Bedford Regatta 2025 – Open Coxless Fours Preview

With longer, sunnier days and shorter races, regatta season must be here. Over May and June, there will be races every weekend around the country with crews facing off side-by-side against each other, leading up to Henley Royal Regatta at the start of July. One of the biggest one-day rowing events in the country, crews from around the south of England and beyond have been attracted to Bedford Regatta’s 1200m course for over 150 years. Providing racing for eights and fours only proves to be a hectic and exciting day of racing. The open coxless fours look to be a battle between two of Cambridge’s biggest clubs, and with them being very well matched, the races will be tight.

Cambridge ‘99’ Boat Club

Bringing a large fleet of boats to Bedford Regatta this weekend, Cambridge 99 Boat Club have two coxless fours entered in this event. A boat club with over 100 years of proud history, they have had some strong results this 24/25 season, notably finishing 85th at the Head of the River Race. In recent years, they have generally been second best to their main rivals, City of Cambridge, but at the Head of the River in March, there were 13 seconds between the top crews from each club, showing that Cambridge 99 are no slouches this year. Their two crews for this weekend are entered under ‘Harris’ and ‘Kabelik’, both members of the 99s Thames Challenge Cup eight, which qualified last year. You would expect these two crews to be some of their top rowers, so both boats will push for a win.

City of Cambridge Boat Club

Given that they row on the same stretch of river as their opposition this weekend, the City of Cambridge will know exactly what to expect from their competition. With a significant investment in boats and equipment over the last few years, they have gone from strength to strength, solidifying their position as the top club in Cambridge. This year, the results have been much closer between them and Cambridge 99, so their singular coxless four entry at the regatta will be looking for a statement win to start the summer racing season. A solid 70th overall at the Head of the River Race for their top crew shows there are some talented rowers in the programme. After a good training camp over the Easter break at Pangbourne, the City of Cambridge crew will be gunning for a good result this weekend.

Prediction

Cambridge 99 Boat Club ‘Harris’ have a bye straight to the final, so given their opposition will have another race in their legs before they get to the final, I am tipping this crew to win the event.