Durham retain BUCs Regatta crown
Durham University claimed an imposing victory at the BUCs Regatta over the bank holiday weekend, taking the Victor Ludorum with an imposing 1145 VL points.
A 21-medal haul (including 10 silver and eight bronze) saw Durham’s crews top the points table at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham, ahead of North East rivals Newcastle (866 VL points) and the University of London (828 VL points).
However, despite the success of the reigning champions in the race for the Victor Ludorum and BUCs points, the gold medal table had an entirely different complexion.
Loughborough topped the rankings with seven gold medals and three silvers after a dominant display in the small sculling boats – taking gold in the MC1x, MLwt1x, Mint1x, WC1x, MC2x, Mint2x and MLwt2x.
The weekend also saw a glut of notable performances from the University of London, whose 18-medal haul put them second in the overall medal table – five of their six gold medals coming in the lightweight events.
Strong displays from Reading (five golds in the women’s events) and Newcastle (four golds in the men’s) also saw them sitting above Victor Ludorum champions Durham in the medal table, with Imperial and Queen’s Belfast also enjoying four gold medals apiece.
Amongst Reading’s five gold medals was another triumph in the Women’s Championship Eight – extending the crew’s undefeated season after similar victories in the Women’s Head University Pennant and the BUCs Head of the River Race.
University of Reading Director of Rowing Will Rand said: “I am extremely proud of the whole squad. The results are testament to the huge amount of work and enormous commitment of everybody concerned with RUBC. Our women’s squad is truly one of the best in the UK while our men’s squad is young but very talented. We are looking forward to seeing it develop over the next few years.”
Despite an imposing field, Newcastle University managed to hold onto their Men’s Championship Eights crown, ahead of crews from Durham (who finished 3.59 seconds slower, in second place) and the University of London (who finished a further 1.23 seconds back in third).
With more than 944 crew entries from close to 70 different institutions, crews from right across the country tasted success over a hugely entertaining three days of racing.
Crews from as far afield as Queen’s Belfast, Aberdeen, Plymouth, and Cardiff travelled to Nottingham for the prestigious regatta, with some bringing single entries and others bringing up to 74 in pursuit of BUCs medals.
The University of East London was one of the institutions to bring a smaller selection of crews to Nottingham, but the tactic paid off as the small squad claimed two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals in targeted events.
A record number of photo-finishes saw 16 different universities claiming at least one gold medal – including a memorable gold in the Men’s Beginner Eights for Southampton Solent – and a further 11 different universities leaving with a medal of any colour.
For the full results from the regatta visit www.bucs.org.uk, and race videos and photos are available on the Wessex Rowing Facebook page.
The 2012 BUCs Regatta was a Row for Gold event – making sure rowers across the country feel a part of this exciting year of sport. For more information about Row for Gold, visit www.britishrowing.org/taking-part/row-for-gold.
