Following the furore of juniors who flocked to this very course last weekend for National Schools’ Regatta, we return to Dorney Lake once again this weekend for the Metropolitan Regatta. Ever a popular event among schools, universities, and clubs as they begin their final countdown to Henley, Met Regatta is well known for hosting a high calibre of athletes across its two-day event. This year, the Women’s Club Coxed Four proves to be a popular category, and below I will offer some musings around the crews to keep our eyes on.
Agecroft RC
With a much longer journey down to Dorney to undertake compared to many of their competitors, this Agecroft crew will undoubtedly seek to ensure that their trip from Greater Manchester was not in vain. The mere fact they are competing in this category on Saturday and opting to upgrade to the Championship Coxed Four on Sunday is evidence of the power and sweep quality that will likely be supplied. With a consistently strong women’s programme and some local wins already secured, this crew will most likely make the final on Saturday and hope to disrupt the trend of winners hailing from clubs south of Birmingham. They are certainly ones to watch.
London RC
From Greater Manchester to Putney Embankment, we now turn to a club that has seen significant improvement in its women’s squad in recent years. With what appears to be the same crew competing in this event on both Saturday and Sunday, it is clear that the ladies of London RC are maximising their chances to progress to at least one if not both of the A finals. This will be a nice way for London to pit themselves against healthy competition ahead of a potential Henley Women’s or Henley Royal appearance, and they join Agecroft in my ‘ones to watch’ list across the weekend.
Marlow RC
A club that needs no introduction when it comes to historic success at Metropolitan Regatta is Marlow. Despite a relatively quiet season for the club’s senior squad when it comes to local wins and national appearances, I nonetheless foresee some strong performances from their ‘A’ and ‘B’ crews, who are both entered on both days.
Vesta RC
Fresh off the back of a speedy win 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack at Wallingford Regatta in the Women’s Challenge Coxed Fours, the Vesta ladies are also among the favourites for a win on Sunday. Often overlooked on the Tideway as they share their stretch with the infamously successful Thames and London, the Vesta women’s squad is certainly on an upward trajectory this season, and may give the likes of Marlow and London a real race down the track this weekend. Whether it will be enough to top the podium on Sunday remains to be seen.
Prediction
With eleven crews vying for a place in the six-boat final on Saturday, and an impressive thirteen aiming to do the same on Sunday, each win is anyone’s for the taking. On Saturday, I am willing to back the underdogs and predict Agecroft to take the win. Conversely, on Sunday, I would not be surprised to see Vesta right up there in the running alongside London and Marlow. That said, with other crews hailing from cities far and wide – Bristol, Dublin, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Oxford, and Reading to name a few – the competition could well be swung wide open on each race day.
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