With qualifiers as competitive as they have ever been – in a year with a huge record entry – we thought it was high time to take a look at the crews required to qualify for the student events in 2024. Our expert analysts have put together their bets on who they think will be making it through Friday’s time-trial, starting with the eights.
Temple Challenge Cup
TOTAL: 56
SUBJECT TO WITHDRAWALS THE FASTEST 16 CREWS WILL QUALIFY (28.57%)
Of all of Friday’s time trials, no event has more crews racing nor will any admit more to the Regatta, leaving a very open qualification for the Temple Challenge Cup.
Unusually, a decent number of overseas crews have been sent to qualifiers, but most should be confident of their eventual spot in the draw. Cornell University, U.S.A. bring a mixture of their first and second lightweight boats, both of which remained competitive throughout the dual racing season. From the Netherlands, the ‘B’ crews from ASR Nereus and DSR Laga will be treating this event as more of a formality before they go into the draw on Saturday.
On the domestic front, one crew who will be livid to be forced through the rigmarole of qualifiers is the University of Bristol. They were the fastest Temple-eligible crew on both days at the Metropolitan Regatta and lost that title only to the Brookes ‘A’ crew at Marlow Regatta. I wouldn’t be surprised if they produced such a great time on Friday that they are seeded in the draw.
Other top University crews that one should keep an eye out for include Birmingham, Exeter, Imperial College London or possibly even the University of York to qualify for back-to-back Temple Challenge Cups for the first time ever. The University of Oxford have an entry from a development crew made up of many members of their lightweight boat and unselected members of their blue boat squad, this could be worth looking out for on the stretch.
From the lower university crews, the vast majority of the domestic entrants gave a measure of their speed last weekend at Marlow Regatta. I would expect Oxford Brookes to complete their entry to get their ‘C’ and ‘D’ crews into the main field while the ‘B’ crews from the three northern performance centres are also up there.
Another band of crews to look out for is the second crews of school programs. Since the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is limited to one entry per institution, the speedy second and J16 eights from schools like St. Paul’s, Bedford, Eton and Radley could be in with a shout.
Finally, a word for the Norwegian School of Economic and Business Administration. They have been sitting at the bottom of the qualification results for many years but continue to return. This year, the boat is entered under their native name of Norges Handelshøyskoles Roklubb. Could this demonstrate a change in mindset that will lead to a competitive boat? Unlikely. But if they do manage to make the draw for the first time in 25 years: you heard it here first.
Crews I believe will qualify (alphabetical order):
Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Nereus ‘B’, Netherlands
Bedford School ‘A’
Cornell University, U.S.A.
Delftsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Laga ‘B’, Netherlands
Durham University ‘B’
Edinburgh University ‘B’
Exeter University ‘A’
Imperial College London ‘A’
Newcastle University ‘B’
Oxford Brookes University ‘C’
Oxford Brookes University ‘D’
Oxford University
St. Paul’s School
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol ‘A’
University of York
Island Challenge Cup
TOTAL: 34
SUBJECT TO WITHDRAWALS THE FASTEST 13 CREWS WILL QUALIFY (38.23%)
The Stewards have looked much more favourably upon UK crews for pre-qualification this year, with Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, and Newcastle joining the likes of UL, Brookes, and UVA with the pre-qualification spots. With 13 additional places up for grabs, I’d not be surprised to see the ‘B’ crews from some of the aforementioned UK institutions snap up their tickets to the first round. I also hope to see the Universities of Exeter and Bristol pick up a qualification spot after both suffered harsh defeats to Brookes at HWR, along with Rhode Island, Iowa, and Southern Methodist College (SMU) who equally all showed significant promise last weekend. I’m on the fence about the University of Oxford, as I expect they’ll probably be bumped down the rankings by UL ‘B’, Newcastle ‘B’, and Brookes ‘B’ and ‘C’ – potentially also Edinburgh and Newcastle given their recent strong performances. The only Dutch crew without a prequalification, I expect to see G.S.R. ‘Aegir’ come out all guns blazing to try and dominate the ranks early on, leaving just a couple of spots up for grabs through the middle ranks of these crews.
Prince Albert Challenge Cup
TOTAL: 9
SUBJECT TO WITHDRAWALS THE FASTEST 4 CREWS WILL QUALIFY (44%)
After a disappointing entry of just 17 crews, the Stewards have decided to reduce the Prince Albert from the usual 16 boats down to 12. Eight crews have been prequalified meaning that the nine racing qualifiers will be whittled down to just four. As odds go, nearly 50% is pretty good for a qualifiers race!
Immediately, Oxford Brookes can be given one of those spots. On paper, they’re the second quickest crew in the country and shouldn’t really have to go through this qualification process. Another berth will likely head in the direction of Cornell University. Despite being lightweights and mostly rowing in Big Red’s second eight, Cornell wouldn’t waste a trip on a crew that struggled for speed. The University of London’s ‘B’ boat showed enough speed at Marlow Regatta and put enough time into qualifying rivals like East Anglia and Edinburgh ‘B’ to suggest they should squeak into the main draw. The final slot will either be heading north of the border to the baby blue army or to to the plucky school boys of Canford School, who certainly shouldn’t be overlooked after picking up a bronze medal in this boat class at the National Schools’ Regatta.
Here are the four crews that I believe find themselves most likely to qualify in alphabetical order:
Canford School
Cornell University, USA
Oxford Brookes University ‘B’
University of London ‘B’
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