Now the dust has had time to settle on head season, and with just under a month until the flag falls on the first major domestic multi-lane regatta of the season at Wallingford, it seems as good a time as any to scour the provinces and leafy shires of the forgotten corners of the UK to congratulate some impressive results, and determine the ones to watch for the forthcoming regatta season.
Women’s Crews
A reshuffle at the top of the pack of provincial women’s eights saw Cantabrigian rowing club reclaim their provincial pennant at WEHoRR, having most recently won the title in 2022. Some critics had written this season off as ‘rebuilding’ for Cantabs, but coach Tom Copeland has clearly managed to extract good boat speed from his crew, which featured many newer faces. This crew will be hoping to remain successful as Henley Women’s Regatta (HWR) and Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) approach. A Cantabrigian 8+ has featured in the Wargrave Challenge Cup every year since inception, though this club have never made it through to the weekend – perhaps that will change this year.
Behind Cantabs at WEHoRR, we saw a close bunch of Nottingham, Tyne, and Agecroft who were all 15-20 seconds behind. Of these crews, perhaps Tyne has the most wounds to lick, having won the Pennant last year and made the Saturday at HRR. I am confident they will be back stronger with a point to prove as summer racing commences.
Rounding out the top five is the only Scottish crew to feature in this piece, St Andrew BC who managed to beat last year’s runners up, City of Bristol. We may not see St Andrew making the long journey to Dorney too often, but I shall certainly be looking out for them at HWR, depending upon what boats, if any, they choose to enter.
Other clubs to watch out for include Worcester RC, who usually field strong smaller boats, and Grosvenor RC who’s ‘high performance’ squad is more likely to target the sculling events at Henley Women’s regatta.
Men’s Crews
Royal Chester certainly seem to be on a roll at the moment. A victory on home water at North of England Head was followed less than a week later by a double triumph on the Tideway, winning both the Jackson Pennant and then, one day later, taking the overall victory at Vesta Master’s Head, albeit with one substitute from Kingston RC, likely for eligibility reasons.
Last year, Royal Chester chose not to carry their 1st 8+ forward to HRR, although this worked out well with them making the last eight in both the Wyfold and Britannia Challenge Cups, and their 2nd 8+ winning a round in the Thames. One can only wonder what coach Jamie Leighton and his crew have planned for the regatta season this year, but whatever the top crew ends up being they are likely to present deep into HRR come July.
Second place in the Jackson Trophy also belongs to the North West, with Agecroft rowing club retaining this spot for another year. Indeed, the entire top four remained unchanged from 2023. Agecroft consistently field high quality crews at HRR, and are the most recent provincial crew to reach the weekend in the Thames Challenge Cup back in 2017. They usually send a strong crew in the Thames Challenge Cup, too, so it’s likely this will be their lead boat for this season as well.
City of Bristol and Tyne finished third and fourth respectively, although both have challenged for the Jackson Trophy in recent history. Tyne in particular had a very strong 4- in the Wyfold Challenge Cup last year, so it will be interesting to see if this crew comes back for another crack at glory.
Fifth place in the Jackson was taken by Derby rowing club. I am impressed to chart Derby’s consistent rise through the ranks over the past few years, and intrigued to see if this results in a strong showing at Henley.
Although investment in new equipment and personnel at City of Cambridge seemingly didn’t pay dividends as much as they might have hoped after finishing roughly 30 seconds behind the head of the rest of the regional pack, they nonetheless remain a similar margin ahead of their closest local rivals. It will be interesting to see if Cambridge ‘99 and Cantabrigian can provide a better challenge this summer and/or force City on to achieving their potential.
Other clubs to look out for include Northwich Rowing Club, who in recent years have tended to produce a strong 4-, making the semi-finals of the Wyfold Challenge Cup as recently as 2021. Also watch out for Hereford Rowing Club, who came eighth in the Jackson Trophy.
Second Crews
Often overlooked, second boats play an important role in provincial rowing. Providers of substitutes, competition and often portents of future success, no good squad is complete without a strong second 8+.
On the women’s side the fastest ‘B’ boat belonged to pennant winners Cantabrigian, with City of Cambridge in second place. Perhaps there is something in the river Cam which breeds strength in depth (regardless, it’s probably nicer than the ‘something’ in the Thames).
On the men’s side however, it was City of Bristol and Agecroft who managed to score 2nd 8+s which made it into the Jackson Trophy’s top ten and, unlike their first eights, managing to soundly overturn their Chester counterparts in the process.
This regatta season, as with every season, we are very likely to see the same few names, from the same large river, topping the timesheets. But hopefully, if you’ve made it thus far, you’re interested enough to read down past Leander, Thames, and Brookes to see who’s traveling south to make a notable splash this summer.
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