Filippi enjoyed a phenomenal weekend at the 2024 edition of BUCS Regatta, collecting 40 medals across the full spectrum of boat classes and abilities. In a community that we have supported for many years, it was richly rewarding to witness so many crews and clubs boating in Filippi shells. The event itself was a fantastic example of student rowing, with a series of epic performances inscribing themselves into rowing folklore, and we were delighted to play a small part in this festival of sport.
Saturday was our most successful day in terms of total medal count, as Filippi shells collected 16 medals including four golds. The day got off to the best possible start with a Filippi one-two-three in the open championship lightweight single. Queen’s University Belfast, who have been long-time users of our boats, took gold with Nottingham University and Bath University in the silver and bronze medals positions. The race immediately after saw the sculler from Nottingham Trent University collect silver in the open intermediate lightweight single.
Our second and third golds of the day came in quick succession a few races later. Durham University took the women’s championship pair title in spectacular style, triumphing over Imperial College by just 0.07 of a second. Behind them, Cambridge University took bronze and also rowed a Filippi. Immediately afterwards, Reading University came storming down the track in the open intermediate single to win gold. A flurry of minor medals followed, including silvers in the open championship single (Reading University), women’s beginner eight (Durham University – Filippi also won bronze courtesy of Queen’s University Belfast) and women’s championship lightweight double (Queen’s University Belfast).
Five more medals were to come on the Saturday, including bronzes in the open beginner coxed four (Queen’s University Belfast), women’s intermediate quad (Reading University) and open championship eight (Durham University). Our final gold of the day came in the open beginner quad thanks to a storming performance from Queen’s University Belfast whilst we also secured a silver in the women’s championship quad whilst riding with Reading University.
Sunday started in similarly fast fashion, as Filippi shells collected four of the nine medals on offer in the opening three races. These included a blistering gold and silver combination in the women’s championship lightweight single as Hazel Wake of Oxford University took the win ahead of Lara Brittain of Loughborough University. Two silvers sandwiched this result, as Birmingham University’s Emily O’Connor finished second in the women’s intermediate lightweight single and David Clark of Durham University finished second in the open beginner single.
We managed a bronze in the women’s beginner coxed four (Durham University) before Zara Povey took a brilliant gold in the women’s intermediate single for Reading University. A couple of races later, Queen’s University Belfast took gold in the open intermediate double before the same club secured a silver in the championship equivalent. Cambridge University’s phenomenal lightweight program continues to bear fruit as they took gold in the women’s championship lightweight coxless four before their openweight male team-mates won the championship coxless four. After a fantastic Boat Race series, in which Cambridge’s woman rowed to victory in a Filippi, it was heartening to see athletes bearing the Light Blue and winning at BUCS Regatta in Filippi shells.
Our final two medals of the day were collected in the open championship lightweight double (Reading University) and women’s championship eight (Durham University).
Monday would see us win 11 medals and round off a magnificent weekend. A silver in the first final of the day was awarded to Queen’s University Belfast, who took their Filippi shell to the water in the open beginner double. Bronze in the women’s intermediate lightweight pair followed thanks to Cambridge University before another bronze was added in the women’s championship coxed four, this time whilst riding with the University of London.
We claimed a silver in the open championship pair alongside Durham University before gold was secured in the women’s intermediate lightweight quad with the tremendously successful Queen’s University Belfast program. Bronze in the women’s championship coxless four (Oxford University) was bettered in the following race via a brilliant gold in the open intermediate quad with Reading University. Not content with the intermediate prize alone, Reading University returned to the water a few moments later to secure gold in the open championship quad (again in a Filippi) cementing their status as the country’s premier sculling program. We also added silver to the docket in the race via a great row from Queen’s University Belfast.
A bronze medal in the women’s beginner double with Queen’s University Belfast was our penultimate silverware of the day before Reading University capped a magical three days of racing by winning the women’s championship double by nearly eight seconds in the final race of the day.
