The Start Line: Overnights in Oxford and a dash to Danson
Join us at The Start Line and look ahead to an big weekend of domestic racing
Credit: AllMarkOne
River Isis set for more than 300 races at Oxford City Regatta
Across two days of racing, the River isis is set to welcome dozens of clubs for this year’s edition of Oxford City Regatta. Running consistently since 1841 Saturday will see competitors racing one-on-one over 1000m before switching the shorter, 500m distance for the second day. Sandwiched between the two days of racing will be the regatta’s disco, held in the bar of the City Boathouse.
Making their return for another year will be the Lunchtime Super-Sprint Eights. On Saturday they will be running Open and Women’s events and on Sunday, racing will be in mixed crews. All Clubs with entries on the respective days and who have at least 8 rowers in the draw will be invited to enter the Lunchtime Sprint Eights event on the same day. The mixed crews on Sunday must contain at least four women (excluding the cox).
With racing every three minutes, Saturday’s action kicks off with heats of the Open Single Sculls, and the Open Band 3 Eights. In the early rounds of racing many of the competitors who will travel the furthest to race will be action and plenty of crews from Southampton University BC and City of Bristol BC are in action in the Open Singles and Pairs. While spectators will have to wait a few races until the first of the local derbies, when it comes at 09:%1 they’ll be treated to a showdown between Oxford ARC and Hertford College BC with the winner facing either Warwick BC or the East India Club Rowing Section in the final of Open Band 2 Eights.
Saturday’s racing in division two will be brought to a close by the Masters and the Women with the finals of the Op MasD/E/F Single Sculls and Mx MasB/C/D Double Sculls making way for the Women’s J15 Single Scull and the Women’s Double Sculls at 18:42.
Keep an eye out for St Edward’s Martyrs Boat Club, the alumni club of the school. They have two crews racing Open Band 1 Eights and one crew racing the equivalent Women’s category. ‘Shrek’ and ‘Donkey’ will have semi-final races against Curlew RC and Reading RC respectively, while ‘Fiona’ will face Oxford ARC as they look to progress to the final against either Curlew RC or Reading RC.
After the aforementioned disco, crews will be back on the water bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the first of Sunday’s racing at 08:30. Oriel College BC and Wallingford RC will have their alarms set the earliest as they face each other in the first heat of Mixed Band 3 Double Sculls. Once again, racing will take place across two divisions and much like the previous day, racing will reach it’s climax with the final of the Women’s Double Sculls.
Across the weekend, plenty of clubs will have their juniors taking to the water
More information is available here.
Danson Dashes
Danson Dashes (c) Simon Davis
Danson Dashes is a 500m sprint regatta held in the beautiful and historic surroundings of Danson Park. After a few years away, Danson Dashes was revived in 2018 by Erith RC and Gravesend RC. Back once more in 2025, crews will race the course that is just under 500m long.
All eyes will be on Medway Towns RC and Maidstone Invicta RC who kick off proceedings in the Mixed Double Sculls. 12 minutes later, they’ll find out who they’ll race in the final as Ardingly RC go up against the second of the Maidstone Invicta RC crews. It’s a busy morning for Maidstone who will be hoping for success in the Women’s J16 Single Sculls, entering three out of the four semi-finalists. Later in the morning will be the first of the Eights races. The final of the Band 1 Mixed Eights is a straight showdown between the students of Lady Margaret Hall BC and Gravesend RC. The two clubs will face off against each other 30 minutes later in the first of the semi0finals of the Women’s Coxless Fours.
Walbrook RC have had a hugely successful summer picking up medals at the British Rowing Club Championships before winning the VL and Staines Regatta. Much of that success was down to their young juniors and some of them are back racing at the Danson Dashes. Keep an eye on the Open J14 Single Sculls. Two of the scullers ‘Lovell’ and ‘Qureshi’ were part of the bronze medal winning quad in Nottingham but now turn their hand to single sculls. While ‘Lovell’ gets a first round bye and will face Maidstone Invicta RC, ‘Qureshi’ will have to navigate ‘Maynard’ of Fairlop RC if he is to progress through his first race.
For the final two and half hours of racing, spectators will be glued to their seats with more than 30 final scheduled to be running back to back. Gravesend RC will be staying right until the very end of the day with their J17 sculler, ‘Handock’ racing Fairlop in the final of the Single Sculls while their Open Eight will race Bewl Bridge RC in the final race of the day.
All information about Danson Dashes can be found here.
What else is on this weekend?
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That’s all from The Start Line this week!
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