Edinburgh University Boat Club

Inverness Caley Cruisers Fours and Small Boats Head 2025

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:58:56 GMT

EUBC competed at the Caley Cruisers Fours and Small Boats Head 2025 hosted by Inverness Rowing Club on the Caledonian Canal. Our first race for the whole Senior Squad and first chance for our new members to represent EUBC.

As always, this was an excellent event, with a large entry showcasing competitive performances from clubs across Scotland at the start of the season. Thank you to Inverness Rowing Club for organising and running this event!

Our Senior Women’s squad achieved a clean sweep across the Women’s championship fours and quads. And Grace Dawson, following her impressive performance at the GBRT trials the week prior, won the Women’s Championship Single by an impressive margin. Our Men’s squad performed well in the Coxed Fours, winning all three categories.

Inverness represented the first opportunity for our trialists to return to crew boats following the November GBRT trials and allowed us to consolidate our training in preparation for Rutherford Head on the 30th of November and our annual fixture with Durham University Boat Club on the 1st of December.

Medals:

OR2 4+

OR1 4+

OR1 4-

Champ 4+

W Champ 4+

W Champ 4-

W Champ 4x

W R1 4-

W Champ 1x

New Paragraph

High Point Rowing Festival

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:39:25 GMT

High Point Rowing Festival Race Report

On the 3rd October, 10 EUBC athletes travelled to High Point in North Carolina for the Autumn Rowing Festival. Upon arrival we spent a couple of days soaking up the sun and getting used to the beautiful but unique shape of Oak Hollow Lake! Following training mornings, we spent the afternoonsexploring High Point, including trips to the impressive University Campus and meeting their mascot Prowler the Panther!

On the 5th October we arrived to the course ready to take on the 3 races of the Autumn Rowing Festival. The first was a 4.7k side by side race, with an unusual twist. Around 2.5k in, crews were required to spin around a huge yellow duck before building back up to speed to take on the last 2k of the race. The second race was a 3.4k race, followed by a final, exciting race - the 300m dash.

Results:

The Edinburgh Women’s first 8+ lined up against 2 High Point University Crews for the ‘Duck Race’. They had a strong start and following a clean turn around the duck ended up with a win of a few lengths over the 2 High Point University Crews.

The second race shaped up to be an exciting one - Edinburghagainst a fleet of Duke Crews – Duke A, B and C. Edinburghhad a quick start, opening up a lead of a length over Duke A. However, Duke A started to pick up momentum coming into the final bend, where they moved across Edinburgh to take the inside line. After some close racing and touch of blade clashing, Duke A stretched out a narrow lead of 2 seconds to win this race ahead of EUBC.

The final race of the day was the short 300m dash, where 7crews lined up to try and take home the Lenny Peters Cup. After a close race Edinburgh claimed victory over the othercrews! Spraying champagne over the trophy on the red carpet was a great and memorable way to finish off this extraordinary weekend.

Overall, we had a fantastic time, and would love to thank the High Point Rowing Festival and the Lenny Peters Cup for their generous invitation to compete in this fantastic event. A further thank you to High Point University for lending us the crew’s boat and all the equipment we used to compete.

Rutherford Head Race Results

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 15:58:40 GMT

Our senior squad raced at Rutherford Head on the River Tyne on Saturday the 30th of November, 2024.

Results:

Men's 1st 8+ - 1st and fastest time of the day.

Men's 2nd 8+ - 6th

Women's 1st 8+ - 2nd

Women's 2nd 8+ - 4th

Men's 4x - 1st

Men's 4+ - 3rd

Women's 4+ - 1st

Women's 4+ (b2) - 1st

Women's 4- - 4th

GB Rowing Team November Trials

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:49:00 GMT

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th November 2024 - Boston, Lincolnshire

Six Edinburgh University Boat club athletes made their way down to Boston, Lincolnshire for the first round of Great Britian Trials. These trials allow both senior and under-23 athletes to showcase their talent with a gruelling 2 kilometre ergo test on the Saturday, followed by a 5-kilometre water trial on the Sunday. The Saturday saw 5 personal bests on the 2k with Rachel finishing 5th, Katie finishing 15th, Grace finishing 46th and Penny finishing 74th. In the men’s race, Freddy finished 71st, whilst Magnus followed behind in 107th.

On the Sunday, the athletes were blessed with calm conditions and flat water. The women were off first and displayed strong performances. Rachel finished 16th, Katie finished 23rd, Grace finished 40th and Penny finished 50th. Following a lunch interval, it was the men’s time to take on the 5km course. Both put in a strong performance with Freddy finishing 32nd and Magnus close behind in 36th.

Henley Royal Regatta 2024 Race Report

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 11:31:23 GMT

An outstanding regatta for EUBC which saw a record 54 Edinburgh University student athletes qualify 7 boats for Henley Royal Regatta in the following events:
Prince Albert Challenge Cup – Student Men’s 4+ (2),
Temple Challenge Cup – Student Men’s 8+ (2),
Island Challenge Cup – Student Women’s 8+ (3).

PA A, Temple A and Island A all prequalified for the regatta.

PA B, Temple B, Island B and Island C went through Qualifiers where all four crews succeeded on their goal to qualify into racing week.

4 of these athletes only learnt how to row at the start of this season, and a total of 19 learnt to row at the university.

An amazing set of results to begin the regatta and really showing the strength and depth through of all our squads this year.

Highlights include:

- Every athlete qualified to race,

- Three crews in the Island (Student W8+) - the most out of any club,

- Island B through to the Friday of the regatta, the furthest an EUBC women’s crew has ever progressed at HRR!

Tuesday Racing:

Temple A vs. Nereus B, NED – lost by ½ length

Temple B vs. Nereus A, NED – lost by 1 length

Prince Albert A vs La Salle University, USA – won by ¾ length

Prince Albert B vs Cambridge – lost

Wednesday Racing:

Island A vs. University of London B – won by 1 and ¾ length

Island B vs. University of Iowa, USA – won by 1 and ¼ length

Island C vs. Oxford Brookes B – lost by 1 length

Thursday Racing:

Island A vs. Oxford University – lost by ½ length

Island B vs. Schøll, NED – won by 1 and 1/3 length

Prince Albert A vs. Oxford Brookes A – lost by 1 and ½ length

Friday Racing:

Island B vs. University of London A – lost by 1 and ½ length

Alumni Results:

We’re also very proud of all our alumni who raced with their current respective clubs. A special mention goes out to three of our alumni on their notable achievements:
Phil Garnier – Britannia Challenge Cup (Thames RC),
Jane Hardie – Wargrave Challenge Cup (Thames RC),
James Doran – Grand Challenge Cup (Oxford University/Oxford Brookes).

Congratulations to everyone who raced!

While Henley marks the end of the EUBC season, we still have a number of athletes seeking selection for the Scotland and GB Rowing Teams this summer and wish them the best of luck with testing and racing!

Henley Women's Regatta 2024 Race Report

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:59:36 GMT

The weekend of 21st-23rd June 2024 saw 24 EUBC athletes compete across four events at Henley Women’s Regatta, culminating in a win in the Development 4+ for the second year in a row, Final in the Aspirational Academic 8+, Quarter-Final in the the Championship 8+ and a close Heat in the Aspirational Academic 4-.

The Colgan Foundation Cup (Aspirational Academic 8+)

A mix of our women’s first and second eights, this crew had a fantastic run through the regatta. Nickleby Simmonds (cox) led his crew of Maddie Fatani, Freya Hughson, Clara O’Doherty, Catriona Taylor, Olivia Schmidt, Lucy McLean, Beatrice Beever and Isla MacCallum through a series of exciting races and into the Final. They faced Oxford Brookes ‘A’ and after leading for the first 1km of the course, the Brookes crew fought back and took the win by 3/4 of a length. This is the first time an Edinburgh University crew has made it to a W8+ Final at Henley Women’s Regatta.

TT result - 2nd

1st Heat vs. Newcastle ‘A’

Quarter Final vs. UC Dublin ‘A’

Semi Final vs. U.S.R. Triton (NED)

Final vs. Oxford Brookes ‘A’

The Ron Needs Cup (Championship 8+)

The other half of our first and second eights stepped into the boat together for the first time on Friday afternoon in the time trial, where Patrick Moody (cox), Grace Bake, Josephine Briggs, Izzy Clements, Olivia Burns, Grace Dawson, Sophie Morgan, Lily Young and Charlotte Glasby set down a good performance and placed 6th. They raced a Newcastle/Tyne composite crew in the first round on Friday evening and won by 2L. Then progressing to the Saturday, the girls had a hard-fought race in the Quarter Final where the Oxford Brookes ‘A’ crew won by 3/4 of a length.

TT result - 6th

1st Heat vs. Newcastle/Tyne

Quarter Final vs. Oxford Brookes

The Cathy Cruikshank Trophy (Aspirational Academic 4-)

After a solid time trial (5th place), Lauren Cole, Olivia Holdcroft, Imogen Sargent and Megan Bromham raced in the first round of the AA4- event where they faced strong in the ASR Nereus ‘A’ crew. The girls had a good race which included a brief encounter with the booms, but swiftly recovered and worked their way back through the course. After an incredibly impressive sprint they unfortunately just ran out of water and were beaten by 1/3 of a length.

TT result - 5th

1st Heat vs. ASR Nereus

The Frank V Harry Cup (Development 4+)

Starting as they meant to go on, Katie Robertson, Millie Drury, Erica Watt, Grace Chapman and Theo Murphy (cox) won the time trial in the Dev4+ and continued to dominate the event as the weekend progressed. Posting the fastest times in each round, they signed off a spectacular weekend with a win in the Final against Upper Thames RC by four and a half lengths.

Katie, Millie and Theo have all come through the beginner programme this season, with Grace having only come out of the beginner programme last year, and Erica, still a junior and in her first year of study at Edinburgh. This is the second consecutive year that EUBC has won The Frank V Harry Cup at Henley Women’s Regatta!

TT result - 1st

1st Heat vs. Vesta RC,

Quarter Finals vs. UC Dublin

Semi Final vs. Saint Andrews Uni

Final vs. Upper Thames

All of these crews now re-group into three eights for Henley Royal Regatta in The Island Challenge Cup and we wish them the best of luck going forward!

Rutherford Head Race Report

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 19:00:11 GMT

On the first December weekend, EUBC headed down to Newcastle for the final race weekend of 2023. In cold December conditions, the club raced both Rutherford Head and participated in matched racing with Durham and Molesey the following day.

EUBC sent 53 athletes down to race and came out of the weekend with some fantastic results. Edinburgh took the wins in the Op4- b1, W8+ b2, Op8+ b2, Op4- b2, Op4+ b2, with strong performances across all other races.

On Sunday, Edinburgh participated in match racing against Durham and Molesey and saw a dominant win from our women’s first eight, an incredible step up from the previous day.

Following these promising results, EUBC is excited to see what racing brings in 2024.

Henley Royal Regatta 2023 Race Report

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 19:55:08 GMT

H enley Royal Regatta 2023 witnessed extraordinary achievements from Edinburgh University Boat Club. With eight strong crews participating, including a Prince Albert Challenge Cup Men's 4+, two men's Temple Challenge Cup 8+'s, two women's Island Challenge Cup 8+'s, a composite Prince Of Wales Challenge Cup men's 4x, a composite Princess Grace Challenge Cup women's 4x, and a Diamond Challenge Sculls men's single scull, EUBC arrived with high expectations and a desire to showcase their talent on the renowned Henley stretch.

While Temple A, and both men's and women's composite quads secured pre-qualification, the remaining crews had to go through the qualifying process. Fortunately, four out of the five racing crews successfully qualified. However, Dan Jones in the open single experienced equipment failure, resulting in him missing out on a qualifying spot.

The six-day regatta began on Tuesday, with side-by-side racing featuring Temple Challenge Cup crews and the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup crew. Temple A faced a Dutch international crew from Nereus, comprising of multiple under-23 international rowers. In a fiercely contested race, Temple A displayed their strength but narrowly missed out, losing by a length. Nereus then advanced another round, ultimately losing to Syracuse who made the final against Oxford Brookes.

Later in the day, Temple B competed against Durham A, a consistent top-three university first 8+ team throughout the season. Despite the crew's great determination and skill, they fell short against the strong Durham crew.

The Prince of Wales quad, featuring Josh Matthews from Edinburgh, was paired with Leander A, consisting of multiple international-level rowers. Despite a valiant effort, the men's 4x couldn't overcome the Leander crew, who took a 2 length victory and eventually won the entire event.

On Wednesday, the remaining EUBC crews entered side-by-side racing. Island A faced University of London A and emerged victorious with exceptional teamwork and power, leading by one length through the finish line. Island B competed against University of Pennsylvania B, they rowed a great and pushed their opposition down the whole course however were unsuccessful in acquiring the victory and finished 2½ lengths behind. The composite women's 4x, featuring Hannah Supple from Edinburgh, competed against NCRA and emerged triumphant, winning by 2 lengths, showcasing their skill and determination. Meanwhile, the men's 4+ crew confronted Triton, another formidable Dutch crew, they raced extremely well and took the race to the line but couldn't secure a victory and narrowly missed out by just half a length.

This year's Henley Royal Regatta witnessed several notable achievements for EUBC. With a record-breaking 43 athletes qualifying for the regatta, the club showcased remarkable depth across multiple events. Notable standout accomplishments were Hannah Supple's composite women's 4x reaching the Friday of the regatta, where they faced the eventual winners of the event, the senior GB quad; as well as Island A who pushed Brookes A, the eventual winners of the Island Challenge cup to hotly contested race In which they finished just 1 length down.

