Just over one month since The Gemini Boat Race 2023, Oxford and Cambridge turned out en masse to the 2023 British Universities and Colleges Sport Regatta at Holme Pierrepont. The largest student regatta in Europe the BUCS regatta has grown from strength to strength over the years and is a rite of passage for student rowers, whether beginner or elite, to measure themselves against the rest of the country.
The regatta provides the opportunity to race all modern boat classes spread across a variety of levels from beginner up to championship (including several lightweight events), so for Oxford and Cambridge boat race athletes who have spent much of the year focused on producing fast eights, it’s their chance to step into smaller boats and show what they can do.
Following on from their historic clean sweep, it was Cambridge who shone in Nottingham, with the lightweight men collecting the Championship Lwt 4- title and the women winning Gold in the Championship quadruple sculls which is an impressive switch of disciplines from the crew of blues; Rosa Millard, Freya Keto, Isabelle Bastian and Claire Brillon.
Oxford University also secured some silverware with a bronze medal in the men’s championship lightweight 4- and a silver in the women’s intermediate single scull.
In total the CUBC medal haul came to a total of 14 medals (4 Gold, 6 Silver & 4 Bronze) which put the women’s team into an impressive 2nd place in the Victor Ludorum standings, the men’s team also earned a respectable 5th place and on the overall standings Cambridge ranked 4th behind Durham University, Oxford Brookes University and the University of Edinburgh.
With little over 50 days until the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta and several other major regattas in between we look forward to some more great performances from the current crop of boat race athletes.
Below is a summary of the Oxford & Cambridge medal tally, full results can be found here
CUBC
W Ch 4x Gold
M Ch Lwt 4- Gold
W Ch 2- Bronze
W Int 2- Silver, Bronze
W Ch 1x Silver
W Ch Lwt 1x Silver
W Ch Lwt 4- Bronze
M Ch Lwt 2x Bronze
W Int 4+ Gold
M Int Lwt 2- Gold, Silver
W Ch 4+ Silver
W Ch 4- Silver
OUWBC
W Int 1x Silver
OULRC
M Ch Lwt 4- Bronze