BUCS Regatta is often time the pinnacle of the racing season for university programmes. It gives athletes of all abilities a chance to showcase what they have spent all those difficult and gruelling winter months building. Many crews in the smaller boat classes, such as the doubles, will have more than one chance to race over the weekend. With many universities choosing to enter multiple crews, this year the intermediate doubles has over 70 entries, making the precious few final spots even more elusive. The multiple entry tactic can also often lead to crews not only facing competition from other clubs, but from within their own system.
Reading – Fuller & Ingham
Due to Readings depth and number of entries I will separate their entries. The first, and on paper fastest, combination of their array of intermediate doubles entered is Tommy Fuller and Charlie Ingham, both of whom are no strangers to racing at high levels. Fuller was a part of the bronze medal-winning intermediate double at BUCS Regatta 2023, and now with his new partner, Ingham who is a Windsor Boys School alumni, he will no doubt be hoping they will be able to push up the podium. Ingham’s boat also came second to another Reading crew in the intermediate quads at BUCS Head this year, with the Alfie Wynter and his boat following them in tenth.
Reading – Wynter & Ingham
Rounding out the Reading crews for this preview is the includes the other of the Ingham siblings, Jake Ingham and Alfie Wynter. This pairing has spent large portion of the season together racing in a quad, at BUCS Head they managed to just about navigate the mud flats, and race through to a podium place. Their speed is clear to see, with Wynter in his first year fresh from a gap year racing in New Zealand and Ingham with bags of experience from his time with Windsor Boys, they are a force to be reckoned with.
Royal Holloway University Boat Club
Sculler Harry Ruinet leads his fellow Royal Holloway team mates in one of two doubles entered here. As a very established single sculler, Ruinet has performed well over the past year. He was a member of the U19 Worlds quad that finished second and more recently raced himself to a ninth overall and sixth U23 finish at the April Trials. There is clearly potential for an excellent result from Ruinet and his crew, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against the bigger programmes this weekend.
Durham – Morgan-Jones & Richards
While Durham are more well-known for their work on the sweep side of rowing, they are also no stranger to having accomplished scullers within their ranks and they will look to make the most of it here. With Richards having learnt to row at Notts County RA who train at Holme Pierrepoint he will be used to the rough conditions that can be thrown at you. Once this is combined with Morgan-Jones’s sculling pedigree, as he had a successful junior career for Hereford Cathedral School, they should be difficult to beat.
Notable Mentions
Queen’s University Belfast have one entry in this category, and they are coming into the race as the holders of the silver medal from 2023. Their current pedigree in the sculling events is high, and this double will be out to prove they have what it takes to turn silver into gold. But if we’re mentioning last years podium finishers then I have to throw in the two doubles from current title holders, Bath University. Based off the fact that they have an obvious stellar history in this event I would hope either of these Bath combinations could pull out a good result.
Predictions
The fun part. With so many quality entries into this event it is difficult to predict the A final, not least where the medals will go. I would predict the Fuller/Inghams combination at the front of the A final with the second combination from Reading fighting the ‘best of the rest’. However, the Royal Holloway crews are a strong outside pick.
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