BUCS Regatta 2021

This weekend, after over 15^th months without a race, UoNBC returned to BUCS Regatta on their home water at the National Water Sports Centre. With very little pre-knowledge of other clubs’ boats, our 25 crews were excited to go out and see where they placed.

The Thursday had seven crews hitting the water. On the men’s side, all three championship boats came out strong in their time trials and repechages to make it into the A final. The highlight of these being the men’s championship pair who qualified despite hitting two flocks of geese in the first 500m putting them behind the pack yet still closed the gap and overtook Newcastle and Cambridge to secure their spot in the final where they raced against some of the top athletes in the country to secure the 5^th position – our highest ever in this category. The women’s side had two doubles entered. The first of these had to withdraw from the lightweight category earlier in the week and enter the open weight category. They went out to win the time trial and then place 5^th in their A final. The 2^nd women’s double were beginners last year and have only had 6 months water time since starting rowing and made it into the F final.

Friday saw 5 entries from UoNBC. One of the highlights was the women’s championship quad who raced very strongly in a tough category. They placed 4^th in the final beating both Newcastle and Durham, who were both favourites to medal.

Saturday was the biggest entry with 13 boats racing. On the men’s side, the focus was on the coxed and coxless 4’s. The coxed 4 had a strong start coming 4^th in their time trial. Their semi-final was the highlight of their day in an incredible close race beating Imperial College by a foot and Aberdeen by half a length to secure 2^nd place and a place in the A final. In the A final they had a good race this time narrowly being beaten by Imperial and taking the 5^th spot. The coxless 4 was one of the largest championship entries of the Regatta. The Nottingham crew raced the time trial well and came out with a good lane for their repechage through which they placed into their final. Due to Cambridge being earlier disqualified and then re-admitted into the final, this final was the only 7 lane race of the Regatta. After a false start meaning a redo, the crew pushed themselves to the limit and held 6^th position ahead of London.  

For the women’s beginner 2 (novices from the year 2019-2020 who were unable to race last season) coxed 4, this was their first ever race. They placed 4^th in their time trial putting them in a good position entering the semi-finals. From this they pushed on to win their semi-final and finally a bronze medal in a tight final. We are looking forward to seeing them progress through the intermediate and senior squads in the next few years.  The women’s 8 was a boat that came together very late in the season. Nevertheless, their fitness and toughness brought them through to the A final and 5^th place finish.

Our athletes have faced an incredibly difficult year with limited access to equipment and motivation hard to come by. They have overcome the challenge and all our crews showed real racing ability competing with the top crews in the country. Our heavyweight program this year has stepped on with nearly every senior crew making the A final in their event. The gap to the medal places in these events has significantly reduced from previous years and with this being a young squad at their first race with UoNBC, we are excited to see how they can progress and close the gaps even more over the next few years.

Summary of Results

Women’s Championship Quad: 4^th

Men’s Championship Lightweight Double: 6^th & 11^th

Men’s Championship Coxless Four: 6^th

Men’s Championship Quad: 6^th

Men’s Championship Lightweight Quad: 4^th

Men’s Championship Pair: 5^th

Women’s Championship Lightweight Single: 1^st & 5^th

Women’s Championship Single: 10^th

Women’s Intermediate Quads: 5^th & 18^th

Women’s Intermediate Eight: 5^th & 30^th

Women’s Intermediate Double: 5^th & 36^th

Men’s Intermediate Coxed Four: 5^th & 32^nd

Men’s Intermediate Lightweight Single: 6^th

Men’s Intermediate Eight: 26^th

Men’s Intermediate Double: 34^th

Men’s Intermediate Quad: 13^th

Men’s Intermediate Pair: 14^th

Women’s Intermediate Single: 6^th

Women’s Beginner 2 Coxed Four: 3^rd