Rowing in Scotland during the winter is no easy feat, and this year has been no exception. With Strathclyde Country Park out of action due to maintenance for the whole of January, conditions at Auchinstarry proving less than ideal on several occasions, and many water sessions having to be called off altogether due to the likes of storms Ciara and Dennis, it is fair to say that the 2019-2020 season has been one of the most challenging the club has had to face. With the Scottish Rowing Winter Challenge being cancelled, and illness and injury changing the line-ups of crews right up to the last minute, those who boarded the 4:30am coach to Newcastle for BUCS Head on Sunday would have been forgiven for feeling more than a little apprehensive. With challenges come opportunities, however, and as we were to discover, the resilience, determination and commitment of all four squads paid off with an admirable performance and a strong marker for the rest of the season to come.
Senior Squads
Both the Senior Women and Senior Men showed that Edinburgh continues to be one of the leading university boat clubs, with all our Championship crews coming away with a medal. In Division 1, the Women’s 1st VIII showed they are steadily closing the gap on Newcastle, taking the silver medal just 5 seconds behind the winners and well ahead of Imperial and Durham. The 2nd VIII meanwhile got the third fastest time of any 2nd VIII, behind Newcastle and Durham and well ahead of various university’s 1st VIIIs. Our men’s Championship Fours, both racing in scratch combinations, both medalled, with the Coxless Four taking home the gold ahead of Glasgow, Imperial and Newcastle. A third coxed four (racing intermediate) was sadly unable to race, while the Intermediate Quad came sixth in a very competitive field.
The worsening conditions made for some challenging marshalling and tough racing in Division 2, although nothing that the squads could not handle. Racing now in eights, the Men’s 1st VIII made short work of the choppy water and won a bronze medal ahead of Durham, while the 2nd VIII had a strong showing in one of the busiest categories of the day to come 6th in intermediate eights, ahead of Surrey, Bath and Glasgow’s 1st VIIIs, the latter racing in Championship eights. The women’s top four continued their run of success from their win at HOR4s, taking the gold in Championship Coxless Fours, while the Coxed Four also won a bronze medal in a Championship category. A shout out must also go to Laura McDonald, who came out of retirement to help the Championship Quad steal the silver medal ahead of Durham, which also meant that all the Senior Women’s crews in Division 2 medalled. Overall, a major success for the Senior Squads and a good start to head racing season!
Club Rowing - Lindsay Evans
The Club rowing squad also attended racing, their four crews making for their first ever BUCS appearances. First down the course was the Women’s Intermediate 8+, which finished very happily in 16th place. Also in first division was the Men’s Intermediate 4x, which sped down the course to finish in 9th place. Though second division did its best to prevent racing, the squad also saw a Women’s 4x and Women’s 4+ race through the waves, placing 11th and 21st respectively.
Novices
- Rowena Hutchinson
Despite challenging conditions for an inaugural race, the novice squad successfully made their mark in the Intermediate division. Competing against much more experienced rowers, the men’s quad came a commendable 14th and the women’s quad beat off 4 crews to come 12th in their race.
Next races:
Women's Eights Head of the River Race (WeHORR) - Saturday 7th March: Senior Women and Novice Women
Head of the River Race (HORR) - Saturday 21st March: Senior Men and Novice Men
An Instagram story posted on Sunday erroneously claimed that our Men's Championship Coxed Four had won a silver medal, this was in fact a bronze medal. Our apologies go to Durham University (crew 80) who actually won the silver medal.