EUBC Strike Gold at BUCS Head

The BUCS Head is the first major marker in the rowing season, providing crews the chance to test themselves after the winter break.

The Men’s Championship coxed four started the ball rolling picking up the first of the medals with a bronze, the first of its kind for Exeter in a number of years. The women’s Championship coxed four then went one better, picking up an emphatic silver.

The women’s Lightweight Coxless four and Men’s lightweight quad then surpassed all expectation by picking up two fantastic golds in the afternoon events.

Club captain David Rogal led by example in the gold medal winning Lightweight Men’s quad. He said: “There was a lot of pressure building up on this weekend for the club. It’s a huge event as it’s one of only two events in the year where we can try and get BUCS points and medals.

On the day, I have no doubt that the entire squad performed to the absolute best of their ability. Having to sit at the start with crews, such as Durham, Newcastle and Imperial, who all boast GB level athletes and incredibly well funded rowing programmes, is difficult enough. But to then race and beat some of them, putting us at an overall fourth on the points table, is an incredible achievement.

The competition saw the EUBC, who have recently benefitted from the construction of the new Nicholas Bull boathouse on the banks of the Exe and a number of new Stämpfli boats, pick up 89 much deserved BUCS points, a huge improvement on previous years.

David said “In the one event we’ve already surpassed last year’s BUCS points total. I’m chuffed to bits with the result and cannot describe the high that the club is on right now heading into the rest of the season”.

The next big test for EUBC will be the Women’s Eights Head of the River (WeHoRR) on the 9 March before the Head of the River Race (HoRR) on the 23 March. The HoRR event sees over 3500 rowers from around the world converge at London’s premier rowing race.

For a full report of the weekend please visit the EUBC website.

Medal winning teams:

Lightweight women’s coxless four (GOLD)
Charlotte Dexter, Jess Elkington, Emily Dow and Hannah Traylen

Lightweight men’s quad (GOLD)
James Ellison, George Butcher, Rory O’Neill and David Rogal

Heavyweight women’s coxed four (SILVER)
Jess Collins, Emma Cockroft, Pippa Burnham and Emma Townsend

Heavyweight men’s coxed four (BRONZE)
Duncan Head, Tom McMorrin, Declan Shaw and George Butcher