Across The Line: Durham paint the Tyne palatinate at BUCS Head
Plus catch up on all the action as hundreds of crews take on Hammersmith Head
Credit: AllMarkOne
We’re Across The Line, your weekly roundup of all the racing action across the UK! Join us to look back on a super weekend of racing from the Tyne to the Thames.
Durham University BC win Men’s and Overall Victor Ludorum
Durham University BC had a BUCS Head to remember as they dominated proceedings across two days of racing on the Tyne. Edinburgh University BC returned north of the border with a medal haul aplenty, leading to them being crowned winners of the Women’s Victor Ludorum.
Durham’s triumphs were built on a backbone of medals across the Intermediate and Championship events. Across their 15 medals, five of them were gold, and their Championship Fours and Eights were untouchable. After an early-season statement at Rutherford Head, their men were favourites to take the Championship Eight title, and they lived up to that expectation, finishing 15 seconds clear of second-place Edinburgh University BC, who themselves were just 0.1s ahead of the University of Bristol, who took the bronze medal. Durham’s men also conquered the Open Championship Lightweight and Openweight Coxless Fours. Not to be outdone, their women returned home with the Championship Coxed Four title.
For the first time since 2022, the Scottish contingent from Edinburgh won the Women’s Championship Eights. Their depth was unmatched as they also picked up the gold medal in the Women’s Intermediate Eights. Durham’s women would play second fiddle on both occasions, but there was further Scottish success in the Intermediate event as Glasgow University BC placed third, ahead of the University of St Andrews BC.
Some things in life are inevitable. Death, taxes, and Reading University BC storming the Quadruple Sculls events. Of the six sculling categories up for grabs on Saturday, the Clams won six of them. The University of Birmingham BC denied them a clean sweep by winning the Women’s Intermediate Lightweight Quads by 10 seconds. Reading University’s Women’s Championship Quad was arguably the crew of the weekend, putting 95 seconds into the baby blue of Edinburgh, positioning themselves as clear favourites for the new student sculling event at Henley Royal Regatta in July.
Not to be outshone by their northern rivals, Newcastle University BC put together a blisteringly quick crew in the Open Championship Coxed Fours. Their time was just 0.8s behind Durham’s top Coxless crew. Edward Ridley and Gwilym Johnson jumped into the newly created Championship Coxless Pair event and won the first-ever gold medal in that event. Edinburgh won the Women’s event, while Louise Brookes and Jess Symonds, part of the Yorkshire Performance Development Academy, won the first edition of the Women’s Championship Double Sculls. Queen’s University Belfast won the Open event.
As well as the new small boats that raced over the 3000m course, the Beginner events delivered some enthralling action. While Edinburgh won both the Beginner Quad events, the University of Nottingham BC stepped up to win the Women’s Coxed Four by six seconds. The University of Surrey, recently under new stewardship, have been consistent across the Beginner events and added another pair of medals to their cabinet, this time gold in the Open Coxed Four as well as gold in the Women’s Eight. Queen’s Belfast won the Open event, meaning they defend their title won 12 months ago.
Credit: AllMarkOne
BUCS head always delivers some compelling narratives, and this year was no different. The University of Bristol returned to the Open Championship events. As mentioned, they placed third, but this followed another bronze medal won in the Championship Coxed Four in division one. Rounding off their trio of medals was their Women’s Intermediate Four, which won bronze. It’s not often there’s a tie in rowing, but there was as Surrey and Edinburgh shared the spoils, clocking the same time down the 5000m course, 19:00.9.
Elsewhere, it was a good day for the men of Strathclyde University BC as well as Imperial College London. The Scots won two brilliant silver medals in the Open Intermediate Quads and the Championship Double Sculls, while the lads from London found themselves back on top of a BUCS podium. The Imperial Intermediate Eight took gold, 16 seconds ahead of Newcastle in the Intermediate Eights, a result that feels like a page-turner for the Putney-based programme, particularly as the same unit won silver in the Intermediate Fours. Add in another brace of silvers in both Championship Coxless Fours as well as the Open Beginner Eights, and it’s a decent haul for Imperial.
Birmingham’s aforementioned win was one of three gold medals won by the programme. The clubs also won Open Intermediate Coxed Four as well as the Women’s Championship Lightweight Four. The Beginner Quads ran for the first time 10 years ago, an event that Birmingham won on the women’s side. While they weren’t able to replicate that feat, they left Newburn with a bronze medal, just over six seconds back on second-place Queen’s Belfast.
St Paul’s and Shiplake on track for Schools’ Head after strong showings at Hammersmith Head
With the major tideway heads all taking place this month, dozens of crews used Hammersmith Head as the perfect opportunity to test themselves against the rest of the country and gain some much-needed tideway experience. The first of those big events will be the Schools’ Head on Friday 13 March. After topping the charts across the Junior Eights, it was St Paul’s School BC and Shiplake College BC who have now landed the title of favourites ahead of the first of the events on the road to the infamous ‘triple’. Last year’s finalists in the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy beat the winners, Headington School Oxford BC, by just over eight seconds down the course that runs from Chiswick Bridge to just before Hammersmith Bridge. Third and fourth place came thick and fast as Lady Eleanor Holles School BC and Latymer Upper School BC were both less than three seconds back on Headington.
Credit: AllMarkOne
St Paul’s stepped up and entered their top crew into the Championship field, placing third overall behind London RC and the University of London BC. St Paul’s were 1.4s ahead of Shiplake, who intern, beat King’s College School BC by just under three seconds, with Hampton School BC next in the rankings, before a gap back to Eton College BC and Dulwich College BC.
On home water, UL stormed to victory in the Women’s Championship Eights. The Chiswick-based programme were one of several universities that opted to race on the Tideay instead of making the pilgrimage north, and it payed dividends, as they beat both Leander Club and Molesey BC tied for seconds place, by 3.4s. There was some nice symmetry at the top of the Women’s rankings as Leander then UL rounded out the top five crews in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Across the Senior Intermediate events, Westminster School BC edged out their neighbours Thames RC, while Leander Club, a crew made up largely of gap year students, was third. City of Cambridge BC beat Vesta RC and Molesey BC to win Women’s Intermediate Eights, while Bath University were first and second in Women’s Club Eights, and their men beat Lea RC and the University of Warwick BC to win Open Club Eights.
Much like the aforementioned Reading University BC, The Windsor Boys’ School BC did what they do best, winning and placing third in both the Open and J16 Junior Quads. Sandwiched between them was Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School BC in the Open event, while Barn Elms RC was second in the J16 event. In the Junior Women’s Squads, step forward Sir William Perkins’s School BC. The quartet were more than 20 seconds ahead of their closest rival, Kingston Grammar School, but it’s worth noting that they also beat Headington, racing Time Only, by 2.5s. Like buses, two wins came for Perkins, who also topped the J16 rankings, much like St Paul’s in the Open J16 Eights.
Credit: AllMarkOne
Other Results
MPs call for faster action on Water Pollution following Clean Water Sports Alliance drop-in
The drop in session brought together Parliamentarians and representatives of the Clean Water Sports Alliance
Social Spotlight: London Otters BC
At London Otters, the club are proud to honour that history by making rowing a place where everyone feels welcome on the water.
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That’s all from Across The Line this week!
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