On the Bank Holiday weekend Leeds University Union Boat Club sent all their squads to race at the prestigious BUCS Regatta in Nottingham. With hard training at Easter training camps both in York and France, all the crews felt prepared to take on the universities of the UK, a rare event for rowing, with BUCS events only happening three times a year (Indoor rowing, Head race, and Regatta race). This year saw great successes, against extremely tough competition from some of the most successful boat clubs in the country, ranging from Cambridge, to Newcastle and Durham.
The Men’s squads faced tough competition on Sunday, but did very well, with the Senior Men’s 4+ coming fourth in their final, with a finishing position of 28th. The Novice Men took an 8 to the regatta, placing third in their final and finishing in 27th. On the Saturday, a Novice Men’s 4+ entered into the York Spring Regatta, where they came first, losing their ‘novice status’- an impressive result this early on in the season.
However the weekend’s star performances at BUCS came from the Women’s squads. The Monday saw the Novice and Senior Women race to exceptional standards. The Novice Women’s 8 competed against 41 crews in three heats. The first time trial was a challenge for the girls who were involved in a crash off the start line, however after a re-row they finished in the top 12, placing them in the semi-finals. They stormed through the semi-finals to earn themselves a place in the B final, where they finished in 6th place, earning themselves 12th in the country – an exceptional result for Leeds.
The Senior Women’s 4+ proved equally impressive, starting with a fantastic time trial race, placing them 6th out of 55 crews in their category. A special mention to their cox Emily Lindsay who got a mention from the commentator for the liveliest cox! The girls smashed their semi-final, qualifying for the B final. The girls gave a nail biting performance in their final, placing last until the final 500 metres where they pushed the other crews to breaking point, overtaking three crews to come third. This fantastic result placed them 9th in the country.
The successes of the weekend are very promising as the club moves further into the regatta season. Hard work certainly pays off, and it will be exciting to see what more the squads can offer in the up and coming races.
Alice Stephens-Mayor
Image courtesy of LUUBC