***THIS CATEGORY HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE EVENT ROSTER***
We’re keeping the preview online as a speculation on what could have happened…
As one of the wettest head race seasons in recent memory comes to an end, many university crews will be looking to inaugurate their regatta season at one of the largest events in the UK. BUCS Regatta always attracts a plethora of crews from seasoned champs to novices. The intermediate lightweight quadruple sculls are a brilliant display of the capabilities of lightweights in a changing world of rowing that is slowly phasing them out.
University of Nottingham
Competing on home waters will definitely help to ease the nerves of this rapidly improving boat club. One of the University of Nottingham’s greatest strengths is their ability to fill every boat class, which will act as a reminder to other boat clubs they’re on Notts territory! They have a great history of success in lightweight events (see Olivia Bates’s gold medal-winning performance in the lightweight women’s single sculls at World Cup 1) and this success is often club-wide, as they finished in second place at BUCS Head in this category. In doing so, they have put themselves in a great position to be victorious this weekend.
Queen’s University Belfast
Based in Northern Ireland, QUBBC has gained a solid reputation on both sides of the Irish sea. At BUCS Head, QUBBC claimed third place in this boat class, giving them a strong platform to go off. Arriving in Nottingham as holders of this category, they’ll be reluctant to relinquish the trophy in any hurry and it’s hard to write off a Queen’s crew at BUCS Regatta.
Predictions
With QUBBC taking the win in this event last year, a sensible estimation would be for them to be in top spot this year too. Given they were soundly beaten by both Reading and Nottingham at BUCS Head in February though, it is fair to say the gold medal is not by any means stamped for postage. The field is rounded off with entries from Exeter and Lancaster, and while these universities don’t have the same kind of sculling reputation as Nottingham and Queen’s, they could have focussed their attentions on these categories for a reason and may yet surprise us.
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