Reflecting on the successful year, the boat club expresses immense pride in the accomplishments of the athletes. The depth and talent displayed throughout the regatta further solidified EUBC's position as a force to be reckoned with in the university rowing community.

Henley Royal Regatta once again proved to be a magnificent celebration of the sport, athletes, and the collective spirit of the club. With such impressive achievements, EUBC is filled with anticipation for the upcoming seasons and the limitless potential they hold.

MET Regatta 2023 Race Report

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:06:37 GMT

As the the summer racing season gets fully underway, Edinburgh sent 27 athletes down to Met Regatta in preparation for Henley Royal Regatta.

The weekend saw some pro ductive and positive racing for the squads with promising results for the crews to go into the last few weeks of training before Henley.

The W8+ raced both days as the same crew, placing 1st in the B final on Saturday, to which they then made a positive step on for the Sunday, placing 2nd in the A final.

The M8+ and M4+ did crew alterations throughout the weekend. The M8+ placed 3rd in the C final on the Saturday and 4th in the B final on the Sunday. The M4+ placed 6th in the A final on the Saturday and 5th in the B final on Sunday.

Josh Matthews and Hannah Supple raced in composite crews throughout the weekend. Josh placed 1st in the M2x on the Saturday, followed by placing 3rd in the M1x on Sunday. Hannah raced the W2x both days, placing 5th on Saturday and 2nd on the Sunday.

Both squads look to make further steps on in their crews on our training camp at Loch Oich this week.

Scottish Championships 2023 Race Report

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:02:10 GMT

S cot Champs saw a very fun and sunny weekend of racing for our athletes. Edinburgh won a total of 10 medals over the weekend as crews doubled up throughout the weekend to make the most of some racing before they head up to Loch Oich for training camp.

All crews are looking forward to a productive training camp up North before athletes head down South for HWR and HRR.

The University of Edinburgh and Scottish Rowing have agreed to extend their successful partnership by a further six years.

Fri, 26 May 2023 14:58:13 GMT

Rowing has been one of Scotland’s leading Olympic sports over several cycles, consistently punching above its weight both domestically and internationally with Scottish rowers making up one fifth of Team GB at Tokyo 2020 including three who came through the University of Edinburgh programme. The performance partnership is based on a mutual commitment to create a thriving rowing programme at all levels that supports and encourages long term athlete development underpinned by a positive, collaborative and supportive team culture which prioritises and supports good health and wellbeing for both coaches and athletes. It will see Scottish Rowing, backed by sportscotland, make both a significant annual financial investment into the programme as well as commitment to support the rowing programme at the University of Edinburgh through other in-kind benefits.

The programme has consistently produced athletes to Scotland and Great Britain representative standard including multiple Olympians - these include University of Edinburgh Sports Hall of Fame athletes Dame Katherine Grainger and Dr Polly Swann.

Both The University of Edinburgh and Scottish Rowing are confident that this partnership will help continue to support a thriving rowing programme at all levels and to identify, recruit and develop rowers within EUBC who can successfully compete at an Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth level.

“As I approach a decade in my role as Head of Rowing, I can reflect on the fantastic progress of the sport at the University of Edinburgh. We have grown to become one of the leading clubs in the UK, consistently achieving domestic success, as well as providing a regular flow of athletes to Great Britain teams at both Under 23 and Senior level. The support Scottish Rowing has provided on this journey has been invaluable, and I am excited to be signing a new agreement which will see us solidify and enhance our status as a destination to excel in both rowing and academia.”

Colin Williamson

Head of Performance Rowing, The University of Edinburgh

“We are beyond delighted to extend our partnership with Scottish Rowing. We look forward to the next 6 years, growing the partnership both further, and ensuring we raise the already high standards set within the programme at Edinburgh. I know, through working together, we will continue to create a rowing environment that carries on creating long term athlete development, in an environment others want to be part of.”

Ross Simpson

Assistant Director and Head of Sport, The University of Edinburgh

“Scottish Rowing is proud of our partnership with the University of Edinburgh which has helped to support the development of countless student rowers since it began in 2010 and has set a standard for other programmes to follow. Looking ahead there are many opportunities – in Olympic, Paralympic and emerging Commonwealth disciplines – and we look forward to playing our part to ensure that Edinburgh remains one of the leading rowing programmes in the country.”

Lee Boucher

Head of Performance Pathway, Scottish Rowing

BUCS Regatta 2023

Tue, 09 May 2023 09:33:03 GMT

The May Bank Holiday weekend has secured itself as the start and highlight of the regatta season, as BUCS regatta brings together the whole university rowing community, from beginners to international athletes across three packed days of racing across Beginner, Intermediate and Championship categories.

As usual, the baby blue army stormed down South with 87 athletes competing in 60 entered events with determination and intent in both racing and not falling over in the mud…

Our beginner programme coached by Mike Hughes was most definitely a highlight of the regatta, as once again, Edinburgh’s novice rowers dominated the field. Despite being new to the sport, the athletes had astounding performances across the weekend, winning gold in the WBeg 8+, WBeg 4x, WBeg 4- and MBeg 4x. As well taking medals in the WBeg 1x, MBeg 1x and the WBeg 2x. A phenomenal and dominating performance from our beginner squad.

Our senior men’s and women’s squad faced strong opponents in some tough races, narrowly missing out on medals on multiple occasions. Our men did however, secure medals in the MChLwt 1x and MChLwt 4-, followed by medals in the MIntLwt 2-, MInt 2- and MCh 4x. Our women secured bronze in the WCh 2x to finish a tough but valuable weekend of racing off.

As our squads now turn their attention to the rest of the summer racing season, we can’t shy away from the excitement and value of BUCS regatta as it brings new people to the sport and allows everyone of all abilities to compete and reach their potential.

After a some-what muddy but valuable weekend of racing, as a club we are excited to see what we can do in the next few weeks and months leading into the HWR and HRR.

Race Report: GB Selection Trials 2023

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:58:57 GMT

A total of five athletes and one cox were invited to the GB selection trials this weekend, where Edinburgh displayed a strong performance across the whole board.

Dale Flockhart had a stand out performance and notably won the LMx1 category, placing 4th overall in the B final. Dan Jones followed as the 2nd fastest LMx1, placing 1st in the C final overall. Josh Matthews also put in strong performance coming in as 5th fastest U23 sculler, placing 2nd in the D final overall. Hannah Supple stood out in a strong field as 2nd fastest U23 sculler and placing 6th in the B final overall.

A brilliant weekend of racing and results for our athletes and we look forward to see what they do in the rest of the season.

Race Report: Eights Head of the River 2023

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:51:58 GMT

After a fantastic performance from our Senior and Beginner Women’s Squad at WeHoRR, Saturday 18th March was the turn of the Senior Men. In a year where the overall record fell, the 2023 Eight’s Head boasted possibly the highest quality field in the events history, but Edinburgh remained undaunted.

Our 1st VIII placed 16th overall, and 4th in the University Pennant. This was a great result for our top boat and showed good progress on our opposition from previous races (and possibly the fastest an Edinburgh crew has rowed the championship course due to favourable conditions).

Our 2nd VIII had a good row to place 41st, and our 3rd VIII did well to get into the top 100 in such a strong year, placing 98th.

We’re very happy with the squads performance in the strongest year seen at men’s head. This leaves the Senior Men in a great position to attack the second half of the season, having made up good ground on our various university opposition. We now look forward beginning our Victor Ludorum defence at the BUCS regatta.

Race Report: Women's Eights Head of the River 2023

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 14:17:35 GMT

Edinburgh’s women took to the Tideway in London on 4 March for the finale of their winter racing season. Women’s Eights Head of the River is the largest women’s rowing event in Europe, 320 boats and 2880 competitors racing the 6.75km course between Chiswick and Putney.

The boats arrived in Putney early on Thursday morning. This gave coxes and rowers two days of training; coxes practiced their steering; rowers worked on getting to grips with the challenging water. For some it was just a refresher; for many it was their first time on the Tideway.

After two days of preparation, our crews took to the water and rowed to the start in chilly but decent conditions, with a little head wind between the Bandstand and Chiswick. First off was the First VIII, starting sixth. After what was described as a good row, they were timed eighth fastest over the course, a great achievement with two GB crews ahead of them and the usual Leander entries. Later, our crew was given a 10sec time penalty which pushed them to tenth; however, their result was positive in comparison to the usual rivals and bodes well for the racing coming.

The beginner crews started later, with numbers 290 (Edinburgh D) and 293 (Edinburgh C). Both enjoyed good starts and found themselves overtaking, some were sporting and yielded; others were not, forcing them to take the long way round. As they approached Fulham, both coxes (new to rowing this year) steered a great line, using the advice given to them by as alumnus about the new fastest line in some areas.

With the confirmed results, Edinburgh had secured a unique 1-2 in their category, with 44s between them and a further 50s back to third. Edinburgh C finished 69th with the 2nd highest climb of the day of 224 places; Edinburgh D finished 126th, climbing 163 places. This signs-off a special winter racing period for the beginner women, who had secured a clean-sweep at BUCS Head a few weeks earlier.

Our women are now focused on preparation for summer racing.

We’d like to thank our boat partner Hudson for their continued support; our hosts at London RC for their hospitality, and to @wehorr for organising another well-ran event.

Race Report: BUCS Head 2023

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 10:43:12 GMT

For the third time this season we headed down South to race on the River Tyne in some challenging conditions. After matched racing and Rutherford Head in November, the a thletes felt prepared for the challenges of the river.

Saturday was the Championship and Intermediate events, kicking off with the Women’s eights and Men’s fours events in a strong headwind. The Women’s eights set a strong precedent for the weekend ahead as both the Women’s Championship 8+ and Intermediate 8+ took silver. The men had strong performances in the fours, with the Men’s Lightweight Championship 4- being the highlight as they took gold.

The afternoon followed with some more solid performances as the tide turned and the wind lowered. The Men’s Championship 8+ set the afternoon off with a solid performance with bronze. The Men’s Intermediate 8+ had solid performances also, finishing 6th and 16th. The women took the fours in the afternoon, with the Women’s Championship 4- being the highlight of the afternoon stormed the field and took gold. The Women’s Championship 4+ took silver also.

After a some strong performances on the Saturday, the beginners were ready to take to the Tyne on the Sunday for their first race in baby blue. After unforeseen circumstances, the beginner men were unable to race, leaving the beginner women to demonstrate the strength of the beginner programme. The beginner women stormed the entire field, taking gold and silver in the Women’s Beginner 4+, gold in the Women’s Beginner 4x and gold again in the Women’s beginner 8+. A phenomenal performance from our beginner squad.

The weekend was brilliant success for the whole club and the athletes are ready to get back into trianing in preparation for WEHORR and HORR in the upcoming weeks.

Race Report: GB Trials February 2023

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 09:51:11 GMT

L ast weekend saw the second round of the GB Senior and u23 trails process for the 2022/23 season. After a solid land based winter training block, the athletes were excited to show their potential. EUBC had 6 athletes go down South with a total of 11 athletes representing the club.

In the W1x, Hannah Supple had an impressive run down the course, finishing as 5th U23. Charley Faint followed with 11th U23. Alumni Lucy Glover and Maddie Arlett, representing EUBC, had impressive races finishing 7th and 12th.

Ollie Holmes and Andrew Stoker raced the M2- finishing 30th overall. Both Dale Flockhart and Dan Jones racing in the LM1x category had strong performances and took 1st and 2nd place. Cam Buchan racing in the open M1x finished 15th overall.

Alumni Alice Ives, Perri McCluskey and Laurance Ellis were also racing for their respective clubs.

The weekend was a great success with solid performances from our athletes and alumni. We are looking forward to the next block of training in preparation for the next round in April.

Race Report: Rutherford Head

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 09:49:31 GMT

At the weekend, EUBC headed back down to Newcastle having been down the week prior for some training with Newcastle, Durham and Tyne. This year was the first time since 2019 that Rutherford Head has taken place, as it usually does, in December due to cancellations and postponements.

EUBC took down 57 athletes to race and came out with some fantastic results. Edinburgh took the wins in the W8+ band 1, W4x b1, W4- b1, W4x b2, W4+ b2, with strong performances across all the other races.

Rutherford marks the end of the racing calendar for 2022 and with some promising results so far, EUBC are excited for the racing calendar next year.

Race Report: November GB Trials

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 10:01:22 GMT

A number of EUBC athletes travelled down to Boston, Lincolnshire this week for the first of the seasons long distance GB trial assessments.

After an enormous amount of PBs from the 2k on the Saturday, the athletes were ready to take on the 5k water assessment on the Sunday.

With the requirement for all women to compete in the 1x category this year, the competition was high. However, the athletes put in strong performances and produced some promising results.

In the Women’s lightweight 1x category, after a standout erg the day before producing the fastest lightweight 2k, Lily Young put in a strong performance on the water to finish 3 ^rd Under 23 and 4 ^th overall in the lightweight category.

The W1x category saw some very impressive results also as Hannah Supple finished as the 5 ^th Under 21 and 9 ^th Under 23. Anna Buchanan followed, finishing as the 16 ^th Under 23. Izzy Clements finished as the 11 ^th Under 21 and 21 ^st Under 23, followed by Claudia Rossington who produced the fastest Under 21 2k the day before, finished as the 14 ^th Under 21 and 26 ^th Under 23. Charley Faint finished as the 30 ^th Under 23 and Catriona Taylor finished as the 34 ^th Under 23. Madeleine Fatani finished 29 ^th Under 21 and 50 ^th Under 23.

The men also put in strong performances across all the categories in a tough field of competition.

In the M1x category, Josh Matthews had a strong race and finished as the 2 ^nd Under 21, 3 ^rd Under 23 and 15 ^th overall. Cameron Buchan followed finishing in 19 ^th overall.

