Back for another year is the highly anticipated Durham Regatta, raced across two days on the River Wear. The course offers a shorter sprint of 700m and a longer distance of 1800m, with the latter involving the tight navigation through the infamous and narrow Elvet Bridge. Two days of back-to-back knockout racing promises to provide some extremely close finishes as rivalries are tested across the University, College, Club, and School rowing scene.
Saturday Women’s Eights
Starting off strong with the Elite Eights category on Saturday, Durham University Boat Club will face up against Lancaster University Boat Club, Durham Amateur Rowing Club, and Collingwood College Boat Club. Durham’s recent solid results, including a fifth-place finish at BUCS in the Championship Eights, mean that I predict the final will be between Durham and Collingwood, with Durham ultimately taking the win and retaining the title from last year.
The Intermediate Eights will see some close racing across each race as the Durham Colleges battle against each other. Based on Women’s Head of the River Race results, I would expect to see South in the final, with either Butler or University College, also known as Castle. I predict a win for South, who have produced a solid season so far and will go into this event as the favourites.
Sunday Women’s Eights
On Sunday, we see a much closer and competitive field in the Championship event, with Newcastle University Boat Club being given the bye. Racing across 700m, Durham University Boat Club and Tyne Amateur Rowing Club will race first. While I predict a win from Durham, due to their better performance at the Metropolitan Regatta on the Saturday, all is to play for on this considerably shorter course. If the final shapes up to be another Newcastle v Durham rematch, I believe the former may be able to utilise their fresh legs and return the status quo back to before the Metropolitan Regatta to their BUCS win in the Championship Eights event. This will surely be a race you don’t want to miss.
The Non-Championship Eights also sees Newcastle University Boat Club’s second eight racing against many of the Durham Colleges. I expect their first round of racing against South College Boat Club could be the toughest race they will face in this event, yet with a fifth-place finish in the A Final of Inter Eights at BUCS, and second in the C Final at MET Saturday, they will have the momentum and confidence needed to win on Sunday.
Saturday Coxed Fours
On Saturday, Tyne Amateur Rowing Club will be up against Lancaster University Boat Club and multiple Colleges, including Van Mildert College Boat Club and Collingwood College Boat Club. So far this season, Mildert have put down some solid performances, and Collingwood are always a safe bet for doing well. I expect that first round race between the two to be close, but I’ll be looking to Tyne ARC to make the final and untimely claim the win.
In the Intermediate event, the Durham colleges will face outside competition, such as Tyne United Rowing Club and Durham ARC. Much of this racing is hard to call, yet there is the potential for the emergence of an unexpected winner – University College Boat Club has been steadily building all year. I would struggle to predict a clear winner in this event, which makes way for some extremely close racing this weekend.
Sunday Coxed Fours
On Sunday, the Championship Coxed Fours will race over the 1800m course and have been split into Championship and College Championship. The separation sees fewer rounds of racing, with two Durham University Boat Club crews racing Leeds in the former. One of the Durham crews receiving a bye gives way to the likely scenario of seeing an all-Durham Final, which could get very exciting as they go head-to-head. Recently, Durham won both the Championship and Intermediate Coxed Fours event at BUCS Regatta, highlighting their pure domination in this boat class.
In the Championship College event, also across 1800m, Collingwood College Boat Club will be in a straight final against St Chad’s College Boat Club, where I would expect Collingwood to emerge victorious.
The rest of the Colleges will be fighting it out in the Non-Championship category on the shorter 700m stretch. With the likes of South College Boat Club and Hatfield College Boat Club meeting before the final, this event promises exciting racing across all the rounds. Yet with two entries from South and Durham ARC in the mix, this is another close call. I’d like to see Hatfield disrupt the order and sneak the win, but I feel this event is very much up for grabs for everyone and will depend on how each crew attacks their races.
Saturday Quadruple Sculls
In the Elite Quad event we see Durham University facing crews from York St John, Leeds University and Tyne ARC. Based on squad strength and previous performances, I expect to see Durham and Tyne in the final, with the former having solid results in the quads at BUCS behind them and possibly pushing them to the win.
Sunday Quadruple Sculls
The Championship quads are being raced across the longer 1800m course, with Durham University given the bye. As a result, Tees Rowing Club and Leeds University Rowing Club will face off for a place in the final. I would predict Durham will win this event due to the strength and depth they’ve shown previously in sculling events.
In the Non-Championship event on the shorter course of 700m, many of the Colleges will be joined by Leeds University, Tees RC, Lambton RC, Durham School, and Yarm School. The contest between the Durham and Yarm Schools could promise to be one of the most interesting races as the two schools go side by side. Yet, I would again back Collingwood due to their sheer force and domination on the College rowing scene.
Saturday Double Sculls
The doubles look to provide many rounds of racing on the Saturday with eight entries. Van Mildert previously won this event back in 2023 with a different pairing and may be looking to regain the title. Yet, the first-round race between Yarm School and Tyne ARC could indeed determine the winner in this category on Saturday.
Sunday Double Sculls
On Sunday, there are considerably fewer entries to race across the longer course of 1800m. With one Durham University crew receiving a bye and the other racing Sheffield University Boat Club, we could again see another Durham-only final, securing the title for Durham for another year.
Saturday Single Sculls
The single sculls event on Saturday is an Intermediate event, providing a good opportunity for some competitive side-by-side racing. There is absolutely no room to hide when racing in a single, and the brave crews from Northumbria, Durham School, Doncaster School, and York St John deserve all the cheers they can get from the bank on Saturday. Last year saw Pollard racing for Durham School make the final but unfortunately miss out on the win, so I am sure she’ll be in fighting form to claim the win this year.
Sunday Single Sculls
The Championship single sculls on Sunday sees many more entries compared to the singles event on Saturday, with nine in total. Entries from the likes of Durham University Boat Club, Yarm School Boat Club, and Lambton Rowing Club, this event promises some good racing, making this a tough category to predict. And as always with the single sculls, it often comes down to the individual person and not necessarily the calibre of club they hail from, giving me reason to stay open-minded for the winner of this event.
Finally, the last event in this preview, the Non-Championship singles. With only three entries, and one of the Durham School singles being given the bye, I would love to see a Durham School clash in the final between Gatland and Tute. Yet, I am unwilling to completely rule out Tasker from Grey College and look forward to seeing how all three get on this weekend.
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