UCBC comes into this year’s Summer Eights eager to add to their impressive run of success in recent years. With three women’s and four men’s boats ready to race after a productive term of training, the upcoming Eights week should be a great opportunity to celebrate and build upon the progress of the past few seasons.

On the men’s side, the completion of this year’s Boat Races sees two of Univ’s Blues – Andy Bridger and Matt Hudson – re-join the college squad to help blast M1 up the order across the four days of Summer Eights. Univ M1 already occupies the fifth spot on the river in Torpids after this year’s blades-winning performance, and the first Eight is ready to climb to similar heights from their starting position on bungline eleven. The crew will be out for revenge after a combination of crashes and unfortunate rulings saw M1 end right where they started in last year’s eights, and we can expect a fast climb this year.

The first day of Eights (Wednesday 24th May) will be a special one for UCBC women past and present. Univ women’s First Eight will start at Headship for the first time in the history of bumps racing, the result of many years of hard work and progress from current members and alumni. With no Blues to come back on the women’s side, and a crew made up solely of women who learnt to row at Oxford, W1 will face a tough challenge from chasers Christ Church, who have a healthy supply of Blues athletes and are favourites to end this year’s campaign at Headship. Nonetheless, it will be a spectacular fight for the top spots in women’s division one, and we can expect Univ’s women fight hard to remain at the head of the river, a position they also gained at this year’s Torpids.

For Univ’s other crews, there is likely to be a strong chance at blades for many, with the men’s and women’s second boats especially strong after a season of external racing and dedicated training with the whole squad. Please consider coming down to the Isis this week to cheer all our rowers on!

Visit the new UCBC website at univboatclub.com

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Published: 23 May 2023

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