Daniel Jones in the LM1x category had a standout performance and finished as the 1 ^st LM.

In the M2- category, Harry Fletcher and Oliver Holmes finished 28 ^th overall, followed by Ben Nussey and Andrew Stoker finishing 29 ^th overall.

We also had numerous EUBC alumni competing, putting in very strong performances. James Doran finished 11 ^th overall in the M2-, followed by Laurance Ellis finishing 13 ^th . Perri McCluskey finished 29 ^th overall in the W1x and Alice Ives finished 46 ^th overall.

The weekend produced a strong set of performances from the athletes and we are excited to see their potential in the rest of the season as these athletes will be looking to return to Boston in February.

World Rowing Championships, Racice, Czech Republic, 2022

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 14:55:56 GMT

T he World Rowing Championships 2022, held in Racice, Czech Republic saw some incredible racing from current and former EUBC members.

Current EUBC squad member Dale Flockhart kicked off his GB senior debut in the LM1x with a 2nd place in his heat, followed by another 2nd place in the quarterfinal. Dale had a strong race in the semi-final where he qualified for the B-Final, finishing in an incredible 11th position overall in the world.

EUBC alumni Lucy Glover and her crew in the W4x had strong start to their racing campaign with wins in both their heat and semi-final, qualifying them for the A-Final and the potential of a medal. The crew had a very strong race and won bronze. A huge achievement for Lucy and her crew.

Maddie Arlett racing in the LW1x event kicked off her racing campaign with a 2nd place in her heat and a 3rd in the repechage, so qualifying for the C/D semi-finals. Maddie fought a strong race and finished 4th in her semi-final.

A phenomenal achievement for all athletes involved.

Race Report: Henley Royal Regatta 2022

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 21:03:13 GMT

With the rowing season back to normality, the boat club has seen enormous successes throughout the season and went into Henley Royal Regatta ready to implement a year of planning, training and preparation. With a record number of 42 athletes and 8 crews including a composite entered, there was a huge amount of excitement across the club to show what the athletes were capable of.

With 8 crews entering qualification, 4 of these pre-qualified for their selected events, leaving the men’s and women’s 2 ^nd 8+s and 2 4+s to kick off racing at qualifiers on the Friday. The 4+s raced well in a strong field of athletes and placed 10 ^th and 11 ^th in their qualifying events. Both 8+s achieved what they set out to do and raced well in the strong headwind and qualified for the regatta, building anticipation for what they and the rest of the crews could do in side-by-side racing in the next week.

2022 saw the first year of the regatta being held across 6 days rather than 5, where side-by-side racing began on the Tuesday with the 2 ^nd Temple 8+ boat setting off against Georgetown University, USA. The boys fought hard against the U.S crew but unfortunately lost by a margin of 2 ¼ lengths.

Later in the evening we saw an exciting Northern derby race as the 1 ^st Temple 8+ boat was up against Newcastle University, with Edinburgh taking the win by ¾ of a length and securing a place in the next round.

Wednesday saw the first races for 3 of our crews, starting with the M4+ in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup up against Sydney University, Australia. With Sydney’s fast start, Edinburgh kept their ground and raced the Australians to the line to win by a margin of 2/3 of a length.

The women’s squad kicked off their side-by-side racing in the Island Challenge Cup in the afternoon, with the 1 ^st Island 8+ racing against the University of Washington, USA. The U.S crew had a strong line up and had a quick start out of the blocks, but Edinburgh tested Washington and raced them right to the line, only losing by 1 ¼ lengths.

The 2 ^nd Island 8+ were also up against Sydney University, Australia, in the evening session. After the Australians got a length up due to their flying start, Edinburgh found their rhythm and rowed through them, pushing right to the line where they came out with a win by 1 length and went through to Thursday racing.

The busy day of racing on the Wednesday came to an end with the 1 ^st Temple 8+ racing against the University of British Colombia, Canada. Edinburgh had a strong race and fought to the line, but were unable to come out on top, losing by a margin of 2 ¼ lengths.

Thursday racing for Edinburgh was kicked off with Dale Flockhart in the Double Sculls challenge cup racing in a composite crew with Oxford Brookes. The double had seen success the previous weekend at the Holland Beker Regatta winning both lightweight and open weight double sculls events, hoping to continue their success at HRR. Flockhart’s double was up against a heavyweight French and Dutch composite, which Flockhart and his doubles partner pushed right to the finish but unfortunately lost by a margin of 1 ¼ lengths.

The M4+ were up against Northern rivals Newcastle University in the second round of the Prince Albert Challenge Cup. Edinburgh refused to give Newcastle an easy race and kept contact with them the entire way down the course but were unfortunate and lost by a margin of ¾ of a length.

The 2 ^nd Island 8+ were the last Edinburgh crew left in the regatta as they raced the University of California, USA in the evening session of the Thursday. California flew off the start, but Edinburgh refused to let them walk away and took some distance back which they then held to the line, losing by 1 ¾ of a length.

With a record number of 42 athletes competing, more than 2 8+s qualifying for the first time and the first time an Edinburgh Women’s crew has progressed through a round at HRR, the achievements throughout the regatta prove the success Edinburgh University Boat Club has had this season, in what has been one of the most successful seasons the boat club has seen.

The regatta has been a fantastic celebration of the sport, athletes and club as a whole and we are hugely excited for next season and the potential EUBC has.

A perspective from the Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s squad captains.

Women’s squad make history

Edinburgh’s senior women arrived in Henley two and a half weeks before the start of HRR, settling into two houses in the centre with differing host families who had quickly made the athletes feel at home. After many successful races down the regatta course over the Henley Women’s weekend (coming away with a win in Aspirational quads) it was time for a few reshuffles to form a second eight who would join the first eight in the Henley campaign.

With qualifiers on Friday afternoon, the rest of the squad positioned themselves at different points along the bank to cheer on the second eight who managed to secure their spot in one of the few remaining spaces in the Island Challenge Cup. Having an Edinburgh crew race the new student event was a first for the university alongside the fact that eighteen athletes had made it through to side-by-side races! With both crews in, the draw the following day was filled with anticipation, and it was announced that both crews would be facing overseas competition in their first rounds on Wednesday. The first eight came up against some tough competition from Washington University and held their own, losing by just over a length. The evening came and with their teammates clapping them out it was time for the second eight’s turn. They stayed calm under pressure to take a dominant win over Sydney University, meaning they would progress to Thursday’s races, making more Edinburgh history being the first women’s crew to make it through a round at Henley!

Another evening race was on the cards for the second eight on Thursday, as they faced a tough crew from Cal Berkeley, who ended up crossing the finish line first. The whole Henley experience was unforgettable and a great chance for everyone to have the chance to race at an international event. As we departed on Monday morning of the following week, there were already conversations of how good it would be to return next year and see how much progress we can make in the Island event.

Men's biggest squad ever

Going into this years Henley Royal Regatta, the Senior Men’s Squad was proud to have it biggest ever squad fight for qualification over both Marlow Regatta and Henley Qualifiers. Due to successes earlier in the season both our Prince Albert A crew and our Temple A crew prequalified. Therefore, we boated a B crew in each event for qualifiers. Conditions were tough on the course, but both crews put in a good showing, with our Temple B crew qualifying well into the Regatta proper. Unfortunately, it was not to be for our Prince Albert B crew, but as a development crew with members of our beginners program coming through they put in an admirable performance.

As incoming captain for the Senior Men, I could not be prouder of what this squad has achieved this season under Harry Guy’s leadership, and getting 23 athletes through to racing at Henley is a landmark moment for this squad, and for the club as a whole. Combined with the fantastic efforts of our equally successful women’s squad, it is fair to say the club has never been in a better place competitively. The aim is now to make this the standard for a club such as Edinburgh, and as a squad we are very excited for what next season holds.

Our Temple B crew raced hard but were unsuccessful against a very good lightweight 8+ from Georgetown, fresh off a silver medal in the IRA championships. Temple A beat Newcastle A by 3/4 length to advance to Wednesday, but were then beaten by a strong 8+ from the University of British Columbia. The Prince Albert 4+, our top ranked boat, charged through an impressive Sydney University 4+ in the second half of the course to take a close victory over the Australians. They then raced Newcastle University on the Thursday, coming up just short.

Race Report: BUCS Regatta 2022

Fri, 06 May 2022 20:01:44 GMT

The May Bank Holiday weekend has fixed itself firmly as the highlight of the UK University rowing scene. Henley may provide an end of season focal point, but BUCS Regatta is where the whole community gathers, from International athletes to those in their first season in the sport, for three packed days of racing across Beginner, Intermediate and Championship categories.

The baby blue army was an almost literal description as we rolled down the M1 with 3 full trailers, a huge 77 crews entered into 43 events. The intent was clear, and well known within: we were here to do something that hadn’t been done before.

There was no more fitting an athlete to get the medal rush going than newly crowned GB Trials winner Dale Flockhart. Winning the Championship Lightweight single was probably the least surprising result of the day, but the inevitability shouldn’t take away the gloss for a one man medal machine. And he wasn’t finished there.

Our Women’s Championship 4x followed up last year’s dominant win with an equally impressive performance to take gold again. Our sculling strength, something that was to be a theme across the regatta, was backed up by their squad mates winning the Intermediate 4x.

Our Beginner squad caused quite a stir last year, and in the first big post-covid BUCS we were expecting a tougher challenge. The challenge was there, but it was met. Getting the ball rolling, Olivia Burns and Genevieve Wilks took silver and bronze respectively in the Women’s Beginner 1x, and the Men’s Beginner 4x looked a class apart to reach the top step of the podium.

Our Men’s Championship 8+, having missed the final last year, put in a strong showing to move ahead of rivals from the winter heads, but fell short of the medal places in 4 ^th behind Oxford Brookes and University of London. Day 1 done, and the tone set for the weekend.

We have put a focus on the 8+ across both squads this year, and Sunday was the turn of the women to get the big boat on the water. A little sense of Déjà vu in the Championship event, with a 4 ^th place finish behind Brookes, UL and the Boat Race winning Cambridge crew in what was a high calibre field. Intermediate events provide some of the closest racing, and that was the case for our 2 ^nd 8+, who had won their semi-final then steadily worked their way through the field in the final for an excellent silver medal, our first ever in this category.

Senior men’s medals were to come from our Championship 4+, and more sculling success with a silver in the Champ Lightweight 2x and the Inter 2x.

Our Beginners completed the sweep of every level of women’s openweight quad events, whilst Cameron Baird, Lucas Leschynski and Evan Smyth swept the podium in the 1x.

Day 2 done, and a growing sense that the overall Victor Ludorum was in our grasp, having stretched the lead attained on Saturday.

Monday was to turn into a bit of a victory procession. Any doubt that we could climb to the summit ebbed away as crew after crew beat a well worn path to the medal pontoon, to an ever increasing cacophony of support from ‘Camp Edinburgh’ on the far bank finish line.

Our Beginners continued their sculling dominance, taking gold in the women’s 2x, and gold and bronze in the men’s 2x, to confirm that the talent pipeline looks solid for another year.

The Senior men sprung a surprise (on pretty much everyone, including themselves) by winning the Inter 4x, and got a great view from the medal pontoon as the Champ 4x ripped through a faltering Durham to snatch a bronze on the line.

Our Senior women backed up their excellent performances in the 8+ by breaking down into a Champ 4+, 4- and Inter 4+ that all took bronze medals in highly competitive fields.

It was perhaps fitting that was to be sculling that brought the curtain down on the event. Izzy Clements and Anna Buchanan led from start to finish to win the Inter 2x, with a battling bronze from Charley Faint and Olivia Bell. They too had a great view from the medal pontoon as Perri McCluskey and Lily Young held off a powerful and fast finishing Royal Holloway for a thrilling Champ 2x gold that had the whole club in full voice.

And in full voice they were to stay, as we marched round the lake to be presented with the award that we set out to take.

EUBC has an outstanding history of success. Over 150 years of domestic and international medals stretching all the way up to the Olympic games. A host of illustrious individuals and crews adorn the walls of the gym and boathouse. This was a little different, and very special. As we were presented with the Victor Ludorum it was a trophy that was handed over not to an individual or crew, but to a club.

Our approach to bringing in new people to the sport, and supporting everyone to reach their full potential, doesn’t really need any award or validation, it is reward in itself.

But we’ll take it…

Race Report: Women's Eights Head of the River

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 18:17:47 GMT

It’s been a long four years since the women of EUBC were able to race down the Tideway in anger. Wind and COVID have conspired to keep us off the water. Plus ça change…

We arrived in London on Thursday to sunshine and flat water. Shorts and t-shirts were the order of the day as the coaching team rigged and readied the boats for a couple of days of training and familiarisation, ever more important this year given a whole generation of students have passed through the club without experiencing the unique conditions that the tidal Thames throws up. On Friday it was to bare its teeth, with a hint of what could be coming as we battled the waves down Fulham Reach. Murmurs of cancellation were once again the chat of the Putney embankment.

On race day the winds were calmer, though still set to be challenging, but fears of cancellation were calmed and thoughts turned to performance.

We had three eights racing, representing both the Senior and Club squads.

Our 1 ^st VIII were starting 5 ^th , in amongst the best of British women’s rowing, and doing so with a sense of belonging earned through their victory at BUCS Head and some excellent work in training. A good first half in the benign conditions through Barnes and Chiswick was then to come against the twin challenges of the rougher water through Hammersmith and the advancing Leander ‘B’ starting behind. A good battle ensued to take them down past Harrods and onto the home stretch through Putney. A finishing position of 7 ^th , and second to UL for the University Pennant, equalled the best performance for an EUBC crew. Not to be outdone, our 2 ^nd VIII, starting 26 ^th , continued the climb up the rankings to finish 21 ^st and further put a stamp on the belief that this could be the strongest Senior Women’s squad yet.

