During the frantic activity of the first day of BUCS regatta, spectators will be treated to a festival of sculling as seven of Britain’s finest young scullers will compete for the open championship title and be crowned the top university sculler in the country. The graduation of Aidan Thompson ensures that there will be a new victor in Nottingham this weekend.
Reading University
The top returning sculler from last year’s cohort is Josh Lyon of Reading University, silver medallist last time round. As one of the standout scullers in 2023, he placed second again, this time to Will Young, on the Sunday of the Metropolitan regatta, before sitting in the bow of the Reading Prince of Wales quad, losing to the Dutch U23 crew. This season, he has not been a part of the trials process but that has not stopped him accumulating honours in the single scull. He placed ninth overall and was the top U23 at the Scullers Head before winning the historic Wingfield Sculls over the same course. As he wasn’t at Caversham there is less recent form to judge him on in the small boat, but he will back himself to go one better and clinch the university crown this year.
University of Edinburgh
The only other returner for last year’s A-Final is Josh Matthews of Edinburgh University. Fourth place in 2023, he has a great history alongside Lyon, placing third on the Sunday at Metropolitan regatta before losing to the eventual champions in a Prince of Wales quad. Unlike Lyon, Matthews has represented Great Britain, having been in the quad at the junior world championships in 2022 and the same boat class at the European U23s in 2023. At this year’s final trials he made it to the A-Final, finishing as the third U23 in the field. He will be hoping to build on this and fight for the top of the podium this weekend, having been removed from the eight to compete in this event.
Reading University
The other sculler from Reading is Matt Long. Having been briefly involved in the 2023 trials process as a lightweight, he returned in 2024 with a vengeance. Placing 14th in February despite catching debris in his fin, he announced himself on the scene as he triumphed against the entire non-Olympic field at the final trials in April. Long rowed in the quadruple scull at the 2022 junior world championships alongside Matthews and since joining Reading, he has won gold at BUCS Head in their first quad. This weekend presents an opportunity to add to his collection of BUCS golds and he will be hoping to start the weekend here on that track.
Hartpury College
Another newcomer to the top table, Hartpury’s Elliot Donovan-Davies was a member of the British coupe team in 2023, winning two silver medals in the quad. In Hartpury on a foundation year prior to enrolling at Stanford after the summer, Donovan-Davies made a statement in Boston, finishing as the second fastest U23 and the fastest university athlete at February trials. Overtaken by some of the others mentioned above in April, he will be looking to set the record straight at what looks likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a championship BUCS medal.
Durham University
Part of an all-conquering Windsor Boys quad in his schoolboy days, Charlie Warren has not had quite the sustained success since joining Durham University. However, after a year in the second eight, he has moved into the first eight, winning championship gold in that category at BUCS Head. He also trialed for the British team, aiming to build on his Team England selection as a junior. At trials, he performed better in February’s 5km time trial than the regatta in April, but he will be looking to build on that performance this weekend against many of the same faces. He provisionally will be doubling up in the eight on Saturday and it may be a challenge for him to perform at his best in both events, but he will be aiming to reach both A-Finals and then see what he can achieve once there.
University of Bath
After graduating two of their flagship scullers last year, the hopes for the University of Bath lie on the shoulders of Angus Pollock. Selected to the 2022 U23 European championships before having to withdraw through injury, Pollock returned to the trials process, finishing as the fifth U23 in both February and April. Pollock occasionally wears the colours of the UK Armed Forces Boat Club, but the aerospace engineering student will be flying the flag for the rising University of Bath program as he will be hoping for a strong A-Final showing. The Performance Development Academy athlete is more than capable of achieving that if he performs at his highest level.
University of Derby
The only boat entered in the whole regatta from the University of Derby, Ollie Hanks has given himself the admirable challenge of competing against the best university scullers in the country. He has raced in the lightweight ranks in previous years as he won silver in the intermediate lightweight single in 2022 and fourth in the championship equivalent twelve months later. This year the Derby RC athlete will be testing himself among the heavyweights of British university rowing. With no trials appearances nor many major single sculling results this season, he comes in as somewhat of a wildcard as the remainder of the field know each other very well. He will be wanting to shake things up and see if he can put himself in the mix in a potential A-Final.
Prediction
At the front of the pack, I cannot look past the Reading University scullers as I think it will likely be a one-two for the sculling-focused program. Lyon has stated his ambition to do the triple crown of championship sculling golds, but I think it will be Matt Long who wins the first leg of that on Saturday. Josh Lyon will have to settle for silver and having Long in his boat for the rest of the weekend, while Josh Matthews’ strong performance at Caversham suggest he will be the most likely to pick up bronze.
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