Race Report: BUCS Regatta 2022
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 4th 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 4th 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 2nd 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…