Our Club Rowing squad continue to provide rowing and racing opportunities for all, and they too had a solid row to gain nearly 50 places on their starting position of 192 to finish 148 ^th .

The big Regattas and Head races are always a good opportunity to catch up with our alumni. It was great to see so many still racing, and doing so at a good level. Kudos to Bettie Payne on her outstanding 3 ^rd place overall with Tideway Scullers, Tara Grimsley-Moore 11 ^th with Leander ‘C’ and India Somerside 14 ^th with Leander ‘D’.

The headline makers pre-race were the silver medal Rio 8+ rowing as a composite of their home clubs, including EUBC represented by Polly Swann. A good row, but they had the good grace to finish one place and less than second behind us in 8 ^th .

Thoughts now turn to summer regatta racing, and we move forward with confidence from an excellent Head season.

Race Report: BUCS Head

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:58:04 GMT

For the second time in two weeks we headed the short distance down the coast and over the border to Newcastle and the river Tyne. After the challenging winds of Rutherford Head a fortnight ago, it was pleasant sunshine and a fresh breeze that greeted us as we arrived for BUCS Head 2022.

First division on Saturday was the women’s eights and men’s fours events, and provided what was the highlight of the day from our Women’s Championship 8+. In a tight tussle all the way down the track, we were able to squeeze out a four second margin and take the title away from Newcastle University on their home stretch. A fantastic performance and result that lays down a marker for the season ahead, notably the Women’s Eights Head of the River in London in two weeks time. Our women's second eight had to withdraw prior to the event with some covid cases, so lost the opportunity to replicate their club mates' achievements. Covid also struck our Men’s Championship 4x, but a sub on the day saw them still finish a credible fourth. Medals for the men were then to come with silver in both the Championship 4+ and 4-, and bronze in the Lightweight 4- and Intermediate 4+, alluding to the strength in depth in the men’s sweep this season.

Division two saw the women build on their earlier success with another classy victory, this time in the Championship 4x, taking an eight second win over Durham. Our Women’s Championship 4+ were a solid silver behind fellow scots Glasgow. Our Men’s Championship 8+ couldn’t quite match the exploits of their female club mates from earlier, or their own expectations, and finished outside the medals in fourth. This was replicated by our 2 ^nd 8+ in Intermediate, also finishing in an agonising fourth.

Sunday saw windier conditions blow in just in time for the Beginners to take to the water for their first races, and first time pulling on the baby blue in competition. Despite doing the majority of their rowing to date on our relatively benign home stretch of the canal at Meggetland, the wider expanse, flow and white caps of the Tyne didn’t phase them, and every member of the squad left at the end of the day with a medal. The Beginner Women’s 4x and 4+ took silver and bronze respectively in division one, and the Beginner Men’s 4x showed they weren’t to be outdone with a silver in division two. All bodes well for the remainder of the season from these new athletes to the sport.

When all was totted up at the end of the day, we were to come away with third overall in the Victor Ludorum, behind home clubs Newcastle and Durham. Much to give us optimism, as well as food for thought, as we move out of the winter and towards spring.

We are grateful to BUCS, Newcastle University Boat Club, Tyne United Rowing Club and, especially, our hosts Tyne Amateur Rowing Club, for putting on a great event and their warm hospitality.

Race Report: February Trials

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 17:53:28 GMT

A number of EUBC athletes travelled to Boston, Lincolnshire, for the last of the season’s long distance assessments before selection moves to side-by-side racing in April.

COVID recovery and injury saw a smaller group take to the water than originally planned, but we still had a strong contingent of current and former students representing the club.

Dale Flockhart produced the standout result, finishing just 1 second off the win in the Lightweight Men’s 1x. Having flirted with openweight last season, Dale looks set to challenge for a senior vest to add to his u23 World Championship appearance from 2018 if this form continues.

In the Women’s Lightweight 1x, graduate member and Tokyo Olympic spare Maddie Arlett put in a strong performance to finish third and edge ever closer to her Tokyo teammates as the Paris games start too loom on the horizon.

Lucy Glover couldn’t match her win from the December assessment, finishing 7 ^th in the challenging headwind conditions on the River Wye. Stroke of the Tokyo Olympic 4x whilst still in her final undergraduate year, Lucy will be looking to climb back to the top in time for summer.

Another previous trials winner, Jack Burns, solidified his status amongst the top scullers in the country with a 5 ^th place, in amongst established Internationals as he continues his progress in his first season at the national training base at Caversham.

Following in the footsteps of our experienced older hands, our Under-23 contenders took another step on the road to selection for the World Under 23 Championships to be held in Varese, Italy in July.

Hannah Supple finished as the 2 ^nd ranked Under 21, 4 ^th ranked Under 23, and 15 ^th overall in the 1x, whilst fellow first year Lily Young was 3 ^rd Under 21, 4 ^th Under 23 and the overall in the Lightweight 1x.

Three of GB Rowing Team World Class Start programme athletes were also racing. Cameron Kemp and Mike Simpson were 18 ^th and 21 ^st in the Open 1x, with Cameron 6 ^th of the Under 23’s. Perri McClusky finished 16 ^th in the Women’s 1x.

All of these athletes, along with illness absentees Matt Morgan, James Doran and Matthew Fielding, will be looking for an invitation to the April assessment at Caversham as the next step for their international ambitions.

Edinburgh University Boat Club is supported by Scottish Rowing and British Rowing to develop the next generation of international athletes.

Race Report - Rutherford Head

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 17:48:14 GMT

Rutherford Head is always one of the most anticipated events of the winter schedule for EUBC. An opportunity to venture a short distance over the border and test ourselves against perennial rivals Durham and Newcastle, as well as top clubs from further afield.

That anticipation had to be held a little longer this year, as the November event fell victim to the weather. There were some anxious moments that lightening (or wind, in this instance) would strike twice, but the forecast was, just, in our favour.

Some may well have been questioning whether this was actually the case as we boated for Division one, strong winds and low temperatures left nobody in any doubt that this would be head racing in its most testing form.

So, it was especially pleasing to see our Men’s 1 ^st 8+ powering over the course to take a convincing 12 second win and the overall Headship. The 2 ^nd 8+ also put in a strong performance to finish 7 ^th overall and second of the 2 ^nd 8+’s. Not to be outdone, our Women’s 4+ were convincing 25 second winners, with their squad mates in the 4- finishing 4 ^th .

More medals were to be collected in Division Two. The Men’s 4+, and band 2 4x both taking wins. Our Women’s 8+ were 5 ^th in a very strong event won by an impressive Tideway Scullers crew that had EUBC graduate Bettie Payne at bow.

We return to the Tyne on 26 ^th and 27 ^th February for BUCS Head. The (sometimes brutal) experiences of this weekend should stand us in good stead.

Our thanks as ever to Tyne Rowing Club for a great event and warm hospitality.

Race Report: Henley Royal Regatta

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 20:07:49 GMT

This season has been unlike all others, and this years Henley Royal Regatta was no exception. Having waited over 2 years since the last edition of the Regatta, our athletes were more than excited for their opportunity to race at this most prestigious event.

Racing began at the Qualifying Regatta at Eton Dorney, 4 days before the full regatta. Edinburgh had two athletes, Matthew Fielding and Lukas Neilsen, racing in the Prince of Wales alongside Peter Morgan and Cameron Kemp of Strathclyde Park Rowing Club. They were successfully in the top 8 qualifying boats, and so moved onto the first round.

On the first day of the regatta, our Temple 8+ set off in just the second race of the week, and put in a fine performance to comfortably win by 4 lengths over the University of London ‘B’. On top of that, they ultimately put out the fastest time of the day!

It was yet again an early race for our Temple 8+ on Thursday. They again won comfortably against Nottingham University - this time by 1 and a half lengths. This was shortly followed by Edinburgh University and Strathclyde Park Vs Tideway Scullers School in the Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, our Quad came up short by half a length, but put in a very quick time against quality opposition containing several GB athletes, whom proceeded to progress deep into the regatta. We are sure that both of our scullers will be back stronger than ever next season! Finally, Dale Flockhart raced Thames Rowing Club and Radley Mariners in the Visitors Challenge Cup in a composite with London Rowing Club, alongside EUBC alumni James Temple and Matthew Curtis, winning by a margin of easily.

Onto the Friday, where our Temple 8+ raced A.S.R. Nereus, NED. in the last race of the morning session. This Dutch crew, which consisted of multiple U23 World Championships level athletes, got out to a flying start and held a lead of around 2 lengths across the race, with the margin at the finish being 1 ¾ lengths to the Dutch. A.S.R. Nereus then went on to win the Temple Challenge Cup, proving how strong this year’s 8+ from Edinburgh was.

Later in the day, in the Visitors Challenge Cup, Dale Flockhart’s crew also came up against the eventual winners of their respective event, in the form of Oxford Brookes University ‘A’. This strong crew was always going to be a tough race, and their winning margin was ultimately 2 lengths.

And so, this concludes the 2020-21 season for Edinburgh University Boat Club. It was certainly a tough one, but one that taught us how tough we can be, and still perform, regardless of the restrictions upon us. The shortened racing season proved to be an incredibly exciting one for all our crews, in particular our Henley campaigns which by all accounts was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable periods of rowing in the memory of our athletes. The regatta in its whole was a fantastic celebration of the sport, and it was marvellous to see Edinburgh in the centre of that celebration yet again.

We are hugely excited about next season. With normality returning, a strengthened coaching team, many returning athletes and some eager new recruits, it certainly has all the potential for a fantastic year for EUBC.

Race Report: Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 13:52:44 GMT

The Tokyo 2020ne Olympics were unlike any before them in many ways; no spectators, social distancing and for the first time ever, three EUBC athletes were competing. Dr Polly Swan, Lucy Glover and Maddie Arlett flew the baby blue flag in Tokyo Bay, each performing incredibly on the highest possible rowing stage.

Olympic racing for EUBC was kicked off by Lucy Glover in the women’s quad on the Friday 23rd. After a tight race the whole way down the course for a top two position, the quad narrowly missed out placing 3rd behind the Netherlands by 1.44 seconds, placing them into the repechage for a second chance at a place in the A final.

On Saturday, the pair began their 2020 Olympic journey in their heat. This pair that placed 1st in the 2021 European Championships raced comfortably for one of the top three qualifying positions. They placed 3rd behind Australia and the Russian Olympic Committee, placing the crew into the A/B semi-final.

The Sunday saw the Women’s Quad race the repechage for the last two spots in the A final. After making a quick recover from a small crab in the first few strokes, the girls found themselves just 0.28 seconds of the Australian crew in first place. But as Australia moved away from the 1k mark, Italy followed taking the qualifying positions. New Zealand were next to cross the line with GB behind them, placing the GB quad in the B final.

Dr Polly Swan and Helen Glover raced the A/B semi-final on the Wednesday. Needing a top 3 finish to progress to the A final the pair set out fast and held their lead to the 1500m mark. As Greece finished in 1st place, the GB pair were next over the line meaning their place in the A final was confirmed.

On the same day Lucy’s quad raced the B final. The girls raced well together and held the lead for the entire distance finishing 1st and leaving them 7th overall in the quad category.

With this being Lucy’s first Olympics and just after her senior rowing debut, a top 10 finish shows just how much potential she shows on the world stage in the coming years, and we’re excited to see what more she can do!

The final of the Women’s pair was an incredible race. The field started off aggressively and held this approach the whole way down the course. Unfortunately, Polly and Helen placed 4th overall, just losing the bronze medal to Canada by 2.86 seconds.

After making a return from working in the NHS throughout the pandemic, and missing the 2017 and 2018 seasons, this is an incredible achievement for Polly.

Maddie Arlett attended the Tokyo Olympics as a spare in the Women’s Double and came first in the spares race!

All three competitors have shown the world the talent they have developed throughout potentially the most difficult period possible for an athlete. EUBC are especially proud of all they have achieved.

Race Report: Henley Women's Regatta

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 21:02:40 GMT

This weekend saw the staging of Henley Women’s Regatta for the first time in two years, and our women’s squad were fresh of the back of several days training at Holme Pierrepont to enjoy the most of a return to racing on the iconic Henley stretch.

The Friday saw 7 Edinburgh crews line up in the Time Trials, and strong performances all round meant all 7 boats qualified for the heats!

Jane Hardie was the first to race in the Championship 1x on Friday, and came up short against incredibly tough opposition in the form of a GB international from Nottingham R.C, whom went on to win the regatta.

The draw in this event was especially cruel on Friday. Bumped up to Championship 1x from Aspirational 1x after her win in the Championship Quad at BUCS regatta, Lily Young came up against the eventual runner-up of the regatta, and despite a admirable performance was sadly unable to come away with the win.

Our final race on Friday featured EUBC novice Mia Freischem in the Aspirational Lwt 1x, where she was narrowly defeated by a sculler from St. Andrews University. To be competitive at the aspirational level in a novice year of rowing is an incredible achievement in itself, and is credit to the hard work and great organisation of our novice programme.

On the Saturday the first crew up was the Aspirational 4x, which unfortunately came up short in their heat against London RC ‘A’. Despite losing out, the crew (that only came together in this formation last week) contained 3 athletes from the beginner development squad and did incredibly well to make it as far as they did in a field of much more experienced rowers.

Our Championship 4- were racing in a highly contested category and lost out to a well-drilled Newcastle University crew, which was their top ranked boat this weekend.

After her opponent for the heats scratched, Perri McCluskey in the Championship 1x, unfortunately losing out to the sculler from Leeds RC.

