Head season is well underway, and with new squad dynamics settled into following the start of the academic year, seventeen Women’s Coxed Fours from universities up and down the country will race for the title of the fastest on the Tideway this Sunday.
Imperial College London
Imperial are a dominant force on the Tideway, and this crew certainly brings together bags of experience. Although it isn’t a combination that we’ve seen before, Evelyn Lees and Bonnie Price raced the W2- at the European University Sports Association (EUSA) Rowing Championships this year, while Johnson and Brew both represented Scotland at Home Internationals. Johnson was also in the winning Aspirational Academic 4- crew from Henley Women’s Regatta, so I’m excited to see what this crew can pull together as one unit.
University of London
Speaking of dominant forces on the Tideway, this UL crew will also be hunting down the top spot. Newport-Tucker and Faithfull are both new faces at UL, having come from successful careers at Liverpool and Bath Universities respectively. Both have BUCS medals and Faithfull recently stroked the Bath University Aspirational 4x to the Henley Women’s Final, so it’ll be great to see what they can each bring to this crew. Paired with Cassidy and Banton, successful UL rowers in their own right, this crew will be one to keep an eye on as they look to take the win on their home water.
University of Bristol
With previous successful Development 4+ campaigns at Henley Women’s Regatta and a Silver Medal at BUCS in the coxed four too, Bristol’s women have a strong history in racing this boat category. All four girls featured in Bristol’s top Henley Women’s and Henley Royal eights last season, but after a fairly disappointing set of results, they’ll have the drive to start their new season on the right foot here. Stroked by Wilson, who represented Wales at Home Internationals over the summer, and backed up by Harkin, who had a very successful junior career at Henley RC before moving to Bristol, I’m excited to see how these four fare on the Thames.
University of Oxford
This is the first time that we’re seeing Oxford’s women race under their new united OUBC front, and they undoubtedly are looking for a successful first Tideway head of their season. Following their Boat Race defeat and with a new head coach at the helm, I hope to see them post some strong times – especially with two crews entered into this event. The Fours Head is a crucial point in their season, and with a mix of previous Boat Race names such as Wellstead and Blyth, as well as some newbies, they’ll no doubt be looking to paint the Thames dark blue on this occasion.
University of Cambridge
After taking the win in this category at the Fours Head last year, Cambridge will be looking to retain the title, especially over their Oxford counterparts. With a Gold Medal in the Inter 4+ at BUCS Regatta and a silver in the Champ 4+, they’ve shown previous strength in racing this boat category. Like Oxford, CUBC has two entries into the category, both with previous lightweight and openweight Boat Race names, so I’m excited to see what they can pull out of the bag this weekend.
Predictions
I think that this has the potential to be a very closely raced category, and may ultimately depend on how these crews and their coxes can cope with the Tideway on Sunday. There’s a lot of Tideway experience in all of these crews, so I don’t expect the conditions to play too much of a part, but I do think that it could be a showdown between University of London and Imperial College for the top spot. However, I wouldn’t write off Cambridge or Bristol, and there could be challenges from other crews in this category such as Exeter, who placed 4th in this event last year, or the likes of Oxford and Liverpool.
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