Typically, at major rowing events, only the top crews are allowed to race, that being As, Bs and Cs. This leaves many rowers without an opportunity to race as they may not make the cut for the top boats. This is where BASHER comes in. BASHER is a joint event run by 6 of the top rowing schools in the Southeast. The name itself is an acronym of the participants: Bedford, Abingdon, St Paul’s, Hampton, Eton, and Radley. The aim of the event is to allow all rowers to have a chance to row competitively and participate in side-by-side races.

The event officially runs twice per year, once in March and the other in June. Recently, on the 20th of March, BASHER 1 took place. Basher itself is an open private event so there were no age categories, and every crew was competing against each other, regardless of if they were J15 or J18.  The event began with each crew completing a time trial to find their placement in the overall ranking, ahead of the side-by-side races. However, after the time trial, the top 12 placing crews were placed in their own sub-category of sorts. After the time trial, the top 4 crews were: St Paul’s J16A, Bedford’s 2nd VIII, Eton’s 2nd VIII, and Radley’s 2nd VIII. For most crews, within their semi-final race, they raced over a 1500m course, and the top 2 crews moved up, and the bottom 2 moved down. Yet, in the top 12 races, it was a 6-lane race instead of 4 and was raced over a distance of 2000m.

The semi-finals were a mix of the top 12 yet in the finals, the order had been solidified with the top 3 of each semi-final was put into the A final and bottom 3 in the B final. The A final consisted of: Eton’s second VIII, St Paul’s J16 A, Radley’s second VIII, Bedford’s second VIII, and St Paul’s third VIII. Eton ended up finishing first in their race, St Paul’s J16s coming second and Radley coming third.

Overall, the day consisted of some excellent rowing from all crews racing, so well done to all. I look forward to seeing everybody race again at BASHER 2 coming up soon, in just over a month.