Henley Women’s Regatta is back; the highlight of the lightweight racing calendar, with the prospect of two crews battling it out between the booms. With five crews entered in The Haslam Trophy, we will see one eliminated from the time trials before the other four fight it out through the semifinals, then the final.
University of Birmingham BC
After making it to the semifinals last year, Birmingham University will want to step up and take the win this year. Given their season so far, this seems a distinct possibility. At BUCS Regatta, Darcy Smyth and Erin Meredith won the championship lightweight doubles, and the two athletes collected six gold medals and two bronze medals from every lightweight event throughout the regatta. Since this dominant display of the lightweight university scene, the duo have raced at Metropolitan Regatta, where they placed third overall, beating last year’s winner of this event in the process. This double has been dominant in the UK this season but may face a challenge from overseas.
Australian National University BC (AUS)
The sole international entry in this event comes from the Australian National Univ BC. Tippett and Moylan will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the 2022 crew that won this event and currently holds the course record. The lightweight squad at ANU had a strong showing at the Australian Rowing Championships, with athletes placing in the top three in the single, double and quad, highlighting the depth of their squad. After making the trip over, they will be aiming to win.
Derby RC/ Nottingham County RA
This Midlands composite is formed of two scullers that competed against each other in the B-final of the championship lightweight singles at BUCS Regatta. Taylor and Gummow placed second and fifth, respectively. Since then, Taylor competed again in the single at Nottingham City Regatta, where she placed sixth. I think this combination will need to make strides to be competitive, but hopefully, they can make it through to the side-by-side racing.
Reading University BC
Reading University is an established sculling programme. As a club, they have seen a lot of success this season, including topping the medal table at BUCS Regatta despite not entering any sweep events. Clements and McArdle were part of the lightweight quad that won a silver medal at the BUCS Head. Then, at BUCS Regatta, they won a bronze medal in the double and placed fourth in the quad. These are respectable results, but they must have found more speed over the past weeks if they want to take on Birmingham, which won all three of these categories.
Glasgow University BC
Making the trip down from Glasgow, we have Jolly and Chorley. They travelled to Nottingham earlier this season to compete at the BUCS Regatta, where they placed third in the B-final of the lightweight doubles. In Scotland, the duo have raced at the Scottish Rowing Championships and the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta, where they placed second in the intermediate doubles. They seem to be a bit off the pace of the top crews in this category, but may get some side-by-side racing.
Prediction
Birmingham has been dominant in lightweight events this season and seems set up to win, but with their success in 2022, the Australian National University may pose a challenge. I believe that this match-up, regardless of which round it occurs in, will be the deciding race of this event.
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