Report: BUCS Regatta 2013

From the May 4-6, the Holme-Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham played host to BUCS Regatta, the biggest university regatta in Europe.

The University of Leicester Boat Club, despite battling illness and injury, entered seven crews this year.

The Novice Men entered a coxed four that faced difficulties even before the race start: two of the crew members had to drop out two weeks before the regatta due to illness and injury.  A full crew was only assembled three days prior to the regatta, meaning they had very little time to get used to rowing together.

Novice Men’s Coxed Four

On the day they gave it their all, but unfortunately fate wasn’t kind to them. Thanks to a colossal cockup on the part of the organisers, many of the crews’ times were lost.  This meant that the crew didn’t manage a top 48 finish to qualify for the final, but were nevertheless pleased with their performance on the water.

The novice women entered two crews, a coxed four and an eight.  The four had a strong time trial, placing them in the G final.  After a blinding start the girls were out in front by the 500m mark, but by 750m UWE and Bath had caught up.

By the halfway point UWE and Bath had moved on, meaning the fight was on against Hallam for the crucial third place. By 1500m Leicester were still just ahead, but unfortunately ended the race in fourth. This ranked them at 40^th, a huge improvement over BUCS Head in February.

Novice Women’s Coxed Four

Perfect conditions accompanied the eight’s race, a rare sight indeed at Holme-Pierrepont, and after a solid time trial they were placed in the E final. From the start Leicester settled into a good rhythm, and at the 500m mark the crew became locked in a battle with Lincoln.

They fought on until 1250m, when Lincoln put in one big push that Leicester unfortunately couldn’t match. Despite a good fight the boat came 5^th in the final.

Novice Women’s Eight

The Senior Men entered three crews: an eight, a coxed four, and a coxless four. Despite struggling with illness and injury, the eight managed to qualify for the semi-final and achieved a top 12 finish. Considering two of the oarsmen had to be brought in at the last minute, this was a much better finish than expected.

Senior Men’s Intermediate Eight

Senior Men’s Intermediate Coxed Four

Despite having very little time to train the Intermediate coxed four managed to qualify for the F final, achieving fourth place. The Championship coxless four made the C final and, digging deep after a hard weekend, came second, achieving 14^th place overall.

Senior Men’s Championship Coxless Four (foreground).

Rebecca Clephan and Olivia Martin entered the Championship double sculls category for the Senior Women squad, and it proved to be a dramatic time trial! The girls put in a very strong first 500m, however at the 1000m mark the strong first quarter was beginning to take its toll. Through pain and exhaustion the double managed to catch up to Loughborough with 250m to go.

Senior Women’s Double Scull.

After crossing the finishing line however, Olivia blacked out (á la Alex Woods of the 2012 Oxford boat), sending them both into the water. Luckily the medics came to the rescue and the two were hauled to safety. Despite the drama the crew managed to achieve a place in the B finals, although were unfortunately unable to race.

The anonymous twitter account @BUCSRower provided some valuable insights.

Despite mixed results for ULBC at BUCS, all the crews came out of the regatta more determined than ever to keep up the training and hope for much better results in the upcoming regatta season.