality of some of the crews but all eight entries will fancy themselves to challenge the others for glory and Victor Ludorum points.
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