Henley Royal Regatta

Qualifying races

NUBC sent three crews to HRR qualifying races, two men’s eights and one women’s eight. The top Men’s and Women’s eights qualified and the second men’s eight being the 20th non-qualifier.

The Men’s first eight drew the University of London’s top eight, and the Women’s second eight drew Oxford Brookes’ B crew, both racing on the Wednesday.

Wednesday

The first crew to race was the Men’s First Eight against the University of London. By the end of the Island, UL only had one seat up on this eight, which they drew out to a 1 ½ length lead by the finish line. Despite this lead, Newcastle continued to push UL until the finish line, creating an exciting and fast-paced race.

The Women’s Second Eight drew Oxford Brookes B, the crew that they faced at Henley Women’s Regatta. Oxford Brookes led off the Island by ½ a length, extending their lead near the Barrier. The Second Eight did not let them away easily though, and continued to race and gained distance on them again by the enclosures, leading to Oxford Brookes crossing the line only one length ahead of Newcastle.

The Women’s First Eight drew Yale University’s B crew. After leading off the blocks, Newcastle was ½ a length in front off the Island. Holding Yale at this distance for most of the race, they extended their lead to ¾ of a length by the finish line and progressed through to Thursday’s racing.

Thursday

The Women’s First Eight then came up against Washington University on Thursday. Holding this crew level until the end of the Island, Washington then began to extend their lead to a length. Holding them here, this eight pushed Washington until the finish line, following them by 1 ½ lengths, bringing this eights campaign to an end.

In a solid performance against Durham University, this four led from the start, leading by over a length by the Barrier. Extending this lead to the end of the race, they crossed the finish line 3 ½ lengths ahead of their competition and progressed to the quarter finals on Friday.

Friday

In an exciting race on the Friday, the Coxed Four came up against Oxford Brookes. Down by one seat of the end of the Island, and down by half a length at the Barrier. Newcastle pushed through Oxford Brookes to gain distance back again, but right before the enclosures Brookes pushed into the lead again. Through the enclosures, this crew shot out in front of Brookes in a gutsy push. They crossed the line 1 length in front of their opposition, making it through to the Saturday and Semifinals.

Saturday

On Saturday, this crew came up against Oxford University. Coming level off the Island, this coxed four started to gain a lead as they moved past the ¼ mile. They held this canvas lead, and crossed the line 2/3 of a length ahead of Oxford University, securing their place in the final.

Sunday

Through to the final, this crew came up against the eventual winners Imperial College London. In the lead off the end of the Island, this crew had a solid start and held this lead to the Barrier. After the Barrier, the crew from Imperial took the lead, and crossed the finish line just one length ahead of Newcastle.