Derby University at Head of the River Race

Head of the River Race, London

By Joshua Hasbury

The University of Derby were strongly represented at the annual Head of the River Race (HoRR) in London on Saturday 19th March as Derby’s 1st VIII went on to record their highest finish since 1992.
The University Rowing Club have forged strong links with Derby Rowing Club over recent years with athletes who join the University Club also given the opportunity to compete for Derby.
This synergy saw four students (James Bennet, James Walker, David Welch and Chris Baillon) from the University form 50% of the crew selected to represent Derby in the landmark event.
The HoRR is rowed over the 6.8km Thames Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney with over 400 crews of eights typically entered and attracting the top crews from around the globe. With certain crew teams being made up of Olympic standard athletes, most crews attend simply to improve upon their rankings from previous years.
Derby managed this improving on their 2015 position by 4 places, recording their best performance in 20 years, finishing 91st.
The four of them now look to the future, where they will be preparing for the Henley Royal Regatta in July. It is hoped that they can once again help Derby to further success. The fact that students and staff are combining together to achieve this success is something the University can be proud of and we wish them all the success for the rest of this year and beyond.