Record Highs on the Tideway for Edinburgh University Boat Club
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


