For the last two years, the British autumn has been almost synonymous with cancelled races. Strong winds, heavy rainfall, freezing temperatures – you name it, it’s probably stopped Four’s Head from going ahead at some point. Mercifully, the bad weather has abated and I finally have a relatively complete set of autumn racing results from which to highlight some stand-out provincial club performances.
Open boats
Frustratingly for an article about provincial club rowing, I’m forced to start with Four’s Head. Whilst not as universally attended as the spring eights heads, the largest Tideway event this side of Christmas did see some strong performances from travelling crews.
City of Cambridge were the only provincial club to enter any ‘Champ’ events, though this feels more reflective of an ambition statement rather than being reflective of true performance. Indeed, City’s Champ 4+ were not even the fastest City crew on time, so perhaps there were some eligibility factors at play?
The standout regional performance has to come from Nottingham RC, taking the overall win in the Club 4+, as well as being the fastest provincial boat. City of Cambridge did manage the second fastest provincial time, coming 5th overall. The Club 4+ was also notable for the high level of west country representation with Hereford, Dart Totnes, Gloucester, City of Bristol, and Worcester all taking their place in the top 15.
Club 4-s were more of a midlands affair; the standout provincial crew once again being Nottingham finishing 5th, with City of Cambridge and Derby also in the top 10.
One of the best aspects of Four’s Head is the opportunity (already the last of the season) for scullers to take to the Tideway en-masse. It would seem that sculling is particularly strong from the North West, with Northwich coming 2nd in Club 4x and Trentham also making top 10.
I’m eager to see how these results translate into bigger boats after Christmas, though that isn’t to say there hasn’t been some 8+s racing to talk about already.
City of Cambridge entered two 8s at Wallingford Head, both performing well, although this event did not have a huge provincial entry, so it was difficult to assess performance. City have clearly been on a recruitment drive, and there seems to have been some consolidation of athletes from Cambridge ‘99s and Cantabrigian into the city squad. Could this help them break into the Jackson Top 3?
Heading further north to Rutherford Head, there was a strong performance from Tyne to win band 2 8s, beating Agecroft in the process. But, both these Northern stalwarts (and the top two from last year’s Jackson trophy) were slower than the 1877 club (DUBC alumni). The Durham alumni did enter the Head of the River Race (HoRR) last year, though with alumni boats it’s always difficult to predict performance as there is likely to be a few lineup changes before the big day.
2023-4 Jackson winners Royal Chester have had a quieter autumn, skipping the season’s larger events. Matched 8s from Chester were slightly off the pace, losing on home water to both Agecroft crews at Dee Autumn Head. The most recent provincial HRR finalists did seem to bounce back in November with a clean sweep of Open events at York Small Boats Head, setting some impressive times, albeit with no serious external opposition. The squad appears to be staying away from the spotlight at present, but will it be Royals’ time come March?
The Jackson trophy is often hard to predict, but I think Nottingham or City of Cambridge would be front runners at present, though you can never count out last year’s top three: Agecroft, Tyne, or Royal Chester.
Women’s boats
At the Four’s Head, City of Cambridge were again the only provincial club to enter Champ 4+, but once again this wasn’t enough to put them at the head of the provincial pack, as they found themselves beaten on time by ‘Club’ entries from Nottingham and City of Bristol.
Provincial club stalwarts Derby and Cantabrigian also found themselves in the top 10 Club 4+. Cantabrigian seem to be rebuilding after a disappointing 2024-5 season, with former Cambridge sculling icon Will Young at the reins, and seem to be resisting assimilation into the City juggernaut for now.
There is still some way to go for Cantabrigian, as City of Cambridge were the fastest provincial Club 4- by a decent margin over Cantabs, with solid performances in this event also coming from Nottingham and Worcester.
The Women’s 4x has been lent added importance by the recent announcement that this category will soon be on the programme at Henley Royal Regatta. At Fours Head, there was a strong entry from the East of England with notable performances from Cantabrigian, Rob Roy, Sudbury, and Broxbourne. Cantabs were the fastest provincial club 4x, securing a narrow margin over Worcester. Given that Four’s Head took place prior to the announcement from HRR, I’m expecting an influx of other crews into this event which is likely to shake up the order somewhat.
In the North West, Dee Autumn Head demonstrated a narrow margin between Agecroft and Royal Chester with matched Chester 8+s splitting the Agecroft crews almost exactly halfway. It will be interesting to see if a full strength Royal’s contingent can overhaul their local rivals in the spring.
Heading further North again to Rutherford Head, Tyne (on home water) had a comfortable margin over Agecroft, cementing their status as Queens of the North (of England), though both face a considerable challenge from north of the border as St Andrew BC claimed the title of the fastest women’s club crew of the day.
With autumn racing now over, squads will have to keep training hard to emerge at the front of the pack in early 2026. The Women’s Eights Head of the River Race provincial pennant was especially closely fought last year, and I’d expect Nottingham and City of Cambridge to be fighting closely again for the top spot, perhaps with a surprise challenge from a club such as Cantabrigian, St Andrew BC or Tyne.
