BUCS Head 2019

Over Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of March 2019, LUBC successfully competed in BUCS head. We headed south to Gloucestershire where it was held on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, ran by University of Bristol, Hartpury University Centre and Gloucester Rowing Club. The event welcomed over 400 crews over the two days and was our first chance to compete against other institutions this academic year. For us it was our first competitive head race of the season (after White Rose Head, held in York, was unfortunately cancelled) and as for our novices, it was their first competitive race experience on a new stretch of water. After months of intense training, we were excited to see how they would place in comparison to the other universities.

The weather conditions were on our side on Saturday for our novice crews completing the short-course of 3km. The novice men’s 8+ successfully placed 11th (out of 35), and their 4+ placed 8th (out of 33). The novice women’s 8+ placed 25th (out of 31).

On Sunday, the conditions were not in our favour with constant rain and wind picking up. The senior men’s 4+ placed a fantastic 7th (out of 31) and the senior women’s 8+ placed 18th (out of 33). However, in classic BUCS head style, the third and fourth divisions were cancelled due to exceptionally bad weather and huge time delays. Unfortunately, this meant that the senior men’s 8+, and the two senior women’s 4+s could not race. Although mixed results, we are overall really pleased with the outcome. BUCS has shown that the cruelling winter training has paid off and proved the potential of our novices in a competitive race situation. We look forward to the rest of head season and regatta season to come.