Set on the picturesque river Great Ouse, Bedford Regatta attracts many school rowing clubs, and the boat clubs of the Oxford and Cambridge colleges, looking to size up their prospective competitors ahead of bumps racing and other anticipated regattas scheduled later in the season.
Raced on a 1.2km course, Bedford Regatta is strategically located in the early stages of regatta season, serving as a springboard for crews hoping to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta at the top of the season.
This year’s racing for the open eights includes crews from top school rowing programmes, and competitive club programmes too, ensuring that this year’s series of side-by-side racing is as scintillating and energising as ever.
Radley College Boat Club
Radley College Boat Club, one of the premier school rowing clubs in the country, enters this year’s Bedford Regatta with an impressive seven eights spread across all four bandings. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Radley’s decision to enter several crews into the open category signals the club’s ambition, depth and determination to compete against older opposition.
Their performance this season suggests they’re making bold strides towards qualifying for, and potentially excelling in The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup for Henley Royal Regatta. Notably, Radley recently claimed the Mike Diserens Memorial Trophy for the Open Schools eights at Wallingford Regatta, outperforming the likes of Eton, St Paul’s, Shiplake and Westminster. These familiar rivals are certain to appear again as the regatta season heats up and steadily progresses to Henley Royal Regatta qualifiers. Establishing their early dominance bodes well, especially with other strong schools like Latymer Upper and Bedford also in the mix for this regatta.
Radley’s current form marks a clear improvement from their showing at Schools’ Head of the River, where they placed fifth in the Championship Eights, behind St Paul’s, Shiplake and other top-performing schools. If they can maintain this trajectory, they’ll be well positioned to take home the victories from Bedford Regatta, with the foresight to provide serious competition for The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup.
City of Cambridge Rowing Club
The City of Cambridge Rowing Club, familiar with the course from previous appearances, will bring valuable local knowledge to this year’s regatta.
At the recent Head of the River, City of Cambridge posted a time of 18:59.0, finishing 12th for the Jackson Trophy, a slight dip in form compared to previous Head of the River Race results. However, this kind of setback can serve as a valuable development opportunity, helping to build resilience and a competitive mindset as they approach Bedford with renewed determination. Their regatta season opened at Wallingford, where their club eight competed in the Borough Challenge Vase and secured a place in the final, claiming fifth overall.
Looking ahead to Bedford, their band two eight is set to face a strong Latymer Upper crew in the opening rounds, no small task. Latymer placed second in the Open School Eights at Wallingford with a time of 06:03.67, compared to City of Cambridge’s 06:14.33 in the club eights. Closing this gap will be crucial if they’re to secure a Semifinal place, but such a challenge may be precisely what drives this crew forward.
Star Boat Club
Based in Bedford, Star Boat Club approaches this year’s regatta with the benefit of home-course familiarity, an edge that could help them make the most of whichever station they draw. As one of four non-academic clubs competing in this category, Star Club faces a demanding field of polished school and university crews. They’ll race in band two for the Poynter Trophy. Their first contest is against Bedford School, another crew with deep knowledge of this course.
Though working with a comparatively small senior men’s contingent, qualifying and racing for the Thames Challenge Cup previously at HRR is an achievement within itself. Having a smaller squad requires innovative and adaptable training to be capable of qualifying, which will have given this crew a solid foundation to build on. Stepping into this season, its certainly possible for Star to match or even exceed their previous standard. Having lost to Latymer for this event in the final last year, an improvement will be to win this event.
Bedford School Boat Club
Another strong local presence, Bedford School Boat Club, will likely treat this regatta as an opportunity to fine-tune ahead of bigger challenges. With five crews entered across the four bandings, this squad is guaranteed an A-final in band one for the Bedford Challenge Cup. There, they’ll face either Radley College or Abingdon School, depending on the outcome of the earlier rounds.
The band one final promises to be a tightly fought contest. Bedford placed fourth in the Open School Eights at Wallingford regatta, comfortably ahead of Radley College, and ahead of Abingdon School at Schools Head. This strong early season form will give Bedford School confidence as they prepare to defend home water. With depth across the squad and the backing of familiar surroundings, every crew racing in their respective bands will be highly motivated to run the gauntlet and claim their victories.
Latymer Upper School Boat Club
Another top-tier school boat club, Latymer Upper School Boat Club, has continued to grow in stature, particularly through the performance of their Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup crew at last year’s Henley Royal Regatta, who broke club records en route to their fastest-ever eight despite falling short of being in the final. That result, whilst disappointing, has fired this club up. They now enter the Bedford regatta with reinforced confidence and the ability to produce fast, consistent times. Efforts to maintain this will hopefully culminate in an even more successful regatta season for this club.
At Wallingford, Latymer won their heat and secured themselves a lane in the final, ultimately placing second behind Radley College, just three seconds off the win. With two eights entered in the second band, there’s potential for a repeat showdown depending on how City of Cambridge, Bedford and Radley progress. This regatta will undoubtedly be a key stepping stone towards higher ambitions later this season.
Latymer will have sights firmly set on defending the Poynter Trophy, which they claimed last year with a win over Star Boat Club. If form holds, they could well make it two in a row.
Prediction
With Open eights separated into bands, there won’t be just one crew winning. All four bands have a selection of competitive rowers and coxes vying for the same goal. With band one’s final certain to contain Bedford School Boat Club, their competition will likely come from Radley College Boat Club, who have performed very well so far. I’d expect Radley to fight tooth and nail for this win to add another feather to their caps. Another final to watch will be band two. With Latymer Upper School Boat Club being the current title holders, they’ll keep a close eye on their competition to claim the victory for a second year. Bands three and four also contain crews from Bedford School Boat Club, Radley College Boat Club and City of Cambridge Rowing Club, who will also have an eye on the prize. What’s for sure with this event is some tight racing to the line.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
