Fours Head is arguably the biggest head race this side of Christmas. It provides the first opportunity for clubs to test their speed in the bigger boats relative to their competitors over the famed 6.8 km Tideway course. This year, there are 14 crews entered into the Senior Academic Women’s Coxed Fours, including some very high calibre crews, which promises for some exciting racing.
University of London Boat Club
ULBC have consistently been one of the top performing university boat clubs in recent years and last season they had two boats qualify for the Island Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta with their ‘A’ boat making the semifinals. Three members of this crew raced as stern three in the ‘B’ boat – a combination that could come in handy given the length of the race. Their fourth rower was 34th U23 at the recent GB trials and they are coxed by Sophie Wrightson, an U19 World Championship gold and silver medallist. ULBC also have the advantage of racing on their home water which could prove very useful given that the Tideway is a notoriously difficult course to steer well. This could save them valuable seconds which could prove crucial in a tight field.
Durham University Boat Club
DUBC are another club at the fore of the domestic university rowing scene. Like ULBC, they had two boats racing in the Island Challenge Cup with their ‘A’ boat making the quarterfinals. This particular crew is spearheaded by Zoe McCutcheon, a University of Southern California graduate, who rowed in the Varsity eight all four years and recently came 29th at GB trials. Alongside her is Megan Hadfield who has won several national medals representing Shiplake College as a junior and also rowed in Durham’s first eight last year. On paper, this crew has the potential to be very quick and is possibly the crew to beat.
Oxford University Boat Club
OUBC have entered four boats into this category alone and their crews appear to be made up of a mixture of lightweight and openweight trialists. OUBC (E Dutton) contains two members of last season’s losing lightweight blue boat and will possibly be the fastest of the four crews. A strong performance at Fours Head could set them on the right track for Boat Race success and potentially their first win in the Lightweight Women’s Boat Race since it moved to the Tideway.
Cambridge University Boat Club
Unlike their boat race rivals, CUBC are rather absent from the entry list. However, they have decided to enter a boat into this category. This crew is made up of some of their lightweight trialists including returning blue Claire Cooper, who was in the two seat of last season’s victorious lightweight blue boat. Her experience could prove crucial in determining where this crew finishes.
Honourable Mentions
The University of East Anglia is not exactly a university known for its rowing prowess but this crew does have the potential to cause some upsets. They have already secured several wins at both Cambridge Winter Head and Star Club Head so it will be interesting to see if they can continue this form and get amongst the frontrunners this weekend. Imperial College Boat Club are another crew with home course advantage and will be looking to maximise this at the weekend. As a smaller program, they do not have quite the same depth as some of their competitors but should be looking to place well amongst this field. Queen’s University Belfast have entered two crews into this category and recently won several events at Lagan Autumn Head of the River and will be looking to continue this form at the weekend.
Prediction
It is very difficult to look past Durham. On paper, they would appear to have the fastest crew by a margin. However, I do expect them to be challenged by UL and possibly the crews from Oxford and Cambridge. Behind that, the field looks very even and placings could be decided by a matter of seconds.
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