Holders: Brown University, USA
Entries: 44
The Island Challenge Cup is another of the women’s events introduced in 2021 to Henley Royal Regatta which has flourished; with 44 entries this year, the event continues to prove there was a strong demand for a women’s student eights event at the Regatta and the standard looks to be red hot this year. While still a new event for the regatta the eligibility criteria for the Island is still far more relaxed than their open counterpart the Temple. While that is likely to change in the future, in the interim the standard of The Island has the potential to be truly extraordinary and seems to be attracting an impressive array of talent from overseas. The nature of NCAA rules means that defending champions Brown University have not returned, however, it’s still looking like many of the strongest contenders may come from across the pond.
Stanford University
Stanford University reigned supreme at this year’s NCAA’s back in May, with both their 1V and 2V winning their respective divisions. It’s their 2V who look set to travel to Henley, but with such a high standard across their squad this year, they’ll be strong contenders for the title. Stanford’s presence as the current NCAA overall title winners is hugely exciting for the Regatta and shows that the Island is attracting the top US collegiate clubs to make the trip while the event is still in its relative infancy.
University of Pennsylvania
Another of the top American crews of this year set to grace the Henley course are the University of Pennsylvania. They’re entering two crews in the Island, including their 1V who this season finished fourth in the NCAA grand final. They’re stacked with talent, including Australian Samantha Morton, who has a gold medal from the coxed four at the 2022 World U23 Rowing Championships, and former USA under 23 international Josie Konopka. They were knocked out in the semi-finals of Henley Women’s Regatta and will hope to improve on this showing come the beginning of the Island Challenge Cup.
Oxford Brookes University
The strongest UK university in women’s sweep rowing in recent years has been Oxford Brookes University. They have an impressive four crews entered – a testament to the strength and depth of their women’s program. Brookes ‘A’ were the first winners of this event back in 2021 when the field was a domestic one in a year still overshadowed by Covid. Last year saw the arrival of the big American crews, and they were knocked out on the Saturday by eventual winners Brown University. After winning both Championship and Academic Eights at Henley Women’s Regatta, they’ll view reaching the semi-finals as a minimum requirement and will likely be looking to go one better than last year to race on the Sunday for a chance to regain the cup.
Princeton University
Next in the line-up of American crews is Princeton University. The Tiger’s first crew have entered the Remenham Challenge Cup, meaning their Island eight contains smatterings of their second eight and a few athletes from other boats. The 2V finished fifth at the NCAA’s this year. They’ll be relishing the opportunity to line up against the crews they faced back in May in the NCAA’s, this time in a one-on-one environment, along with the chance to see how they measure up against the top UK university crews.
University of Texas
The University of Texas had been one of the dominant forces in women’s rowing in recent years with back-to-back NCAA titles in 2021 and 2022, so it’s great to see them heading to Henley this year. 2023 has by their own admission been a more disappointing season for them, with their top eight finishing outside the medals in fifth place in the NCAA grand final. Both their 1V and 2V are racing at Henley Royal, with their 2V – minus a couple of omissions – their entry for the Island. That crew finished sixth at the NCAA’s, just behind Princeton. Combined with Stanford’s entry, there’s the potential for some intriguing rematches between these boats depending on how the draw falls.
Others
There’s a host of other crews travelling from the States, including two entries from Radcliffe Crew of Harvard University, Georgetown University, Northeastern University and Syracuse University. They’re unlikely to challenge the top American entries previewed above, but it will be interesting to see how they line up against a host of UK entries, and even to see if all can make it through qualifiers into the main regatta. Rounding out the international entries are two crews from the Netherlands, Algemene Utrechtse Studenten Roeivereniging Orca, and Roeivereeniging Studenten Vreie Universiteit Okeanos. Aside from Brookes, the top performing UK universities this year have been University of London, Durham University and Edinburgh University, but they’ll need to make a big step up to be challenging the likes of Penn, Stanford and Brookes. Intriguingly, Oxford University Women’s Boat Club have entered three eights, with the ‘A’ line-up very similar to this year’s Blue Boat. Although they lost the Boat Race this year, it was close run for the first 2k or so, which may have influenced their decision to stay together for the regatta season. Don’t expect them to be amongst the main challengers, but their performance could be an interesting indication of how they’ve stepped on and their intentions building into their next Boat Race campaign.
Predictions
Stanford University have had a great season, and their 2V has a brilliant shot of going deep into the competition. However, the University of Pennsylvania’s choice to enter their 1V is a big statement of intent, and they look set to be the favourites, especially with Princeton University and The University of Texas’ 1V’s entered in the Remenham Challenge Cup rather than the Island. Oxford Brookes are almost certain to be the top UK entry. They have had a good season, with wins at BUCS and the Saturday of Met so far, but their dominance on the UK scene is now almost a given. It will matter to Brookes that they do well against the American crews if they are to confirm themselves as one of the top performing student programs across the globe, and more broadly to continue to offer a place for top GB junior talent to consider, as the pull of the American universities becomes ever greater.
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