The Junior National Championships this coming weekend is the last big race in the regatta calendar and for some crews is the most important. Without the presence of many of the strong school crews, it leaves the field more open in some events and this can lead to an exciting few days of racing. Some crews in this J16 four category will have raced against each other before, most recently at Henley Women’s Regatta, so will know what they’re up against but, there could be some surprises.
Marlow
Marlow have entered two crews into this category and are sitting in a very strong position as they are coming off the back of a win at Henley Women’s. The A crew will no doubt be looking to continue this winning streak and be triumphant, but this crew has not been dominant all season. Out of this 4, Fisk, Daniell, Purves and their cox Stark were in the J16 8 that came a close 4th at National Schools just behind Surbiton, so it will be interesting to see if they can improve on this and continue on their winning trajectory.
Henley
The A crew from this club had a disappointing Henley Women’s Regatta. After their very dominant win in the J16 8 at National Schools, they went in to the race as one of the favourites but failed to qualify, as they only managed to come 11th, behind St Edwards School and Surbiton. If they can use the disappointment as fuel to push them on in these races, I think they are definitely ones to watch.
Tideway
This crew finished 5th in the J16 4 category at National Schools and rather than enter a four at Henley Women’s they put Jones, Crawford and Priestley into a composite Junior 8 with St Pauls Girls School which lost to the eventual winners in the semi-finals. I think that this crew will be a strong contender for the medals here, due to their solid season so far.
Lea
This Lea crew is really one to look out for, as their coming into this race with a 3rd place at National Schools in the J16 4 and also having just lost out in the semi-finals at Henley Women’s to the winners, Marlow. This rivalry with Marlow should lead to a very exciting race if they both make it to the final here.
Predictions
There are also a few other crews that should perform well, the crew from Newark being one of them. But I think the battle for the win could be between Marlow and Lea, although none of these crews should be written off as in the last big race of the season, anything could happen.
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