In a fantastic fours festival of racing across a rainy November weekend, Filippi once again emerged as one of the UK’s premier boatbuilders at the Fours Head of the River. We secured 33% of the available podium positions and finished with 16% of the total wins, earning three pennants. With numerous clubs taking to the water in our shells, we were delighted to see so much representation from across the UK.
Our first win came in the open academic coxed fours, where Cambridge University took the win over St Paul’s School, who in turn led the University of London. All three raced in Filippi shells. Cambridge are building towards another tilt at the men’s Boat Race trophy, which would mark their fourth victory in a row, whilst St Paul’s are seeking to win their second Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup title in three years.
Cambridge were on top again in the women’s academic coxed fours category, securing victory over Bath University and the University of London. After a slightly slower start to the season in Boston, the Light Blues will be delighted to chalk up a win on the Tideway in preparation for them to defend their Boat Race title in April.
Our final win came through London Rowing Club, who took the women’s club coxless four pennant. London are a programme on the rise, evidenced by their increasingly competitive position across the domestic rowing circuit.
Other notable results included Reading University finishing second in the open championship quad category, narrowly behind a Leander quad carrying several senior internationals. Reading are now established as the country’s leading student sculling programme under the leadership of Chris Bartley and Will Rand, and their attempts to win their first Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta will be a central theme throughout the course of the season.
In the open academic quads, St Paul’s School were second in a Filippi, closely followed by Reading University (who also won the category, albeit in a different shell). In the women’s equivalent division, Reading finished second, whilst the University of Birmingham were third.
In the open club quads, Northwich Rowing Club finished second in a Filippi, whilst London Rowing Club placed second in the open club coxless fours. The women’s club quad saw a Mortlake Anglian and Alpha / Newark / Vesta Rowing Club composite place second ahead of London Rowing Club in third.
Our final two top-three finishes featured Oxford University in third in the women’s championship coxless four, and Vesta Rowing Club secure bronze in the women’s club coxed four.
With so much success on the Tideway, we’re very excited to support these crews on their respectie journeys into the rest of the season.
