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University rowing clubs enter a variety of head races throughout the winter season, but nothing brings the community together quite like BUCS Head. Racing five kilometres against the stream on the River Tyne, crews in virtually every boat class will compete in four divisions across the weekend. The lightweight coxless fours category does not appear at many rowing events these days, and most of the athletes weighing in for this race will be doing so for the first time this season. The seven crews entered will have their work cut out navigating the course’s two right-angled bends, and picking a good racing line may well determine the winner among closely matched crews.
University of Surrey Boat Club
Bow man Charlie Sinnott features heavily in Surrey’s recent history, and he will hope to continue the club’s upward trajectory over the past 12 months. Charlie raced in this boat at both BUCS Head and BUCS regatta last year, and he rounded off his year as senior men’s captain by stroking the club’s eight in Henley Royal Regatta qualifiers. As club vice-president this year, Charlie stroked the coxless quad to an impressive tenth place at Fours Head, won this category at Teddington Head, and presided over a club one-two-three at Cambridge Winter Head. Surrey’s performance on Saturday will be a good indicator of whether they can repeat this success at the more high-profile events coming later in the season.
Imperial College Boat Club and University of Nottingham Boat Club
Defending champions Imperial will return to BUCS Head hoping to retain the lightweight trophy, while Nottingham will be looking to spoil their party. At this event last year, Imperial finished a clear 24 seconds faster than Nottingham. However, at BUCS Regatta, the side-by-side version of this event taking place in the summer, Nottingham beat Imperial by just over a second. Christopher Budden steers Imperial again this year, and he returns with valuable new experience in this seat, having sat here in the club eight, which qualified for The Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Both boat clubs have an extensive roster of athletes and are dominant forces on their home rivers, and it will be interesting to see who performs best away from home.
Queen’s University Belfast Boat Club
Queen’s University Belfast enters two crews in this category again this year. Last year, the ‘A’ crew were narrowly beaten by Nottingham and Imperial in both BUCS Head and BUCS Regatta, so they will look to make every second count this time around. Stevie Edgar and Adam Graham, however, were not part of either crew last year, and this appears to be one of their first races with the club. A total of 39 crews will race for Queen’s across the weekend, and the club always targets BUCS as one of its main events of the season.
Newcastle University Boat Club and Durham University Boat Club
Durham will be the final crew to race in this category, and they will be determined to beat local rivals Newcastle back to the clubs’ neighbouring boathouses, which sit just a few hundred metres beyond the finish line. Rutherford Head took place on this same stretch of water before the Christmas break, and several crews from both Durham and Newcastle featured prominently in the results as usual. Jonathan Butler rowed in one of Durham’s several coxless fours at Rutherford, and he steers the lightweight crew this weekend. Emilio Ali rowed in the same event for Newcastle, and his crew managed to beat Butler’s by a margin of 18 seconds. The winner of this weekend’s rematch will surely depend on who has made better use of the winter break, as well as which crew can make better use of the home advantage.
Prediction
Despite being such a small category, there is plenty to watch out for among several local and regional rivalries in this event. It is a tough call, but I’ll say that Imperial‘s history at BUCS Head, as well as the extensive experience in their crew, is likely to give them the edge for the second year in a row.
