On the weekend of the 16th and 17th of February, four UCLBC crews travelled to Boston, Lincolnshire to compete at BUCS (British University & College Sport) Head.

After a last minute change of venue due to flooding in Peterborough, university boat clubs from all around the country embarked upon this small town for the annual BUCS winter race. as the first time UCLBC had ever competed at BUCS, it was a chance for each squad to see where they stood against the other universities from around the country. The results from the weekend did not disappoint.

First of the weekend to take to the water were the Novice Boys, who greeted the chilly Saturday morning with a 3k row down the River Witham. The boys raced excellently to finish an impressive 13th place in a difficult category of 41 boats. The turn of the Novice Girls came that afternoon. A 5th place finish adds yet another excellent result to the girls’ already impressive season of results.

The following day saw the men’s and women’s senior crews take to the water. The course ran for 5km, with a relatively sharp bend after 2km and not much for scenery but a few reeds and empty fields – a far cry from the ‘hustle and bustle’ of our familiar Tideway. Despite this, the Senior Women had an exciting race which saw them alongside the Cambridge Lightweight boat for the majority of the race. Placing 6th in their IM3 category puts the girls in good stead for their hopes of a strong finish at WEHORR in just over a week’s time. With an excellent 7th place finish in the Championship Eights category, the Senior Men establish themselves as a competitive university crew, after having caught Manchester University ahead of them and finishing little behind some of the top university crews in the country.

Now UCLBC find themselves edging closer and closer to the culmination of the Head season, with Women’s Eights Head of the River just around the corner and the Head of the River Race not long after that. The excellent results we brought home from Boston show just how much each squad is progressing, as we ready ourselves to take to the Thames.

Athena Mellor, Fundraising & Publicity