Now mere weeks away from Henley Women’s and Royal Regattas, crews with one eye on these events will use the Metropolitan Regatta to measure themselves against the competition. One of the last pre-Henley multi-lane events, it’s reasonable to assume that all of these crews have aspirations of qualifying a boat for the Henley Royal Regatta, whether in open, club, or academic divisions: the Remenham, Wargrave, Bridge, and Island Challenge Cups, respectively.
Newcastle University
Saturday & Sunday
The women of the Blue Star are having a formidable run into the sharp end of the season, having most recently clinched the gold medal in the championship eights event at BUCS Regatta, and I’m excited to see what they can pull off at Dorney this weekend. Having finished third in the A-final at this event last year, I look forward to seeing them challenge the likes of Thames Rowing Club for the win again. The speed and style they’ve shown over recent months certainly bodes well for a possible podium finish, with the overall win not out of the question either.
Thames Rowing Club
Saturday & Sunday
Still the dominant force on the club rowing scene, Thames Rowing Club have just returned from a glassy-looking camp in Ourense, and it’s been difficult to escape videos of their depth of well-drilled crews on social media the past week or so. With only their top crew entered into the championship category, this could be a nod toward The Bridge Challenge Plate, and I have no doubt that they’ll be aiming to top last year’s second-place finish, especially with Leander absent from the draw this time around – and again, a win is not off the cards for these ladies.
London Rowing Club
Saturday & Sunday
Having placed fourth and fifth at Poplar Regatta behind the likes of Brookes and UL, London may be a little off the pace to be challenging for a podium finish, but I hope to see at least one of their eights feature in the A-final nonetheless. The depth of their squad this year has been demonstrated again by having two crews in the A-final at Poplar, and a crew in each of the challenge and club A-finals at Wallingford. Now measuring themselves against a wider field of clubs, the women of LRC will undoubtedly be looking to ‘Bang the Drum‘ and fly the flag for their club at Dorney this weekend.
University of London
Saturday
The purple of UL’s top eight may only be appearing on the Saturday of the Metropolitan Regatta, but they will be looking to make their mark once again on the university field in particular. Having finished fifth here last year, I am sure that UL will be looking to improve on this and shoot for the podium spots, especially given the absence of Leander crews in this event. This eight recently picked up the win at Poplar Regatta over Brookes – a repeat of their BUCS result – and also picked up silverware at Ghent Regatta, so big things are to be expected.
Edinburgh University
Saturday & Sunday
The crew in baby blue may be looking to use the Metropolitan Regatta as a redemption arc following BUCS Regatta, where they failed to make the A-final of the championship eights, but then posted a time in the B-final that would have won the silver medal. Edinburgh made it comfortably into the A-final in 2024 and will likely hope for a repeat this time, especially looking ahead to The Island Challenge Cup and the other academic eights that may stand in their way. It’s challenging to compare Edinburgh to their surrounding crews this season, so it’ll be interesting to see where they come out after the time trials.
Oxford Brookes University
Saturday & Sunday
I appear to have ruffled a few feathers in the Brookes camp with previous reflective pieces, but the results speak for themselves, and the women in maroon appear to be struggling to keep pace with the likes of Newcastle and UL. With a lot still going on behind the scenes, I do, of course, hope to see a turnaround before we head towards Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regattas, and I think this weekend will give us a good insight into how that could pan out. Brookes are a mainstay A-final name, and I am sure that they will be looking to improve on their BUCS and Poplar results to target a podium finish.
Molesey Boat Club
Saturday & Sunday
Molesey have made their mark on this season as a force to be reckoned with already, both throughout the head season, and into the start of regatta runs. Having raced at Wallingford Regatta in the challenge eights, Molesey beat both Thames and Leander to win in the final – certainly an impressive feat early on in the regatta season. With impressive lineups recently including the likes of Liv Cheesmur and Jade Lindo, I think that the depth of the Molesey squad this season should put them in a solid position to be looking at a possible win here – especially having already beaten Thames this season. Depending on the comparable lineups, it could certainly make for some tasty racing in this re-match.
Prediction
I am excited to watch Molesey, Thames, Newcastle, and UL battle it out at Dorney because I think the gold medal could be anyone’s for the taking. Right now, I am leaning towards Molesey taking the win, with Newcastle in second and Thames in third, but UL could certainly challenge for any of those spots. Side-by-side racing can always throw up unexpected results, especially given the discrepancy between lanes at Dorney.
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