Our Development 4+ delivered a strong result in their heat, beating Bristol City comfortably. They were then back out again for the last race of the day in their quarter-final against Oxford University. Once again they went out strong, but this time the advantage wasn’t to last and Oxford rowed through to take the win.

Unfortunately all of our crews were then out of the regatta, but did incredibly well to make it so far and faced some tough opponents in their respective draws. This is especially true in light of the near 2-month head-start in crew boat training that English clubs were given through covid regulations.

A special mention must go to our beginner development athletes, who came from their beginner races at BUCS last weekend straight into categories containing much more experienced rowers with them, and while they ultimately lost out they were by no means off the pace.

We would also like to say congratulations to our alumni Flora Blake-Parsons and Bettie Payne, who took the overall victory in the Championship 4- and Aspirational Club 8+s respectively!

While for many this was the final race of a long season, we will still have crews coming back up to train for the ‘Lochdown Regatta’ at Strathclyde Park on 24-25th July & Henley Royal Regatta on 11-15th August.

Race Report: BUCS Regatta 2021

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 21:33:31 GMT

No, that's not an EUBC training session... The all-Edinburgh A Final of the Women's Beginner 1 Singles.

After a summer regatta season cancelled, tentative efforts to restart crew rowing and racing scuppered by rising cases and new lockdowns, and a long wait since January to take to the water, BUCS regatta this last weekend was the first full opportunity for the whole of Edinburgh University Boat Club to take to the racing lanes of the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham and demonstrate how EUBC had weathered the pandemic. Coaches and supporters alike were understandably well within their rights to feel a little nervous about EUBC’s chances. While the dedication and perseverance shown by so many members of EUBC to put their heads down and crack on with the job even when training consisted of little more than a borrowed ergo in the spare room/parent’s garage/back garden had more than exceeded expectations, it is still unheard of to go into such a key regatta with so little water time, especially when facing up against crews from the South who had more than a month’s worth of extra sessions within which to hone their technique and tweak crew combinations to find those marginal gains. Thus it was surely to sighs of relief that EUBC came away from the regatta placed 4th overall in the VL, having proved that our Senior Squads are still more than able to battle it out with the top unis in the country and take their fair share of the medals, that the Club Rowing squad is absolutely a force to be reckoned with and able to hold their own against other senior squads, and most impressively of all, that our Novice Squads are once again the best in the country, with our Novice Women blowing the rest of the field out of the water.

The Thursday saw the Senior Men racing in a mixture of pairs and the lightweight quad, with a long first day’s racing finally delivering the goods in the form of two gold medals (Int 2- and Champ Lwt Quad) and a bronze for the Champ 2-, while the Senior Women raced the Champ 2x, Champ 4- and Int 4+, with the double taking home the silver medal. On Friday it was into quads and pairs for the Senior Women and the eights for the Senior Men, with tough racing for all. In the end, however, three boats were to make it into the A finals that day – the Men’s Int 8+, Women’s Int 2- and the Women’s Champ 4x – with the Quad claiming a fantastic gold medal. One final push on the Saturday in a smattering of fours, doubles and singles saw six crews again making the A finals, with Edinburgh taking 4th and 5th in the Women’s Champ 1x, 5th in Men’s Champ 4- and Bronze in the Men’s Champ Lwt 2x.

Club rowing had five crews entered across the three days, most of which had raced at Durham Regatta just a few weeks beforehand. Strong results included the Men’s Int 4x, who fought their way into the B final, placing ahead of the likes of Nottingham, Sheffield and Surrey. Similarly, Lucy Barnard took home a strong 10th place in the Women’s Int 1x, ahead of scullers from Oxford, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The Novice Squads had a fantastic regatta and in many ways rightly stole the show. The Novice Men took Gold and Bronze in the Men’s Beginner 1 Single on the Thursday; on the Friday they then claimed the Gold medal in the Men’s Beginner 1 Quad, and on the Saturday they made the climb up into the Senior races, placing 2nd in the E final of the Men’s Int 2x. The Novice Women were yet more impressive: first appearing on the Friday, they quickly made their mark from the get go, and a silver medal in Women’s Beginner 2 1x was quickly followed by the unique spectacle of an all-Edinburgh A final in the Women’s Beginner 1 1x. (No prizes for guessing which club took home Gold, Silver and Bronze.) If that wasn’t enough, they then stormed the field to win the Women’s Beginner 1 8+ by a cool 37 seconds over the next placed crew. Saturday was a repeat of Friday: the eight now split up into a quad and a coxed four, and dominated in both, winning by 15 seconds in the former and a blistering 55 seconds in the latter.

All in all, a performance to be proud of, and one that will no doubt inspire the crews to even greater success as they target Henley Women’s Regatta this week and Henley Royal Regatta later in August.

Full list of medals:

Gold Medals:

Men’s Beginner 1 Single

Men’s Intermediate Pair

Men’s Championship Lightweight Quad

Women’s Championship Quad

Men’s Beginner 1 Quad

Women’s Beginner 1 Single

Women’s Beginner 1 Eight

Women’s Beginner 1 Coxed Four

Women’s Beginner 1 Quad

Silver Medals:

Women’s Champ Double

Women’s Beginner 2 Single

Women’s Beginner 1 Single

Bronze Medals:

Men’s Beginner 1 Single

Men’s Championship Pair

Women’s Beginner 1 Single

Men’s Championship Lightweight Double

Race Report: Durham Regatta

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 13:06:33 GMT

Race Report by Bethany Hickling, Club Rowing Captain

After almost a year and a half off, the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June saw EUBC return to regatta-style racing once more, with the Club Rowing Squad attending Durham Regatta. Often termed the ‘Henley of the North’, the regatta has run every summer since 1834. Given its cancellation last year due to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding COVID-19, it was an honour for the squad to make their post-lockdown racing debut at such a historic event. The weekend saw some very warm weather, but the squad kept their cool, and certainly managed to demonstrate how their resilience and commitment to training throughout COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns had paid off.

Saturday

The double of Jack Lane and Thomas Robinson (racing in the Op Eli category) were the first crew to race for the squad. They progressed smoothly through their quarter and semi-finals, beating crews from Durham Amateur Rowing Club and Sheffield University, and met the Durham University college of St Hild and St Bede in the final. Despite their competitors’ home advantage, Tom and Jack put in a fantastic row, resulting in a two length win.

With three members of the coxed four new to the Club Rowing Squad this year, and one member of the crew having only learnt to sweep a few weeks prior to the regatta, Dilraj Mankoo, Euan Ravenscroft, Lewis Macpherson and Freddie von Kaufmann (coxed by Lindsay Evans) put in a credible performance, beating Sheffield University, and Durham University’s Trevelyan College to progress through to the semi-finals of the Op Beg 4+.

Keen to put their months of training in a 1x on the Union Canal to the test, Lucy Barnard and Niamh Rigby took to the River Wear in singles, in the intermediate category. After so long without side by side racing, both rowed with excellent composure, and Lucy went on to win the event, beating Leeds University, Sunderland City, and Teeside University in the process.

Sunday

Saturday’s winning streak was continued on Sunday morning, with the men’s coxless quad of Joe Stelling, JP Levick, Jack Lane and Thomas Robinson. The men’s 4x- put in a strong row to win their final by ¾ of a length. On Sunday afternoon the women’s coxless quad of Bethany Hickling, Niamh Rigby, Lindsay Evans and Lucy Barnard took to the water. Despite this being the first time they had ever rowed together, the scratch crew easily beat Leeds University in the quarter final, and managed to progress through to the semis.

With wins in 60% of their events, it is safe to say that Durham Regatta was a huge success for the Club Rowing Squad, and an excellent way for them to return to racing. The squad looks forward to racing again at BUCS Regatta later in the month, where they will compete alongside the Senior and Novice squads.

The Club Rowing Squad captains would like to thank the event organisers and umpires for running such a well organised, and safe event under COVID-19 restrictions. Huge thanks also go to Durham School Boat Club, for their loan of boats for the squad to compete in.

3 EUBC athletes selected to represent GB for Tokyo 2020

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 21:07:21 GMT

All at Edinburgh University Boat Club are proud to see three of our athletes named today on the team to travel to Tokyo.

Polly Swann will make her second Olympic appearance after winning an historic Silver medal in the Women’s 8+ in Rio. She will be teaming up with Helen Glover in the Women’s 2-, a combination which won the World Championships in 2013 and made a winning return with Gold at the 2021 European Championships. Polly Graduated with a degree in Medicine in 2019.

Lucy Glover will make her first Olympics after a glittering Junior and Under 23 career. Two Gold medals, a Silver and a Bronze at Junior and U23 World Championships was followed by a Silver medal on her senior debut at the 2021 European Championships, all in the Women’s 4x. Lucy is a final year undergraduate studying Psychology.

Maddie Arlett had never rowed before arriving at Edinburgh in 2012. By 2015 she had made her first Great Britain team for the U23 World Championships. Many more GB vests followed, the highlight being a Bronze medal in the Lightweight 1x at the 2019 World Championships. Maddie will travel as a spare athlete for the women’s team. She graduated with a degree in Applied Sports Science in 2016, and a Masters degree in Strength and Conditioning in 2018.

“These three women represent everything we want our club to offer: a route to fulfil your potential regardless of where you are starting. Whether you are a returning Olympian, a talented Junior, or a complete beginner, we will support you in your ambitions. Just like Katherine Grainger before them, these women will be an inspiration to everyone in the club, and especially all the young women who step through our doors.”

Colin Williamson - Head of Rowing

To read more about the Team GB announcement, you can read the British Rowing article here and the Scottish Rowing press release here .

Race Report: 2021 European Championships

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 20:13:48 GMT

European Champions in the Women's Pair: Helen Glover (Bow), Polly Swann (Stroke).

After a 20-month hiatus thanks to Covid-19, Team GB returned to the international rowing scene this weekend with a vengeance, topping the medal table at the European Rowing Championships in Varese and laying down a strong marker for the summer to follow. Edinburgh University Boat Club was very proud to count four athletes among the squad announced by British Rowing, three stellar alumni – Maddie Arlett and Polly Swann, as well as Oli Wilkes as men's spare - and a current senior woman, Lucy Glover. Lucy is herself following in the footsteps of Maddie in making the step up to racing at a senior level while still studying full time, having proved herself at U23s.

The weekend started for all three with heats on Friday, which was the first opportunity to size up the competition. First up was Polly, reunited with Helen Glover in the pair, a combination which they had last raced in 2013, when they won gold at all three World Cups before going on to become World Champions. Their heat showed that they had lost none of the magic touch in the last eight years, controlling the race from start to finish, setting the fastest W2- time of the day and sending them straight through to the A final on Sunday.

Maddie Arlett was next up, back in the lightweight single in which she won bronze at the 2019 World Championships, racing in a very competitive field. Maddie battled it out for third place with Weronika Deresz of Poland, and while she would ultimately finish fourth in the heat, the repechage the next morning was an opportunity to flip the result, beating Deresz to take the last spot in Sunday’s A final.

The last race for EUBC on Friday was the women’s quad, with Lucy joining an all-new outfit which had only taken to the water for the first time three weeks ago. Leading from the stroke seat – Lucy is no stranger to the boat class, having been U23 World Champion twice in the quad in 2017 and 2019 – Lucy and her crew stormed their heat to take the win, forcing defending champions the Netherlands to go through the repechage and booking that all important seat in the A final.

Maddie would then be first to race on Sunday, once again taking on a strong field, most of whom were feeling rather more fresh from having skipped out on Saturday’s racing. Having to chase the pack from the outset, she put on a very gutsy performance, pushing on all the way through, and coming very close to catching Martine Veldhuis of the Netherlands. In the end she would fall just short, but overtook fast starter Lydia Heaphy of Ireland to take home a very well-earned 5th place.

Polly and Helen were up next, in one of the most riveting races of the whole regatta. A steady start saw them sitting in 4th place out of the blocks, and they set a really strong rhythm to cruise through Croatia and Ireland by the 500m mark. They hunted down the race leaders Romania through the 1000m mark and started to eek out a lead, but the Romanians kept them in check and stayed in contact. A last-minute charge from Romania threatened to take their lead away in the final meters of the race, but Polly and Helen put in a final all-out effort for the last few strokes and clinched the gold medal in a sensational victory. Speaking to British Rowing after the race, Polly summed up: “It’s been a long winter, so just to come out and race again – especially with Helen after we last raced together in 2013 – it feels pretty epic. I don’t think we came here expecting to win – we expected to have speed, but it’s really nice to put the cherry on top of the cake and win.”

The afternoon was the A final for the quads, and Lucy’s crew lined up in lane 3 alongside Germany and the Netherlands, Champions from 2019 and 2020 respectively. Starting strong, they took 3rd place from the get-go and followed Germany and race leaders the Netherlands in pulling away from the rest of the field. The crew motored along at a really strong pace and slowly ate up the German lead. Sliding into 2nd pace past Germany, they chased down the Netherlands, but they would ultimately run out of water and took the silver medal by a canvas. A very impressive senior debut for Lucy and a strong start to what looks to be a very promising summer season.

To watch Maddie, Polly and Lucy's finals, as well as the rest of the racing from the Championships, click here.

A Boat Club Open to All

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:32:54 GMT

We would like to thank all of those who have reached out to the Boat Club in response to the growing discourse about problems of racial discrimination in society, and to explain what EUBC is doing as regards this matter.

EUBC, as a constituent club of the University of Edinburgh Sports Union, and as a club that represents the University more widely, is a club that seeks to be as welcoming to all students, regardless of race, sex, culture, religion or social background. Our very purpose is to enable all students at the University of Edinburgh to have the opportunity to experience and enjoy our sport, and we are particularly proud that we have been able to play our part in introducing so many people to the sport, some of whom have gone on to compete at the very highest levels of our sport and serve as role models to the rest of us.

