Race Report: Women's Eights Head of the River
Colin Williamson • 14 March 2022
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 1st VIII were starting 5th, 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 7th, and second to UL for the University Pennant, equalled the best performance for an EUBC crew. Not to be outdone, our 2nd VIII, starting 26th, continued the climb up the rankings to finish 21st 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 148th.
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 3rd place overall with Tideway Scullers, Tara Grimsley-Moore 11th with Leander ‘C’ and India Somerside 14th 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 8th.
Thoughts now turn to summer regatta racing, and we move forward with confidence from an excellent Head season.
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
Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th November 2024 - Boston, Lincolnshire
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 succeeded on their missions 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 shows the strength 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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
R owing 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