For all of these rowers, this will be the first time racing the 6.8 kilometre Championship Course. Often challenging for even the best of rowers, this will surely be a tough race for the academic beginner eights come Saturday. Last year’s event was won by Liverpool, who look to have entered the university category, as they are no longer classed as beginners.
Imperial College BC
Imperial have a strong history of producing fast rowers, with large numbers of their beginners progressing over the years to eventually get into the top crews. I’d assume this year to be no different, based off their third place in Men’s Beginner Eights at BUCS Head.
University College London BC
Another programme which brings many into the sport of rowing, University College London have two eights in the Academic Beginner category. Based in the busy University of London Boathouse, these crews have the advantage of being surrounded by fast rowers from UL. Hopefully, via osmosis, some of this talent has seeped into the UCL crews to ensure a good performance on Saturday.
University of Surrey BC
A club which has progressed a lot in recent years, the University of Surrey have entered the Academic Beginner event. Under the expert tutelage of head coach Sam Tuck, these rowers will have progressed a lot in the last few months and should be ready for the large test that is HoRR. Surrey also won the Men’s Beginner Eights at BUCS Head, so already have some good experience.
University of East Anglia BC
Located on the outskirts of Norwich, the University of East Anglia is one of the top beginner rowing programmes in the UK. Each year they train large numbers of novices on the River Yare. As they haven’t raced much yet, it’s hard to predict their performance except by stereotype, which for UEA beginners, is fairly decent.
University of Bristol BC
Forty seconds behind Surrey at BUCS Head, Bristol seemed slightly off the pace. However, Bristol do usually produce fast novices, and as beginners can improve fairly quickly, I would expect this crew to be in the top few beginners on Saturday.
University of Swansea BC
Situated on the River Tawe, the University of Swansea have so far not raced much this season. While being an up and coming programme, these novices may lack the inspiration that comes with seeing club mates winning and performing well. However that’s not to say they won’t perform well on Saturday.
University of Warwick BC
Not the biggest university rowing team, the University of Warwick are fresh off a fourth place performance at BUCS Head. They must have recruited some talented novices, who could go on to perform very well the the future. The question now is, have they have improved enough to overturn the 29 second gap at BUCS Head?
Prediction
Overall, I predict a win for Surrey. They were 12 seconds ahead of second place at BUCS Head, so have some margin for error. However, with their significant tideway experience, Imperial could be close, or even take the win. I would the expect Warwick to place third.
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