We are also painfully aware that rowing is a sport that is limited in its reach, and that across the sport in the UK there is a serious underrepresentation of BAME athletes, as well as athletes who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. EUBC is not immune from this. This may be partly as a result of the inevitable difficulties in practicing our sport (geographical as well as financial) rather than any conscious discrimination. Nevertheless there is much still to be done to tackle these challenges, and as the great progress in addressing gender inequality in rowing in recent history has shown, they are by no means insurmountable.

It would be disingenuous simply to acknowledge the challenges in our sport without seeking to address them, and the reasoning behind EUBC not having spoken out earlier was our intention to be able to disclose what steps we are taking as a club to address these issues rather than simply mentioning the issues themselves. Prior to lockdown, EUBC and the University of Edinburgh were in advanced discussions, with substantial funds committed, to support a new community rowing project in Edinburgh. This project is aimed at providing access to the sport for those who normally wouldn’t get an opportunity to try it otherwise. We look forward to bringing this project to fruition, and helping to go some way to addressing both the socio-economic and racial divides within the sport we all enjoy.

We are still in the process of determining our next steps as a club, and it will take time to find meaningful solutions that we can enact to increase our outreach and eliminate any unconscious discrimination within the club. In the meantime, we welcome any input from members, past and present, as well as other university boat clubs and the wider rowing community. If you wish to get in touch with your suggestions, please email us at rowing@ed.ac.uk.

We hope to be able to share with you our next steps as a club soon, and we reiterate our commitment to be a boat club open to all.

Crew Focus: 2019 Coxless Four

Mon, 11 May 2020 11:12:42 GMT

From left: Alex Rankin (S), Lydia Currie (3), Coach John Higson, India Somerside (B), Flora Blake-Parsons (2)

We're continuing with our series of posts looking back at successful EUBC crews of recent years, and the challenges they overcame along the way. This week we look back at the last year's top women's boat - the coxless four - who went on to win the Avril Vellacott Cup for Championship Coxless Fours at Henley Women's Regatta. All four raced in the 2017 Remenham eight featured a few weeks ago, three of them having debuted with EUBC that year. Nevertheless, trying to win Champ 4- was still a big gamble, especially as the year before Edinburgh's top crew had attempted the same and been knocked out in the first round by the eventual winners, Molesey.

The crew started to come together after BUCS regatta, where a similar line-up had taken bronze in Champ 4-. An easy win at Scot Champs proved that the four had plenty of potential, but despite this, the pressure was fairly formidable, as bow India Somerside explains: "The challenge for us was the standard of our competition - UL and Brookes contained girls who all had international experience. I think for me personally, and for the crew too, it was more of a mental battle throughout training. We weren't a big crew and our erg average was well below that of our competition." With no remaining opportunities to see how they compared to their competition before HWR, they had to place their faith in their technical rowing as a unit, which they honed in on in the last few weeks before heading south.

As the two fastest crews of the time trial, both Edinburgh and UL were given byes on the Friday, and they quickly dispatched the University of Tulsa in their first race on the Saturday. Their semi-final against US Naval Academy was a more closely fought affair, but they controlled the race and pulled off a perfectly timed charge coming from behind to win the race by clear water. The final was raced in much the same way, once more rowing through UL to take the win in record time. With Alex Rankin and Lydia Currie, the stern pair, going on to claim Gold in the GB W4- at the U23 World Championships later that summer, this crew was a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when working together as a unit.

The final against UL can be watched here.

Crew Focus: 2019 Temple VIII

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 20:44:42 GMT

Crew from bow to cox: Lukas Nielsen, Ben Dickens, Hugo Oglina, Philip Garnier, Jake Offiler, Laurence Ellis, Euan Dickerson, Luke Hatteland-Dunn and Lizzie Dickinson.

We're continuing with our series of posts looking back at successful EUBC crews of recent years, and the challenges they overcame along the way. Where previous crews we've featured have had a strong run of success throughout, building on the hard work and commitment to the programme of previous years to reap the rewards, last year's Temple VIII is a great example of the progress athletes can make throughout the year when they are willing to commit to the grind.

The Temple VIII line-up was a young outfit, with seven of the crew having joined EUBC that year. Most of the crew had raced earlier on in the season in the Men's 2nd VIII, which had performed respectably at Rutherford Head, where it finished just behind the second eights of UL and Newcastle, but had placed 51st at HORR, which was slower than expected. The eight's first few appearances, at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta in April and BUCS Regatta in May, showed a step on from Eights Head, and racing Championship eights in the latter showed that the gap was starting to close between the crew and other top uni eights. Nevertheless, where the speed was really to be found was in reinforcing the Edinburgh style on rowers who had developed a variety of techniques as juniors, and after many a session of endless drills, the miles on the erg and on the water earlier on in the season were beginning to pay off. Selection had beeen an ongoing process throughout the year, but a last set of seat racing left just one week for the final combination to come together before Scottish Championships, where they easily took the win in Open eights.

After having proved themselves on the Scottish circuit, a change of scenery at Loch Lubnaig allowed for longer stretches of training than the 2ks at Strathclyde, and crucially to test that the technique would not fall apart in longer pieces. Finally it was time to head down South, and to see how the crew would perform against the rest of their likely competition in the Temple Challenge Cup at Marlow Regatta. The time trial results came as a pleasant surprise, with the crew beating Thames' and UL's 1st VIIIs to take their place in the A final, and with that prequalifying for Henley. A final week spent training at Pangbourne before switching to the Henley stretch was instrumental in finding that final bit of speed and perfecting their race starts, and the crew finished off the season having raced Newcastle's 1st VIII to a closer margin on the Thursday of Henley than Imperial College had the day beforehand.

Click here to watch that final race against Newcastle.

Crew Focus: 2017 Women's 1st VIII

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 15:05:06 GMT

Crew from cox to bow: Laura Macdonald, Lydia Currie, Alex Rankin, Lauren Gray, Mairi Buchan, India Somerside, Jenny Stevenson, Flora Blake-Parsons and Anne Westby Rodahl.

The next crew in our series of "Crew Focus" posts is the 2017 Women's 1st VIII. Choosing which women's crew to focus on this week was not easy, as this crew is just one of several women's eights of recent years to feature consistently on the medal podium, however two things in particular made it stand out: the fact that it was the first ever EUBC women's crew to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta, and the successes that those who rowed in this boat later went on to achieve.

The eight was a year-long project, building on the development of the women's squad over previous years under their coach John Higson. The grind through the winter months, led by Senior Women's captain Maddie Arlett, fundamentally shaped and bonded together a competitive squad. The team were rewarded for their work with some of EUBC women's best results to date, with a 2nd place finish ahead of UL at Rutherford, and a Silver medal in Championship eights at BUCS Head, this time behind UL but ahead of Newcastle. A gutsy row at WeHORR saw Edinburgh place 4th in university crews and 8th overall, only the second ever time an EUBC crew had placed in the top 10.

The summer season saw the eight sadly racing without their captain, who had been selected to race for the GB senior team and would go on to win Bronze and Silver medals at World Cups I and II. Nevertheless, they stepped on once more, and a fiercely competitive BUCS regatta saw Edinburgh battle through from the far lane to take the Bronze medal, this time beating both Newcastle and UL and making their mark in club history. Having split up into various boats for Henley Women's Regatta, the crew then came back together for HRR Qualifiers, where against the odds they became the first ever EUBC women's crew to qualify for the Regatta proper. Taking the race to the New Zealand national eight, who would go on to win the Remenham challenge cup, was the grand finale to a stellar year. The legacy of the crew similarly stands out: out of the 10 athletes to row in that crew, six would go on to win at HWR and three have since become medallists at U23/Senior World Championships, including two gold medals last year.

Click here to see the race against the Kiwi women's eight.

Crew Focus: 2016 Prince Albert winners

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 14:38:36 GMT

From left: Rufus Scholefield (S), Calum Irvine (3), Rosie Margolis (C), Kieran Tierney (2) and James Temple (B).

As we take a look back at successful EUBC crews of recent years, it would be remiss not to start with the 2016 Men's coxed four. This crew, one of three Edinburgh crews racing at Henley Royal Regatta that year, became the first - and as of yet only - Scottish university crew to win an event at Henley, and cemented Edinburgh's rise to the very top level of university rowing. James Temple, EUBC President 2017-18, GB U23 and Senior teams, who rowed at bow in the four, talks us through the months leading up to the final...

The Four emerged as a hybrid combination late in the season. Rufus [stroke] and Calum [3 seat] had been going quickly together at GB trials, Rufus having raced for GB the previous summer and Calum about to earn his first GB vest (in rowing). Kieran [2 seat] had begun his transition to heavyweight. In Rosie we had an unusual advantage, a good cox. And I was parachuted in having been too slow to make the lightweight quad. Unmistakably a Henley winning combination.

We took our first strokes together on training camp in Brive-la-Gaillarde. Head coach Colin set our goals, focussing on the process rather than entertaining any talk of lofty ambitions. No point even thinking about winning Henley before we could hit the target times he gave us. That week we focussed relentlessly on the basics. Every stroke was taken with an early square.

Metropolitan regatta was our first race. This would set the precedent for the rest of the summer, and nerves were high. But at the start light we were the only crew to move, or at least that's how it felt as the three lads in front of me put down the power. We cruised through every marker in first position, taking the win.

From that moment onwards another crew would lead us only once: Newcastle in the final. Having added wins at Marlow and Scot Champs, we proceeded through the rounds at Henley with surprisingly little difficulty. Having never proceeded past the first round before this was a novel Henley experience for me. Having never raced at "English Henley" before Kieran thought it was really much easier than everyone had been making out.

The final was a real contest. Newcastle led the first half, but we eventually pulled past and won the race. The best part of the day was the crowd of EUBC supporters waiting for us at the pontoon. Many of those watching on the banks had played as big a role in the victory as the crew members themselves.

The final can be watched here.

7 Championship Medals at BUCS Head

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 22:13:02 GMT

BUCS Head 2020 Race Report

Our Women's 1st VIII, who won a silver medal in Championship Eights. (Photo credit: Jane Barnard, Edinburgh Graduate)

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.

Taking to the Tideway

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 23:13:36 GMT

Head of the River Fours 2019 Race Report

The victorious Band 2 Men's Coxed Four

It is not often that history is made before the race has even begun, but this year represented the first time (in recent club history at least) that Edinburgh attended Fours Head, taking to the gruelling 6.8km Championship course on the Tideway four months earlier than usual. With the race being the only opportunity that Oxford and Cambridge crews get to compete directly against one another on the Boat Race course, the academic events are even more competitive, but the Senior Squads faced the challenge head-on. Having been spared the unusually bad weather ravaging England, the Club looked on with dismay at the possibility of cancellation or a course shortening threatening to ruin the long trip down South, but the week came and went and all seven crews had happily survived the reduction in crews required to allow the race to go ahead. Despite some very bouncy water and fairly miserable conditions, some very encouraging results were produced, and overall it was a successful addition to the race calendar.

The men's squad had four crews entered, as well as a composite. Josh Armstrong jumped back into the GB U23 quad for the first time since it won gold at the World Championships this summer and proved that the magic had not worn off by holding off the Swiss National Team to take the overall win, while the all-Edinburgh men's quad battled through two subsequent injuries and a last minute substitution to claim a very respectable 3rd place. As a result of previous successes as Juniors, two of the sweep crews were made to enter Band 1, leading to a rather uneven match up between our mostly first-year coxed and coxless fours and both Oxford and Cambridge's Boat Race squads; despite this, they performed impressively, beating out the rest of the Scottish clubs present, and in the case of the latter boat, even scalping a few Oxbridge crews. The Band 2 Coxed Four, consisting of all second-years, stormed through the field to a decisive win, knocking Imperial College into second place. Fours Head thus proved to be a successful outing for a still relatively young squad, with a lot more potential still to be explored.

The women's squad came into Fours Head looking to challenge Oxford and Cambridge, and to demonstrate why they won the Victor Ludorum at BUCS regatta last year. The top coxless four (of three) narrowly lost out to Cambridge's top boat, by a margin of 4 seconds over 20 minutes, but placed well ahead of Imperial and the second Cambridge crew, while the second four also defeated Oxford's only coxless four. The third four came second in Band 2, just behind Glasgow's top four and showing that Edinburgh continues to dominate Scottish rowing. All in all it was a very strong showing from this year's women's squad, who look to be well placed to continue last year's chain of successes.

After a well-earned Sunday off, and cheerful if rightly exhausted rowers slowly find their way back to Edinburgh, it is onwards and upwards yet again, with just under two weeks until Rutherford Head, where the squads will finally take to bigger boats to once again test their mettle against the best of university rowing.

EUBC at Rutherford Head 2018

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 15:35:06 GMT

Race Report by Colin Williamson

The ‘Border Reivers’ were a group of raiders who operated along the Scottish-English border from the 13th to 17th centuries. They rode out on horseback, looting and pillaging from rival tribes, before returning home with their spoils.

Our annual hop over the border to Newcastle has become a highlight of the first half of the season, marking the last race of the calendar year and a final competitive excursion before the December exam season kicks off. So, at 0500 on Saturday morning, seventy athletes ‘rode out’ from Edinburgh (on the comfort of a coach) to see what could be brought back from the Tyne…

With other events across the United Kingdom falling victim to stormy weather, it was a relief to all to find flat conditions and little wind. However, it wouldn’t be Rutherford Head without a little bit of meteorological misery to make sure people didn’t get complacent, so the racing unfolded under incessant rain, meaning managing ones body temperature in the endless wait up at the start was an integral part of race tactics to be considered.

