And just like that we find ourselves only a few days out from our second run down
the championship course. Chiswick to Putney is another 6.8km on one of the most
challenging head courses in world rowing. With the dust settled after Pairs Head,
adequate time has been given in these larger boats to find the speed they will now
want to demonstrate, and with ten crews from five clubs I am sure it is going to be a
competitive field once again. There is more than just the external kudos of winning
the whole event on the line, as with three of the five clubs entering more than one crew,
internal bragging rights are also on offer.
University of London
On paper this is UL’s event to take, as a large-scale high-performance club that is
consistently performing well at some of our biggest competitions, on its home stretch
of water. When you see their name on the start order you expect big things and with
only one crew entered this year it stands to reason that it will be the strongest
combination they are capable of fielding.
Imperial College London
Leading the way with four entries is the Putney club in their distinctive blue, black
and silver. In comparison to other university level programs IC is on the smaller side
but this has never stopped them from producing some outstanding crews over the
years. To have sixteen athletes in this category alone, it makes sense to think they
have big things planned for the season. They will be looking to take advantage of
the home water and intra-club competition to take the win here.
University of Oxford
There are not many clubs that have a better connection to the championship course
and the clock is ticking until OUBC take to the water for the 2025 Boat Race. With a
fresh coaching team, this will be one of our first opportunities to see any change in
action. The Tideway is always a test, even for our most experienced crews, and the
athletes that make up these two crews will undoubtedly have one eye on the Boat
Race and want to use this weekend’s racing to put a gold star next to their
name by logging a strong performance.
Nottingham University
A top intermediate program with championship ambitions that has been on the rise
ever since the return of Ade Roberts, Nottingham had a relatively strong season last
year but will feel like there is still a lot more work to do. With two crews entered this
year they certainly could be one to watch.
University of Liverpool
Avid followers of this event will notice that this is the third year in a row Liverpool has
entered the Academic Coxless Four: though this includes the cancelled event last year, they obviously have a plan for how this event factors into their season-long development. It will be interesting to see how this intermediate program does against some of the bigger university programs.
Predictions
When it comes to taking home the silverware it is hard to look past University of London, with its combination of being a big program with lots of entries and the home field advantage. Wild card winner and likely second place goes to Oxford University and their fresh coaching team. I would really like to
see a good fight between Imperial College (A) and Nottingham (D) for the third-place spot.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
