Saturday 18th February saw several of the senior men’s squad travel down to Newcastle in the early hours of the morning after the biggest night of the year for Heriot Watt Sports Union to compete against the rest of the UK at BUCS head race 2023. Last year’s Scottish champions faced the trying waters of the Tyne River by Newcastle Amateur rowing club in the Men’s Intermediate 4+ to place in a strong 18th place of 31 crews. In the afternoon they were joined by others in the squad to compete in the Men’s Intermediate 8+ in Division 2, facing much better conditions as the winds calmed and waves didn’t lap over the sides! This was the first outing of a Heriot Watt men’s 8+ in 4 years due to covid and the first racing opportunity for the entire crew in an eight-man boat. They finished as 26th of 34 crews, giving a strong performance down the course.

Sunday 19th gave the beginner squad their 3rd racing opportunity in the Men’s beginner 4x, a new category for those racing and their first time in a coxless boat at competition. They placed 9th overall in their category and received valuable experience getting back into the racing calendar after the Christmas break. 
The results give the crews confidence going ahead in the racing season and all eyes are looking ahead to the next race!

Race report for BUCS head 18th and 19th February

M Int 4+
Saturday
Sat Div 1
111
Heriot-Watt
18:20.5
18/31

M Int 8+
Saturday
Sat Div 2
228
Heriot-Watt
18:06.2
26/34
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M Beg 4x
Sunday
Sun Div 2
231
Heriot-Watt
12:02.5
9/9

Inverness Fours and Small Boats Head saw the second outing for the club this year, an building on the success of Aberdeen and last year’s trip to Inverness the number of crews entered increased with 21 Heriot Watt boats across both days of racing.

The Womens squad displayed their caliber by placing 2nd in the Novice 4x+ on Saturday afternoon, and confidently securing 1st place in the Novice 4+ on the Sunday afternoon. Division 1 on Sunday saw a brilliant result for two senior women claiming 6th of 27 crews in a highly competitive OR2 2- category. The men also demonstrated their skills through the array of smaller boats including single sculls, double sculls and pairs the senior squad produced as well as several novice fours and quads.
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Overall, a great weekend for the club was had, varying from the superb results and socializing across the club to mixing with other crews at the starting line and thrill of side by side racing down the picturesque course of the Caledonian canal.

Race Results and Report for Inverness head 19th and 20th November 2022

Sat Div 1: 65 + 88 entries
Women Nov4+ ==> 8/11 (45/65)
Men ONov4+ ==> 4/4 (51/65)
2 x Men ONov1x ==> 4/28 (9/65) + 8/28 (16/65)
Men OR1 4x ==> 11/12 (26/88)

Sat Div 2: 65 + 97 entries
Women Nov4x+ ==> 2/6 (26/65)
Women Nov 1x ==> 14/23 (50/65)
2 x Men ONov2x ==> 5/13 (8/65) + 8/13 (11/65)
2 x Men ONov4+ ==> 7/9 (20/65) + 9/9 (62/65)

Sun Div 1: 31 + 139 entries
2 x Men ONov 4+ ==> 5/8 (21/31) + 7/8 (27/31)
Women Nov4x+ ==> 3/8 (17/31)
Men OR2 2- ==> 5/6 (46/139)
Women OR2 2x ==> 6/27 (70/139)

Sun Div 2: 28 + 132 entries
Men ONov 4x+ ==> 4/4 (25/28)
Women Nov 4+ ==> 1/10 (5/28)
2 x Men OR2 4+ ==> 7/12 (22/132) + 9/12 (30/132)
Men OR2 1x ==> 17/20 (102/132)

Aberdeen saw the beginning of the head season for the club with eight crews across the divisions, and the first opportunity for several members to get racing experience as the beginners made their racing debut. 

The results were rewarding for the crews in the first division, with the Mens squad placing 3rd in the R2 4+ category as well as 2nd place in the Novice 4x+. The second division also saw promising results as the Womens Novice 4x+ came 2nd in their category and one of the Mens Novice 4+’s claiming 3rd place.
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This event allowed for crew bonding between seniors and beginners and the results have set the club up well for a great season of racing ahead.

Div 1:
Men R2 4+ ==> 3rd in category
Women Nov 4+ ==> DSQ
Men Nov 4+ ==> Time only category, 34th place out of 38 overall
Men Nov 4x+ ==> 2nd in category

Div 2:
Men Open 4x ==> 6th in category (last)
Women Nov 4x+ ==> 2nd in category
2 x Men Nov 4+ ==> 3rd in category and time only 32nd place out of 35 overall

​BUCS Head– The Tyne – 26/27th March 2022

On Saturday we had our intermediate women's 4+ race. The girls managed to achieve 22nd out of 27. This is a promising result for the girls and for some it was their first time racing on a 5k course, so we are all really proud of them. Flying the flag in their yellow bucket hats they definitely won best dressed. The month leading up to BUCS had some very poor weather, which lead to a lack of water time,  so what the crew was able to do was a big achievement considering the circumstances. With hopefully some decent weather in the coming months, our women's squad is in a good place to start seeing some top results to reflect their hard work.

The Sunday saw the debut our beginner men's 4x. The boys managed to achieve 7th in a hotly contested line up of 14. This result is extremely promising as the boys weren't able to get much training on the water together, due to the same bad weather in the lead up to the race. With some better weather, the rest of the season's training (and maybe some steering...) we could be looking at some top results this summer. We are all extremely proud of our beginner squad and it shows their commitment to training is paying off.