Division One was led off by the Men’s Eights. Our 1st Eight, on its first real session together as a crew, had an inauspicious start, incurring a time penalty for daring to leave their outer layers on as protection from the conditions a little longer than the umpire was willing to tolerate. However, the five seconds added was to prove academic, as they had a strong row to finish in second overall, ahead of hosts Tyne and perennial rivals the University of London, but behind home favourites Newcastle. The 2nd Eight, made up of a lot of our newer athletes, also acquitted themselves well to finish second in the ‘Band 2’ category (an explanation of the new bandings would take a whole new article, on another level of boredom, from which I will spare you), which was won by our friends at the other end of the M8, Glasgow University.

Our Women’s squad were spearheaded by a top Quad and Coxless Four. The Quad came in as the second fastest women’s crew, again missing out to Newcastle. Our 1st Coxless Four, made up of the top two under 23 pairs from the recent GB trials, claimed our first win of the weekend, showing they can transfer their undoubted small boat skills into the bigger boats. Showing the continuing depth of the Women’s squad, it was the 2nd Coxless Four who pushed them closest.

There was also a win from our ‘Band 2’ ‘Band 3’ coxed fours. It was especially pleasing to see the Band 3 crew made up of athletes from the clubs Recreational Squad, who have made a concerted effort to race more this season, and are showing that their own training is going well as they pick up some silverware.

Rutherford always marks the first big river experience for our Beginner athletes. Far from being overawed by a stretch of water about thirty times wider than the Union Canal (and which moves…in both directions!), they performed admirably and took a few scalps in the Band 3 and 4 categories across both divisions, testament to their speedy progress and in the absence of a dedicated beginner or novice category.

The highlight of division two was surely the ‘Battle of the Quads’. EUBC have won the quads event five years in a row at Rutherford, and there was never any danger of someone stopping it becoming six. The question was, would it be the Lighties or the Heavies? Both crews had to weave their way through the newly established Alumni 8+ category (something to think about for next year, Alexandra?), but did so without incident, and it proved to be the nimble Lightweights who took the spoils on this occasion, overturning the order from British Championships in October, with the crews finishing first and second overall in the division. We even boated a 3rd Quad, who won Band 2 and were the fourth fastest quad.

Our Women reached a significant milestone in putting out three eights from the Senior squad for the first time in recent years.

The 1st Eight were up against not just the usual Rutherford opposition of Newcastle, UL and Durham, but also crews from the traditionally strong Women’s programmes at Thames RC and Tideway Scullers School, adding to the evidence that this is becoming the most competitive Head Race outside of London. A solid row was to place them second behind UL and ahead of Thames, with the top two crews showing themselves to be a class apart at this early stage of the season. The 2nd Eight claimed the Band 2 prize, and the 3rd Eight also had a good row that would have won them Band 3, had the advanced mathematics required to put them there agreed.

It was a slightly damper and colder group of people who loaded up and set their noses north again. However, the journey was warmed by the spoils successfully pillaged and lessons learned to take us into 2019 in good shape.

EUBC November Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 17:31:53 GMT

Record Highs on the Tideway for Edinburgh University Boat Club

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 21:14:20 GMT

Report by Colin Williamson

A bumper weekend of racing yielded club record finishes for both Men and Women, and spectacular London debuts for our all conquering Novice squads.

In an unusual departure from the traditional rowing calendar, both the Women’s Eights Head of the River and Head of the River Races were scheduled for the same weekend. Whilst this presented some logistical challenges, it made for an even more heightened sense of anticipation and excitement as almost the whole club raided over the border and into the heart of the capital last week.

Recent years have seen the weather claim many of the headlines for these races, particularly for the men, but it seems winter was truly cast off with the departure of the ‘Beast from the East’ as the ‘Pandas from the Pentlands’ basked in the relative warmth of the South-East and settled in with their welcoming hosts at Thames Rowing Club and Westminster School.

Ice, and the closure of Strathclyde Park for maintenance work, had severely hampered opportunities for water work since the turn of the year. However, buoyed by strong performances at BUCS Head a fortnight ago, and confident in the work put in on the ergs in the Dame Katherine Grainger Rowing Gym, both squads set about familiarising themselves with the fast flowing waters and iconic landmarks of the Tideway.

On Saturday, it was the Women’s Eights Head of the River. After a few years of steadily climbing the rankings, culminating in last years 8th place finish, hopes were high for the Women’s 1st 8+ as they started amongst the elite top 10 crews. Led by GB Junior Worlds athletes Alex Rankin and India Somerside in the stern, this crew has a youthful look, which could see it grow from strength to strength over coming years, bolstered by the introduction of Fresher and u23 World Champion Lucy Glover in the 5 seat, making her debut on the Thames for the Baby Blue. A strong row saw them come home in 7th, another rung up the ladder, and just 1 second off the Senior Pennant. They also have the accolade of being the second fastest student crew behind an impressive Cambridge Boat Race line-up.

Not to be outdone, the 2nd 8+ climbed 5 places from their starting position into 31st, signalling the growing strength in depth of the squad as they claimed a finish position of which the 1st 8+ would have been pleased in previous years.

Our Novice programme has always been strong, and its reputation as one of the best, if not THE best, places in the UK to learn the sport was enhanced yet again at the weekend.

The Novice Women’s 8+, entered as Intermediate as a consequence of earlier, but abandoned, plans for a combined 3rd 8+, raced to 90th position, comfortably faster than anyone in the Novice category and meaning they are already in the top 30% in the country after just 7 months of rowing. The future is bright!

After the girls had laid down a strong marker, Sunday was the Men’s turn.

Denied the chance to race in 2017 due to the wind, it was the record high of 14th from 2016 which the 1st 8+ sought to better. Starting in a ‘Newcastle sandwich’, chasing the Blue Star Heavyweights whilst being chased by their lightweights, the boys, 6 of whom have raced on the World stage for their country, steadily closed the gap. Battling through the wash, they gained overlap coming down the Putney embankment to produce a crowd-pleasing side-by-side finish. When the results appeared, the elusive top 10 had been achieved, and 4th best student crew behind the all-conquering Oxford Brookes and perennial rivals UL and Imperial.

The 2nd 8+, rowing together as a unit for the first time, found the Tideway traffic heavy going, but expertly weaved their way through for a strong position just outside the Top 50 in 54th, again a position that would not have been rejected out of hand by many a 1st 8+ on the day.

The Novice men seemed to take inspiration from their female counterparts the day before as they stormed down the track for the first time, and simply blew away the novice opposition to claim the Novice Academic pennant (a club first) and a highly respectable 108th overall.

EUBC’s proud boast of developing rowers from scratch is alive and well. 2 of the Women’s 1st 8+ and 1 of the Men’s, as well as many of the 2nd 8+’s, learned their craft on the Union Canal and the results of this years class show that there is no signs of the production line stopping.

Many a tired body made its way back to Edinburgh by plane, train or automobile, much of the fatigue likely induced by raucous, but well deserved, post-race celebration

BUCS Head 2018 Race Report

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 10:20:33 GMT

#babybluearmy

Senior Men
Division 1 saw the Edinburgh Championship 4x got off to a strong start, overtaking Imperial college, but unfortunately were heavily affected by waves from the safety launch at half way, taking on a lot of water. Even with this the quad still managed to place 3rd. Edinburgh's Championship 4- finished 4th behind UL, Durham and Newcastle. EUBC's Championship 4+ finished 5th behind UL, Newcastle, Durham and Imperial.

Division 2 saw EUBCs 1st 8+ set off in what was a shortened 2nd division, down to 2.5k. They were followed by UL who had previously beaten them by over 40s at Rutherford head and managed to reduce this gap down to just 6s, taking silver in championship 8+ ahead of IC and Durham. EUBC's 2nd 8+ finished a tight 4th behind Newcastle A, UL A and Newcastle B.

Report by Matthew Curtis

Senior Women
With very little time on the water due to ice, and some very last minute substitutions, the Senior Womens squad managed to show their adaptability and laid down some solid performances this weekend. The first 8+ were a close 1.6 seconds behind a very strong UL crew, which is a substantial improvement from Rutherford head back in November. The Second 8+ had a good race and just missed out on bronze, coming 4th behind a Bristol first crew. Our 3rd 8+ was mainly made up of novices with our senior women Hannah Davis in the stroke seat setting up a silky rhythm to follow. They came 22nd out of 40 crews in their category, many of who were not novices! Second division was cut short to a 2500m race due to the choppy waters, meaning a big change of race plan was needed. The championship W4- took silver (4 seconds behind UL). The championship W4+ came 6th, WInt4+ (A) 6th and WInt4+ (B) 19th.

Report by Lauren Gray

Novice Men
The past weekend was the first real test at BUCS Head for our Novice Men, determining where in the country they would be ranked amongst other university novices. The Tyne can be tricky to steer and row at this time of year but already in the first race, they showed that they are extremely strong. Coming away with a Gold Medal in the Men’s Beginner 8+, they showed their team spirit and exceptional dedication towards this sport involving the hard training of the past months. The second division saw them taking the second fastest time in the MB4+ and the Silver in the MB4x - a boat they have never previously rowed or trained in before! Sunday was their chance to reproduce a good race by putting out the 8+ in the MInt8+ category, beating several universities’ A and B boats along the way. As tiring and exhausting as the weekend may have been, our Novice Men have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with and that they are in a position to challenge for the rest of the season. After all, they have come away from BUCS Head being the most successful Novice Men’s squad EUBC has ever had! Saturday: Men’s Beginner 8+ - 1st, Men’s Beginner 4+ - second fastest time, Men’s Beginner 4x - 2nd Sunday: NM in Int8+ category - 31st out of 41

Report by Gina Geffers

Novice Women
BUCS Head was a challenging weekend for the Novice Women with many ups and downs. Our WBeg4+ A took home the Bronze despite a footplate malfunction in bow and our WBeg4+ B placed 9th, and we were the only university that had two Beginner crews place in the top 10 proving how strong a team they are. The WBeg8+ had a standout performance, where everyone truly left everything on the water, coming home with the fastest time of the day. On Sunday, our Beginner crews held their own in the Intermediate categories placing 22/40 in the WInt8+ and 19/28 in the WInt4+. This weekend highlighted the strength of these Novice Women and despite it being a difficult weekend, they have come out knowing they are a force to be reckon with and the only way is up for them.

Report by Brianna Siddle

Photograph by Al Johnston

Rutherford Head and Glasgow 4's Head 2017 Race Report

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 19:00:37 GMT

Last weekend saw a very busy few days for EUBC, with the senior and novice squads embracing the cold and racing at Rutherford Head, on the Tyne. The recreational side of the club were racing at Glasgow 4's Head on the river Clyde.

Senior Men
"The weekend was the final race of the year before Christmas for the senior men’s squad. Rutherford head is 4.5k long on the river Tyne and is a great opportunity to test ourselves against some of the top UK universities. In Division 1 EUBC put out 2 senior men’s 8s. The 1st 8 put in a good performance coming in 3rd behind a strong university of London 8 and narrowly missing out on 2nd place to Newcastle. The 2nd 8 also put in a strong performance placing 10th overall, 3rd in their category.

Division 2 saw the squad move into smaller boats with a coxless quad, coxless 4 and 2 coxed 4s. The quad showed their strength, winning the division ahead of UL and Newcastle. Their performance was followed up by a strong race from the coxless 4 who placed 6th, 2nd in their category behind UL. The day was rounded off by solid performances in both coxed 4s who came in 17th and 28th respectively, 4th and 2nd in their categories. The weekend was a strong show from the senior men and a good bench mark for the season ahead."
Report by Matthew Curtis

Senior Women
"With still a bit of work to do to hit the top spots against the best Universities in the country, the senior women had a solid performance through the day. In the first division, the womens open quad came 5s off the win. This potentially came down to a crash coming down the last straight with UL catching a crab infront of them. "Solid race and great line the whole way down, it was a shame about the crash but there is exciting stuff to come in this quad" Women's Captain Maddie Arlett. The womens coxed and coxless 4 came 3rd in their categories behind strong UL and Durham crews. Our second womens quad won their category by a huge 40seconds.

Second division: The first women's 8+ came second to a very fast UL crew, infront of strong Newcastle and Durham crews. Our second womens 8 crew won their category by a comfortable 55s."
Report by Maddie Arlett

Novice Men
"In an amazing effort of tightly knit teamwork, the Novice boys raced their main boats into the top 5 in their respective categories at Rutherford Head. Despite windy conditions and deceiving sun, they enjoyed their rigging, boating, wellies-fun, cuddling into foil blankets at the start as well as working out the best way to pit stop in marshalling, with that last blue bridge being everyone's saving grace. Overall, it was their most successful outing yet, with the whole squad racing and has sparked everyone's ambition for what is yet to come. #babyblue #comeatus.
NM 1 8+: 3rd in their band NM 2 8+: 10th in their band (Out of 10) NM 4x+: 3rd out of 6 NM 1 4+: 4th NM 2 4+: 7th Out of 9"
Report by Gina Geffers

Novice Women
Rutherford Head marked the biggest event for the Novice girls, and despite the challenging conditions they held their own and had an eventful day of racing. They performed well both on and off the water, and I was proud to see them take home a win in the coxed quad. W4+A, 4th, W4+ B, 7th, W8+A 3rd, W8+ B 6th.
Report by Brianna Siddle

Recreational Rowing (Glasgow 4's Head)
The intermediate rowers in the boat club’s recreational squad had their first win this weekend at the Glasgow Fours Head. Despite the freezing temperatures and a difficult course, the women’s Res 1 4+ brought home a gold with the men’s Res 1 4+ coming in a close third.
Report by Victoria MacAskill

November Trials Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 10:54:12 GMT

"Outstanding weekend at British Rowing Trials in Boston for Edinburgh University Boat Club , PB’s and Club records in the Saturday ergo, followed by top finishers in every category in today’s 5k water assessment. India Somerside and Lauren Gray with top honours, winning the W2-, Calum Irvine and Oli Wilkes coming 3rd in the M2-. Lucy Glover 4th in the W1x, Laura McDonald 6th in LW1x, and Matthew Curtis , James Temple and Dale Flockhart finishing 4th, 5th and 7th in LM1x. Great sculling too from Josh Armstrong who lead the M1x through halfway, before an unfortunate visit to the bushes...Early trial with much to do, but good starting point!" - Report Credits Colin Williamson # babybluearmy # GBu23 # rowing # sculling # aviron # rudern # canottaggio # beashark

EUBC Senior World Championships 2017 (Sarasota, Florida)

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 18:56:55 GMT

Britain’s first medal of the World Rowing Championships was won by the lightweight men’s quad (LM4x) and our very own Gavin Horsburgh, with Maddie Arlett and alumni Robyn Hart-Winks finishing 5th in the lightweight women’s quad (LW4x).

