In just a few days, we will see hundreds of rowers and boats descend on the iconic – and temperamental – National Watersports Centre in Nottingham for BUCS Regatta. For many competitors, BUCS Regatta represents not only the culmination of a hard year’s worth of training, but also the end of their competitive year and, for some, their last chance to race for their university. Over the course of the weekend, there will be drama, photo-finishes and loud celebrations, all of which will we hopefully see in this category.
University of Surrey BC
It only felt right to start this preview off with Surrey, who had a massive BUCS Regatta back in 2022. For anyone who was there, it felt as if the blue and gold of this university just couldn’t be stopped. Making many A finals and snagging lots of silverware, they had one of the standout performances of the weekend. I expect this crew to contribute to more of the same this year, with Surrey placing first in this category at BUCS Head earlier this year, and second at Fours Head way back before Christmas. Perhaps more compellingly, Surrey had the sixth-placing Women’s Intermediate Coxed Four in the A final last year, but came first and second in the Women’s Beginner Coxed Four. If they have managed to retain these athletes, this crew will be on my list for a top three finish.
Glasgow University BC
Glasgow is a university with an excellent women’s sweeping reputation, and they showed such prowess in their BUCS Head result in this category, walking away with second place. In previous years, they have been unable to translate this into a win at BUCS Regatta. That being said, if they can keep up this high standard, I could see them sneaking into an A final finish.
Newcastle University BC
Last year, Newcastle walked away with the silver medal in this category and, this year at BUCS Head, their Intermediate Four came third. Similarly, they had a strong Intermediate Eight that placed third – by the skin of their teeth – at last year’s BUCS Regatta. I say all this to point out the sweeping potential that many of us know Newcastle has up their sleeves. Whether they can do enough to fight their way into an A final, only time will tell.
Cambridge University BC
As always, when BUCS regatta rolls around, it is almost impossible to predict who will be representing Cambridge in these boats. It is safe to assume that there may be no Blue Boat athletes in the intermediate category. Despite this, history shows that their intermediate crews still perform well. Out of the two Blues, it was Cambridge that showed up in this category and nabbed that gold medal last year. I suspect they will be looking to retain that title, albeit with different athletes.
Oxford University Women’s BC
It feels as if you can’t mention one blue without the other, and Oxford have also decided to stack this event, entering four crews. They came fifth here in 2022, and will no doubt be looking to edge across that line in a medal position. While it would be naive to judge this crew solely on the Boat Race, as I’ve already stated, I am unsure as to whether these crews have it in them to get that gold. Ones to watch for sure, but based on the rest of the field it will be interesting to se what they can do.
Edinburgh University BC
As anyone who was present at BUCS Regatta last year will know, the baby blue army from across the border had a fantastic weekend. Winning the overall Victor Ludorum was the icing on the cake for Edinburgh, and I am anticipating another strong showing from them this year. They did not race this category at BUCS Head, but they came away from it with a bronze medal at last year’s Regatta. If one of their three crews can replicate this, I’m sure they will be looking to change that medal colour this weekend.
Notable Mentions
Intermediate Coxed Fours from St Andrews, Warwick, Birmingham and Bristol have all had good results this season and I would expect to see some strong crews coming out of those unis. Similarly, Exeter have had some success this year, with some positive results early on in the season, if they have managed to maintain this momentum I am interested to see what they can do. Queen’s University Belfast had the fourth placing beginner women’s four last year and, judging by their strong turn out last year, I would hope to see them putting up a good fight.
Prediction
This one is a little hard to call for two reasons. One: as always, BUCS Regatta throws us some curveballs, and often victory goes somewhere unexpected, or is a very tight battle. Two: as so many of these universities mentioned have fielded multiple boats into this category, it is difficult to know which one has played it right and will come out on top. However, I think that Surrey and Cambridge will be the ones to watch. Whatever happens, there is one thing I can say with absolute confidence – BUCS Regatta will always surprise us and this year will be no exception.
BUCS Image Credit: Drew Smith
Drew Smith Photography
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