There is a bumper entry of female scullers for this year’s Junior British Championships, including athletes for whom it will be their final race as a junior. The three-day regatta, held at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham provides diverse competition while also maintaining very high levels of performance – making it an all-round spectacular event. All 41 girls entered into this event have the opportunity to progress after the time trial and as ever, it would be great to see new names create a shock result and put some of the more well-known scullers under pressure. A 2km race, in a single scull, on the notoriously choppy waters of Holme Pierrepoint is no mean feat and a demanding weekend for these girls lies ahead.
Warrington
Ella Stanhope travelled to Munich with GB this regatta season, on the back of her 22nd place finish at April GB Trials. Stanhope came second in the B final at NSR, just three seconds behind Buchanan of Glasgow Academy; it will be interesting to see how these two girls react to racing each other on a national stage again, after such a tight margin. The sculler from Warrington also managed to bring home a silver medal last year in this category, proving that she has the credentials to repeat the same result this weekend.
Glasgow Academy
Anna Buchanan has been in and around the top positions all season but is yet to achieve a podium position on the national stage- this is likely to be her chance to execute such a result. Buchanan has excelled in the GB system this season, consistently curating top results, including 6th at the April assessment. Arguably this Glasgow Academy athlete is the fastest junior women’s sculler out of Scotland this year, as she placed 4th at the Scottish Rowing Championships, in the senior category and was the fastest junior down the course at Strathclyde Park.
Northwich
Eleanor Cushen is another athlete who should be in contention within the A final. This is after her 14th place finish at April trials, with a time of 8:01. At NSR, this Northwich talent placed 6th in the A final, just 2 seconds behind Isle of Ely’s Hayden– meaning a very close race is on the cards this weekend, with Cushen ready to reverse the result of last time.
Cambois
Jemima Furness finished 10th at April GB trials although did not make the trip to Dorney lake for National School’s Regatta. Furness has been dominant across the northern regatta circuit, including convincing wins against others entered into this BRJC event from Chester-Le-Street, Tyne and Durham School. This time a year ago, the Cambois sculler claimed silver in the WJ16 1x just 4 seconds behind Leicester’s Lauren Henry- who is not competing this year.
Isle of Ely
Phoebe Hayden had a superb row at the National School’s Regatta, which saw her finish in 5th place and ahead of all other scullers who she is racing this weekend. This result, alongside her 12th placing at GB trials, puts Hayden into high contention for a medal at British Junior Championships.
Sheffield City
This less well-known club has developed a very strong sculler in the form of Baker. Although she did not race at National School’s and there are not results to be found for her at other national events, the fact she placed 24th at April GB trials implies that she is certainly one to watch.
Yarm School
Hazel Wake made the A final in last year’s WJ18 1x meaning she carries the experience which should allow her to repeat her performance from last year. Wake finished in 4th place in the B final at National School’s; it would be great to see her push on and challenge the girls she has already raced this season.
At the time of writing, GB final trials are underway with many of the aforementioned athletes competing for position on the junior GB squad. A number of these athletes will have spent the days leading up to the Junior Championships trialing on the waters of Holme Pierrepoint which puts them at an already large, advantage.
The final on Sunday will be extremely close; making it too difficult to call who will finish in each position. Although, it appears that Glasgow Academy, Isle of Ely, Cambois and Northwich are most likely to make the top 4 positions yet it could be in any order. As ever, I would never rule out a surprise result.
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