Reading Amateur Regatta is run along the reach of the river Thames by Caversham and is for all intents and purposes a tune-up regatta. Running along a 1500m course on Saturday and a 1000m course on Sunday, it’s not the same length as a standard 2000m course but does give a certain excitement due to its sprint nature. With a large proportion of the entries made up of local schools and universities, before the invasion of foreign crews before Henley Royal and Henley Women’s, events are ripe for a new unknown to come and snatch a win.
Open Coxed Fours
After a showing at National Schools’ that fell somewhat short of the high standards they have set in recent years, Eton will look to have a strong showing in this event with a four entered which will have to beat Wallingford and Reading RC for the overall win.
Reading came within a whisker of winning this event last year but fell to University of Bristol, obviously returning with the aim of bettering that result. They had a decent result at the recent Metropolitan Regatta, where they made the D-final, a good showing considering that the championship, club, academic and school events were combined. Reading has a bye to the final in this event, which could make a difference if the first round between Wallingford and Eton is close.
Reading also has boats entered in the B section of this event alongside UCL, Birmingham, Bath, and Vesta. 2023 really seems to have been Bath’s year off the back of the best BUCS Regatta in their history just under a month ago. Vesta has also made good on decent early season results, making the A final of Open Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta. Bath’s strength would appear to be more in sculling than sweep, and without discounting the stellar season they are having, I would back Vesta to take the title home this time around.
A similar roster of entries will take to the water on Sunday, with the addition of a crew from Imperial College BC. Depending on where this crew stacks up in the club’s overall hierarchy, they could be a good shout to take the win on Sunday.
Open Coxless Fours
Once again, the fours see a battle between two different shades of blue, as Reading RC does battle with Eton and Staines. Having only raced in eights at NSR 2023, it will be interesting to see if Eton can translate the relative success they’ve had in the larger boats into smaller sweep boats.
Reading, like their compatriots at Reading University, has a strong focus on sculling and whilst this should not denigrate the quality of their sweep, I would back Eton to get the job done here. Staines only fielded a single boat in last year’s regatta, where they were they were soundly beaten by East India so at least on previous form, one would not expect them to challenge for the title.
The Sunday event will be competed by two crews from Imperial College, one from Northampton, and one from Staines. Given their pedigree, I’d back the quicker of the two Imperial crews to win, with the possibility of it being an all-Imperial final.
Open Eights
Moving on to the big boats, it appears to be the school boys against the veterans, as Shiplake, Latymer, and Eton go up against the might of UL, Bristol, and UCL. Having had a sub-par BUCS by their high standards, UL is fresh off a training camp in Brive and will look to restore some purple pride into their ranks by having a decent showing here.
We were told that this would be Shiplake’s year, the year that they shook off the shackles of bronze and silver medals and head racing records and finally took their place at the top of schoolboy rowing. Let me be clear, David Currie deserves all the credit in the world for transforming Shiplake from a Child Beale-level crew to a genuine contender for the PE. Yes, conditions were not ideal in the NSR A-final. But the fact remains that Shiplake was 10 seconds off a medal, a gap which could best be described as sup-optimal.
Eton is the base standard of excellence one would expect from the 15-time Princess Elizabeth Cup champions, and although their bronze at NSR would have been disappointing, they tend to develop speed between NSR and Henley. I would back UL to take the overall win over Eton.
In the B category, Vesta look to be the strongest crew, having had some decent performances in the eight all season, so I would back them for the win as well.
On Sunday, it’s a straight shoot-out between Pangbourne College and UCL, my bet goes on the school boys to take this race.
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