This is the big one, the last hurrah before the proverbial hits the fan at HRR. For some, it will be a last-ditch attempt to pre-qualify and not have to go through the trepidations of Henley Qualifiers. For others it will be a chance to see where they fall in a crowded field, and if Wednesday could translate to Thursday or even the weekend. The eights field at Marlow is the largest of any category in the entire regatta with 87 entries, five more than the same event last year. With the top school and club rowing clubs from Britain and around the world competing for a chance at glory, Marlow Regatta 2023 should be a spectacle for the ages.
Oxford Brookes University BC
Thanks to their ability to produce crews that have speed enough to give some national eights cause for concern, Brookes has been the dominant force in British sweep rowing for some years. The maroon machine has churned out innumerable athletes for the national team and has captured the Men’s Championship Eight title at BUCS every year since 2013. Brookes’ famous depth (which famously produced eight men’s eights at Head of the River 2023 and had three eights in the top four) can be best highlighted by the fact that their second eight is stroked by European U23 bronze medalist Louis Nares.
Whilst it’s no secret that Brooks has an army of man mountains with excellent physical and technical rowing ability, Brookes’s season has been record-breaking thus far, and one would think that given they have three eights in the A-final of Open Eights at the Met that Brookes will be guaranteed a top three finish, and more likely than not will bring home the silverware.
Newcastle University BC
How the mighty have fallen. There was a time when Newcastle struck terror into the hearts of opponents, a time when a Newcastle crew could be almost assured of a Henley final, and where they occupied the highest echelons of British University rowing. To say that Newcastle has fallen short of this incredibly high standard this year would be a significant understatement. In fairness to them, they have had a decent head racing season, which saw a decent showing at BUCS Head (where the women finished second in the VL), followed by an equally solid HORR performance, with all eights finishing inside the top 100.
Then came BUCS Regatta. Newcastle has regularly done incredibly well at BUCS, picking up the VL in 2018 and finishing sixth overall last year. 2023 has seen a collapse in form, as the Blue Star slipped from sixth to 11th overall, below the likes of Queen’s, Bath and Nottingham, programmes which the Newcastle of yesteryear would have beaten with comparative ease.
With the one bright spark being their annihilation of Durham in the recent Boat Race of the North, and without rubbing unsavoury salt into an already gaping wound, Newcastle’s season has been far below par. Given this, eyebrows might be raised at Newcastle’s inclusion here. Their past failures will have made them anxious to salvage some positive results from this season. And, as results during the head season have demonstrated, a Newcastle first eight can still pack a punch
University of Bristol BC
A club that up until recently was known as a strong regional player, Bristol has transformed their programme into a bonafide championship contender following two strong seasons in 2023 and 2023. A 20th place for the first eight at Head of the River 2023 was followed by a solid BUCS campaign, albeit one that was short of medals. The Met proved a turning point, as Bristol’s two eights surged to be the second and fifth fattest academic crew in the open category respectively.
With Brookes being the out-and-out favourite for obvious reasons, and superstar Robbie Prosser having opted for smaller boats, Bristol has a real chance at doing fairly well here, especially considering they made the A-final in Men’s Championship Eight and B final in Men’s Intermediate Eight at BUCS. Provided they keep their wits about, they should do well.
Imperial College BC
Imperial has well and truly turned things around this season, after a fairly choppy couple of years that saw them lose their status as a high-performance centre, and their results drop them lower on the university rowing totem pole. Despite only collecting four medals at BUCS Regatta, Imperial came (numerically at least) within striking distance of a Men’s Championship Eight medal, which represents a return to eight’s success for the programme.
Imperial’s second eight had a slightly uninspiring performance finishing 11th and 26th in the time trial, and standing even the smallest chance of beating the heavy hitters of Brookes, they will need to be more technically proficient than they ever have been. Imperial appears to lack some of the depth they had in previous years so on balance, it seems more likely than not that they will not perform at the top level in this category.
Prediction
If I did not predict Brookes to win or at least come second, I think I would be in need of a surgical operation. Putting hyperboles aside, Brookes should win fairly smartly, with Bristol coming second and Newcastle and Imperial closing it out for third. Second, third and fourth should be fairly malleable so realistically any of those three could mount a challenge.
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