With BUCS Regatta just a few days away, it signals the start of the end of the 23/24 season for our university clubs. Exam periods are about to kick off, as well as the starting gun for the summer racing season and arguably our busiest time in the university rowing calendar. While there are undoubtedly still a few stops along the way, we could see some of these athletes lining up at Henley Royal Regatta in just a few short months.
BUCS Regatta’s intermediate events provide an excellent platform for so many to show the products of all those long winter miles. As many of us know, the National Water Sports Centre is temperamental at best, and to succeed in this intermediate singles event, competitors will need to show their endurance, explosive power and fine boat skills, if they are to be successful in what looks to be a highly competitive field. At the time of writing, there were 99 entries, and it was not possible to preview all of them. Undoubtedly there will be some upsets and some surprises, for some it might just not be their day and for others, the prize is there to be taken.
Last year saw the gold medal go to Queen’s Belfast and with six entries in this year’s event, they must be looking to try and retain their title, especially since last year’s winner Fergus Bryce is returning. The University of Reading will be looking to climb a few places into the medal positions after missing out by exactly one second last year. They can take confidence in their ability to do so after taking the gold in the championship quads as well as the intermediate quad at BUCS Head back in February.
With entries from other top clubs such as Edinburgh, Durham, Nottingham, Oxford Brooks and rising stars in intermediate sculling Loughborough, this year’s event looks like it is not set to disappoint.
Queen’s University Belfast BC
If the results from last year’s regatta and this year’s BUCS Head are anything to go off then Fergus Bryce and Ronan Gibbon stand a fantastic chance of taking some silverware back across the Irish Sea. This season they are battle-tested in the university arena, after putting in a strong performance on the Tyne to take the silver in the championship quads. Gibbon is a top-level sculler, having stroked the Irish U19 quad to a junior world championship A-final back in 2021 and will have his eyes firmly set on the podium. Bryce, the bow seat of the very same crew, has a similar pedigree but as the returning champion with another year’s worth of training under his belt, I would expect he is confident that he can defend his title.
Reading University BC
Ryne Robson and Robbie Collen are two of 13 scullers entered by Reading University BC that are worth looking out for, seven of which picked up medals at BUCS Head. It seems that Reading have gone big in this year’s intermediate single, so is it possible they dream of an all-Reading A-final? I would say that Robson and Cullen look to be the strongest medal contenders of the pack. Occupying the middle seats of the very impressive quad that stormed to championship victory back in February, both will have medal aspirations but with Cullen clocking in as the 13th-fastest U23 sculler at GB’s April trials, he might just have the edge.
Bath University BC
The only sculler to be entered from Bath University BC, Joe Stobbs must be the pick of the crop. Having spent his time at Bath under the watchful eyes of Dan Harris, he has put the miles in and knows how to move a small boat. Last summer he represented England in the senior double at the Home International Rowing Regatta (HIRR), coming away with the gold. There is going to be fierce competition for these podium places, but Stobbs certainly has the CV for the task.
Loughborough Student RC
Results over the last few seasons show that Loughborough University are one of the up-and-coming intermediate clubs. Featuring Alex Knighton, their quad defeated crews including Queen’s Belfast, Nottingham and Reading C to the bronze medal spot in the intermediate category at BUCS Head. Knighton sat in the three-seat of that quad and will presumably want to add to his BUCS 2024 medal haul. Spaces in the A-final will be hard to come by but he stands a good chance of squeezing himself into this one and from there, anything can happen.
Predictions
This is by no means a complete list of all those who will end up competing for the men’s intermediate single come regatta weekend, but it certainly includes some of the favourites. Fergus Bryce has a proven record in this competition so is my favourite for the gold. If anyone can take it from his grasp, it will be Collen of Reading, with Gibbon of Queen’s taking the bronze.
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