Oxford Brookes University Boat Club

Over the past two weekends, Brookes women have raced in a series of fixtures against Oxford University Boat Club women, as they prepare for The Boat Race this weekend.

Close racing against both lightweight and Osiris crews, on the tideway in London and back home in Wallingford, saw Brookes women come out on top in some close match ups.

We wish all Boat Race crews good luck

Race week

T-4 days to

WEHORR

36 Brookes women took on the Tideway at the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race. They raced among an incredible 314 crews, the biggest celebration of women’s rowing on the Thames.

Brookes crews crossed the line placing 9th (time only), 24th, 33rd and 53rd (time only).

Racing at the sharp end, against Olympians and world medalists, while developing the next wave of athletes is exactly what the Brookes Women’s are about.

Derby Day: Brookes versus Oxford

After a two-year wait, the Oxford Derby returned to the Tideway, with three crews on either side fighting it out across two half-course pieces.

In the Blue Boat versus Brookes 1 lineup, Oxford got off to a quick start, moving out to three-quarters of a length. Brookes rowed back to a quarter of a length down around the first bend and were still moving through, before an unfortunate crab ended the Brookes fight. On the second piece, crews were level at the Bandstand before aggressive steering and warnings from Oxford approaching Barnes Bridge saw Oxford come off second best, with Brookes winning by clear water at Chiswick.

Isis versus Brookes II: Brookes got off to a good start, taking a quick half-length in the first minute. This margin was maintained all the way to Hammersmith before Brookes gradually moved away past St Paul’s on the outside station, to win the first piece by three lengths. In the second piece, crews remained level for the first couple of minutes before the advantage switched in favour of Brookes, who went on to win by two lengths again.

Lightweights versus Brookes III saw Brookes dominate both pieces from the start, taking clear water early and controlling the races to the finish.

These fixtures form a key part of our preparation for the Head of the River Regatta in three weeks time. We look forward to another fixture with Oxford next year.

Happy International Women’s Day

Today we celebrate the dedication, resilience, and achievements of Brookes women, past, present, and future. As training continues for our current squad, our focus turns to the Women’s Head of the River Regatta next weekend, the largest women’s rowing race in the world and a major milestone in our racing calendar.

A huge thank you to the family, friends, and supporters who continue to back our women’s squad as the programme grows stronger each year.

With our home stretch flooded, we took the chance to row on The Royal Albert Docks in London. Competitive paddling and pieces done, we now look toward fixtures in the coming weeks