Charlie Gadd
BUCS Regatta is the jewel in the crown of the University rowing season, and being held at the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepoint the pressure was on for University of Nottingham Boat Club (UoNBC) to make an impact.
Friday set the pace. While medals painfully evaded UoNBC, some great rowing sent many crews through to both major and minor finals. While not the blisteringly successful first day the club would have wanted, the direction was positive and the whole squad were ready to give everything in the days to come.
The first medal for UoNBC came on Saturday courtesy of the Women Intermediate 2-. A mammoth row in the morning’s time trial saw them come second overall, just 0.1 seconds above Glasgow.
Five agonising hours later the women lined up at the start line. The race tightened in the final 500m as the two UoNBC athletes looked to fend off an attack from Cambridge’s second boat and make ground on Durham. They couldn’t quite get the jump, finishing one second behind the Durham boat. With this bronze, they became UoNBC’s first medallists of the weekend.
Sunday, UoNBC hit their stride. Three medals across the day gave the whole club and those who had come to watch something to celebrate; if the other clubs needed proof this was very much our home turf, on Sunday, they got it.
The trio of medals was kicked off by a bronze in the Women’s Beginner 4+. An incredible row in their time trial, coming third and five seconds ahead of their closest competition, showed them off as a highly capable outfit. The semi-finals were much the same, a rapid pace seeing them top the standings and giving them huge confidence going into the final.
In the final they showed their consistency, not dropping out of the top three once and finishing seven seconds ahead of fourth to earn bronze in their first outing at BUCS Regatta.
Next up was the Open Beginner 8+, looking to reclaim glory after their counterparts last year narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. They came out the gates strong, coming first in their time trial five seconds ahead of Surrey; the question was could they keep this up?
They answered with a resounding yes in the semi-final, coming first four seconds ahead of Queen’s University Belfast and never dropping out of first place in any of their splits. Despite strong performances in the time trials and semis, it was a tough field that would require an inspired row to medal. These boys were not out of the woods yet.
From the very beginning of the race, it was a dogfight. UoNBC came out in first but couldn’t extend their lead on QUB beyond a second for the entire race. A big push from QUB saw them go neck and neck in the last 200 metres. The Notts squad tried to push but nothing shook QUB.
They crossed the line side by side. After an agonising wait the results were revealed. UoN had won gold by just 0.08 seconds.
Cheers echoed from the banks and the joy and relief was written across the athletes’ faces. They were gold medallists at BUCS Regatta at the first time of asking.
The Open Lightweight 4- knew going into the weekend that they would have their work cut out for them, juggling weight cuts with elite competition. Placing third in their time trial offered a solid baseline but little comfort. Their repechage was again a solid performance, coming second behind Durham.
The final did not start the way they would have liked; a slower start put them fourth in the first 500m. The boys dug in and pushed harder, putting any negative thoughts aside, and passed QUB to go into third place. With Durham ahead by nearly eight seconds and Cambridge even further ahead, UoNBC knew their race was for third and rowed accordingly.
Despite Bath coming within touching distance in the final 500m, UoNBC didn’t let them pass, keeping their bronze medal spot.
UoNBC’s final medal came from the Women’s Beginner 8+, who went into their time trial determined to replicate the success of their counterparts in the Open category. A solid fourth gave them confidence but it was clear they still had more to give. In their semi-final they put in a mammoth effort to finish second, three seconds ahead of Exeter.
The final was not going to be so simple. Despite starting strong, they lost some pace in the second 500m and dropped to second, but with a comfortable three?second gap to Bath. A strong push from Exeter in the final 500m put pressure on both UoNBC and QUB. UoNBC responded in kind and pushed into second place in the dying moments. It was too late for the other squads, who had run out of lake to catch them.
With that the boat secured silver in their first-ever Regatta and won the final medal for UoNBC on BUCS Regatta’s closing day.
Despite falling four short of their medal total last year, UoNBC have a lot to be pleased about. Five medals in major finals and a handful of wins in minor finals leave UoNBC in a massively positive place for the next stage of Regatta season.
Charlie Gadd
Featured image courtesy of Charlie Gadd. No changes were made to this image.