Britain’s lightweight men’s quadruple scull (LM4x), stroked by EUBC athlete Gavin Horsburgh, claimed the team’s first medal of the 2017 World Rowing Championships after winning silver on the opening day of finals in Sarasota-Bradenton.

The quad of Gavin Horsburgh, Peter Chambers, Ed Fisher and Zak Lee-Green were edged on the line by France, who clinched gold by just 0.17 seconds with Greece back in third.

Horsburgh said: “We went out there three days on the trot and committed ourselves each time and showed our best form. In the final we didn’t quite get the result we wanted but we couldn’t have asked for more effort”.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to win a medal but to also win Britain’s first here, we couldn’t have asked for more. It’s my first senior Worlds and we set a high bar for ourselves and I wouldn’t be sat here without three incredible teammates.”

In the women’s lightweight quadruple sculls (LW4x) A final, EUBC athlete Maddie Arlett, and alumni Robyn Hart-Winks, finished in fifth, as Italy, Australia and China claimed the medals. The crew consisting of Maddie Arlett, Robyn Hart-Winks, Eleanor Piggott and Gemma Hall, the same athletes who won silver in Lucerne, made it straight into the A final by finishing second in their heats in Sarasota-Bradenton.

EUBC alumni Kenneth Lui had an excellent championships racing for Hong Kong, finishing 2nd in the C final.

British Rowing Performance Director Sir David Tanner said: “As a Team we’ve had an excellent first six days here in Florida and my congratulations go to the lightweight men’s quad on winning our first medal after an impressive week for the four of them”.

Gavin Horsburgh, Peter Chambers, Ed Fisher and Zak Lee-Green had been building their form throughout the Championship this week and look to be peaking at the right time after an impressive display in their semi-final.

Gavin Horsburgh: “The trip was an amazing experience; it was the first time since 1994 that the USA has hosted a World Championships so they created an event which intended to leave a legacy hence why alongside the rowing there were a variety of entertainment stalls and shows. The racing itself was incredible as the standard in the lightweight men’s quad sculling has increased due to the scratching of the men’s four from the Olympic programme. Many more countries now put potential scullers who aim to make the Olympic lightweight double (the only remaining boat class) into the quad which in turn made it much more competitive this year”.

BUCS Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:09:41 GMT

7th June 2017

Strong winds across all three days of racing made for an eventful BUCS Regatta at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. Crews battled through the wind at Europe’s largest student regatta.

EUBC had 32 crews into finals over the 3 days winning medals throughout including 3 golds, 6 silvers and 2 bronze.

Thanks must go out as always to BUCS, their organising team and key volunteers for running such an impressive regatta in such difficult conditions.

EUBC’s first gold of the weekend was won by 2015 Junior World Champion Josh Armstrong , followed by a silver in the women’s Championship Quad. A mention must be given to EUBC’s Men’s coming 4th in the championship 8 with some tight racing against Oxford Brookes and The University of London.

Sunday saw EUBC’s James Temple and Matt Curtis win gold in the Men’s Championship Lightweight Double, for the second year in a row, resulting in 4 consecutive wins for EUBC in this category. The afternoon saw EUBC win silver in both Men’s Championship Coxless 4 and Women’s Beginner Quad. EUBC’s Women’s beginner 4 took bronze from UCL by 0.04 seconds while the Women’s championship 8 came through in the closing stages to take bronze.

With the weekend being characterised by strong winds and tight racing, despite the rain EUBS’s success continued into Monday with Lydia Currie and Anne Rodahl winning gold in the Women’s Intermediate double. James and Matt added to Sundays win by taking the silver in the Men’s championship lightweight pair and the Women winning silver in the beginner 8.

Overall this was a very successful 3 days of racing for EUBC with the club achieving their highest ever finish in the Women’s Championship 8 and retaining a 4 year winning streak in the Men’s Championship lightweight double.

Of the 72 institutions racing over the weekend EUBC finished 4th in the overall BUCS rankings with 534 points ahead of Cambridge with 482, Durham with 468.

SBR Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:08:33 GMT

Saturday 20th May 2017

Saturday morning was characterised by the first heavy rain in Scotland for a few weeks and a long 16k technical based paddle at Strathclyde Park. The crews then all boarded the bus to head to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow for the race itself.

The guys carrying suits and kilts with the girls carrying their dresses it’s fair to say everyone was looking forward to a good day of racing and a big evening of celebration that evening with the Scottish Boat Race Ball being held inside the Scottish Transport Museum.

All the crews arrived at the Museum to rig boats and prepare for the racing ahead. Thankfully the sun came out and the winds dropped, it was looking like great conditions for racing.

The first race of the day was the Graduates race which was a crew made up of a combination of ex and current students who all used to row for EUBC at some point in their University life. Edinburgh got off to a strong start taking a quick lead on Glasgow however some questionable coding and Edinburgh choosing to take a scenic route to the finish line and getting their tourist visas stamped on the way say Glasgow regain some distance, however the Edinburgh crew pulled it together to take the win.

The second race of the day was the Men’s Beginner VIII where the boys took a quick lead over Glasgow off the start which kept increasing through the race with Edinburgh taking an ‘Easy’ win.

The third race saw EUBC’s Novice Women take a ‘Convincing Win’ over the Glasgow crew.

Race four of the day was the Men’s 2nd VIII including previous Henley winners Harry Gething and Richard St Pier. The crew took the biggest lead of the day winning the race by many many boat lengths.

The Women’s 2nd VIII was race 5 of the day where EUBC’s senior Women showed the Glasgow crew how it’s done pulling out an easy win.

Race 6 of the day in Glasgow was the Men’s 1st VIII including previous Henley winners, Calum Irvine , Rufus Schofield, James Temple and Kieran Tierney , it’s fair to say in the lead up o the race the boys were rather confident in their ability to win this race and thankfully they all lived up to their ego taking a big win on Glasgow.

The 7th and final boat race of the day was the Women’s 1st VIII, slightly shocked by last years defeat by Glasgow the girls were nervous but quietly confident in the lead up to the race. Their boat being stroked by Senior World Cup bronze medallist Maddie Arlett took the 7th win of the day for EUBC.

The race which everyone had been looking forward to was the erg relay where one athlete was selected from each squad to row a 2k in 250m pieces with as little changeover time between athletes as possible. Edinburgh were quick of the start taking the lead however a combination of sheer effort and too much excitement meant one of EUBC girls had some trouble finding her seat and this saw Glasgow regain some meters and take the lead. However, all lost distance was quickly recovered with Edinburgh taking the win in the end by about 30 meters.

With Edinburgh sweeping the boat winning all events the celebrations were large with champagne being enjoyed by some while others headed for the bottles of wine in preparation for the evenings agenda of the Scottish Boat Race Ball.

Prize giving saw lots of Medals and cheers for Edinburgh and a big thanks to all the organisers and everyone involved in the running of the event. After a couple more bottles of champagne the Edinburgh athletes were very kindly hosted by fellow Glasgow athletes where everyone got showered, freshened up and ready for the ball.

The ball was an excellent evening of food, celebrations, ceilidh dancing, and lots of celebration.

Upon return to Edinburgh most returned home to get some much-deserved rest which some took the opportunity to scale the peak in the middle group of the central Edinburgh hills, Arthur’s Seat. Having enjoyed an amazing sunrise, they returned home to finally enjoy some much-required rest.

All in all, an excellent weekend of winning, celebration and socialising for everyone and a big thanks to Glasgow for some great racing.

Scottish Student Head of the River

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:08:32 GMT

Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th November 2016

EUBC travelled up to Inverness a few weeks ago for the Scottish Student Head of River 2017. The novice squads put out some gutsy performances, highlighting the success of our Novice Programme so far. We won first place in the Women’s Beginner 8+, the Men’s Beginner 4+, the Men’s Beginner 8+ and the Women’s Beginner 8+ which was a clean sweep for all beginner sweep events. Well done to everyone who travelled and raced at Inverness, very promising results for the season ahead for the next generation.

BUCS Head Newcastle

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:08:28 GMT

Saturday 25th - Sunday 26th February 2017

Last weekend the boat club travelled to Newcastle for the first BUCS competition of 2017. We did extremely well, winning 7 BUCS medals! The men’s first eight of James Temple , Gavin Horsburgh , Ryan Morrison , Kieran Tierney , Calum Irvine , Oli Wilkes , Matthew Curtis , Rufus Scholefield and Rosie Margolis won the Championship event, against the best universities in the country. The coxed four containing half of the eight also won, bringing home gold in the Championship coxed fours. The Championship squad placed 2nd , while the intermediate eight and four placed 7th and 6th respectively. The women’s squad had great success as well, gaining a total of 4 BUCS medals. The first eight of Maddie Arlett , Alex Rankin , Lydia Currie , Mairi Buchan , India Somerside , Jenny Stevenson , Flora Blake-Parsons , Lauren Grey and Laura Mcdonald finished in 2nd place in the championship event, behind UL containing former baby blue Robyn Hart-Winks. The championship coxless four and championship quad both came home having won a silver medal, while the women’s second eight received bronze in the intermediate eight category. This is the first time that the second eight has placed in the intermediate eight, showing the depth of the squad this year. The lightweight four and intermediate coxed fours also put in gutsy performances and both placed 4th. The novice events that had been planned for the Saturday had been cancelled due to extreme winds, but EUBC still entered a novice men’s eight and a novice women’s eight into the Sunday intermediate eight events. They fared well, showing a definite improvement from Rutherford in November, where they had last raced down the course. An overall fantastic weekend puts the club in a very good position for the upcoming events.

GB Trials Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:08:26 GMT

Saturday 5th - Sunday 6th November 2016

This weekend was a busy weekend for the Boat Club celebrating the 150th anniversary as well as the GB teams February trials. Another weekend of GB trials was held this weekend in Boston, Lincolnshire and EUBC had several athletes, present and past, attending.

In the boys pairs our athletes did a fantastic job with postgrad fresher Oli Wilkes and Calum Irvine finishing an impressive 9th overall. Graham Ord and fresher Ryan Morrison placed 20th overall (6th full U23 pair) and Rufus Scholefield and Richard St.Pier finished 29th overall. Josh Armstrong smashed the 5km course in his single and finished 3rd U23 and 8th overall, very impressive in his first year at U23 level.

The womens pair of Mairi Buchan and fresher India Somerside finished 11th overall in a strong field of womens pairs, featuring Olympians. Fresher Alex Rankin finished an impressive 4th U23 in her first year of rowing at U23 level. Alumni Robyn Hart-Winks (rowing for UL) smashed it finishing 5th overall in the lightweight womens singles.

Special mention has to go to the lightweight men who showed that hunger=speed with Gavin Horsburgh winning the U23 category (4th overall), Matthew ‘Ricky’ Curtis placing 2nd U23 (8th overall) and James Temple placing 4th U23 (10th overall). Alumni Kieran Brown finished 17th and Gregor Maxwell finished 24th.

Well done to all athletes, impressive performances all round.

Western Eights Head Race Report

eddiemcdiarmid@hotmail.co.uk (Eddie Mcdiarmid) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:08:25 GMT

28th January 2017

Whilst the clubs GB hopefuls were putting in their final preparations for the impending February trials at Strathclyde Park, the remainder of the senior squads travelled over to Glasgow to race the Western Eights Head of the River, along with the 2016/17 crop of Beginner Women’s squad

The Senior Men, missing a few athletes through illness, sent a group of 10 to race the two divisions, posting the two fastest times of the day with wins in Res1 8+’s & Open 8+’s. The boys managed to navigate the winding river 30 seconds faster than the nearest crew in each race (GUBC), a stellar start in what will be the first in a series of races building up to HORR in late March.

The Senior Women witnessed similar success in Division 1, they were the fastest Women’s crew on the water, although they were the only entry in the Open category. Some boating issues meant that they were unable to race in Division 2 and challenge the GUBC 1 st VIII in Women’s Res1 8’s, a crew which eventually posted the fastest time of the day (only 2 seconds ahead of the girls’ time from division 1), the direct head-to-head race will have to wait until BUCS Head later in the term.

The newly formed Beginner Women’s Racing Squad made their first appearance of the semester at the head to test their progression in the sport. In division 1 they raced Women’s Res2 8’s, finishing a respectable 4 th of 5, but posting a time fast enough to win the Men’s Beginner in the process. In division 2, with a tweak in the line-up, the girls stepped up the intensity through the course to shave off 15s from division 1 and win the Women’s Beginner 8s category, almost 2 minutes ahead of the next crew – A promising start to what could be a long and illustrious career in racing for the club.