Summer Racing Review 2022

Alice Vine
Monday 6 June 2022

Spring Regatta

The first regatta of the 2021-22 season was the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta at the end of April. It was a very wild and windy weekend, with a strong crosswind really shaking up the racing. It was the first opportunity to race a 2k course that season, and the first time ever for some of us! The novice men’s and women’s coxed fours coped very well with the unpredictable conditions and intensity of multilane racing.

For the seniors it was a first chance for potential BUCS Regatta crews to see how they were progressing from Head racing season. The women’s squad came away with two gold medals, in the Women’s 8+ and Women’s 4+ categories, as well as a hotly contested silver medal in the Women’s Champ1x. The men’s squad had some very close racing against tough competitors, with plenty of A Final finishes across all events.

BUCS Regatta

It was a strong weekend for women’s sculling, with the highlight of this year’s BUCS regatta was undoubtedly Lydia winning the WInt1x event, her third BUCS medal in her time at UStABC and her second becoming a national champion. Lydia was also in the crew that made the A final in the WInt4x, and Ailsa also placed 6th in the WIntLwt1x. The Women’s squad also performed well in the bigger boats, with three crews in the WInt4+ event, and a strong result from the women’s eight.

From the men’s squad, the Mint2x of Shay and Aidan performed well to come 5th overall, with both having raced in singles the day before. There was a UStABC men’s eight racing for the first time in many years, highlighting the increasing depth in the squad. The two Mint4+ crews also ended up in the same final, with the fiercest competition of the whole weekend coming in that race!

Scottish Championships

Scot Champs was the final whole club event of the season, coming just after training camp. It was a fantastic finale to the season, with strong performances and much improved conditions from the first previous Strathclyde event!

Friday saw our small boats racing, with a M2-, W2- and W1x all racing. The M2- produced a stunning performance to come fourth, less than a second outside the medals, in their first race in this combination. The W2- and W1x also raced well, with both winning their respective B finals.

Medals came for the Women’s Quad after a dramatic race on Saturday to come second, followed up by another silver from half of the crew in the double on Sunday. The W4+ also raced well to take gold, ahead of a small but strong field of competitors. The M4+ crews also raced well, coming just the wrong side of the medals against strong local rivals Edinburgh.

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