This year’s Reading Amateur Regatta has a great mix of clubs, university crews, colleges and schools entered across both Saturday and Sunday. There’ll be a range of focuses, with some crews looking towards Henley Women’s or Henley Royal Qualifiers, while for others Reading is seen as a great development opportunity and the chance for some good racing and good results.
Women’s Eights
Saturday’s Women’s Eights event, for the Austin Balsom Challenge Cup, is one of the busier sweep events of the first day, with six entries representing six different clubs in the A draw. A prominent university crew entered is the University of Bristol, who are the favourites in their match up against Worcester RC. Lady Eleanor Holles have opted for the senior event rather than the School’s Eights, which will give them the chance to race with a senior club, either Wallingford RC or City of Oxford RC set to be their first opponent. Wallingford RC stood strong at headship in city of Oxford Bumps back in April so will be hoping to hold off their local rivals.
Women’s Coxless Pairs
Lady Eleanor Holles also have entered the pairs, where the main competition comes in the form of Oxford University Women’s Lightweight RC, whose athletes will be looking to rebuild and prepare for next season following their fourth successive loss in the Lightweight Boat Race earlier in the season. On the other side of the draw Quintin BC must face off against St Catherine’s College for a place in the final.
Women’s Coxless Fours
In the Coxless Fours, Worcester RC represent half the draw with two crews entered. They are up against University College London, and Oxford University Women’s BC, which is likely a crew from their development squad. Worcester RC’s women’s side had a good winter, with a top 50 placing for their A crew at Women’s Eights Head of the River, so they’ll see this as a good opportunity to get some wins under their belts for the summer.
Women’s Coxed Fours
Meanwhile in the Coxed Four Event for the A J.P Turrill Challenge Cup, Reading RC have entered in the A draw, where they’ll face the University of Birmingham for a place in the Semi-final against Reading. Oxford University Women’s BC have also entered here, showing how important this regatta is to their development squad. There are four entries in the A draw, but seven in the B draw, including Oxford University Women’s Lightweight RC, another Oxford University Women’s BC development crew and two Vesta RC entries.
Sunday events
The racing on the Sunday looks set to have a very different makeup of crews, giving a whole host of new crews the opportunity to get some racing under their belts. In the Women’s Eights, Imperial College and Marlow RC face each other in first round and will feel their chances will be strong for a first place finish come the final, should they make it through that round. University College London get a pass to the semi-final, whereas their opponent, either Linacre BC or Pangbourne College, will have an extra race to navigate.
Imperial College are also entered in the Women’s Coxed Fours. It’s a straight semi-final against, before facing either Wallingford RC or University College, Oxford. University College, Oxford recently lost their place at headship in Oxford College’s Summer Bumps, so will be keen to use Reading as an opportunity to salvage some of their season.
To round out Imperial College’s entries in sweep events on the Sunday, they get a bye straight through to the final of the coxless fours where they’ll face Wallingford RC or Oriel College. Wallingford RC have also had a strong summer season, with their coxless four taking the win at Walton and Weybridge Regatta, and second place at their home regatta, so will see the whole weekend as an opportunity to get their hands on some more tankards.
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