It’s a pretty small draw for the fours (easy to remember – it rhymes) at this year’s British Rowing Junior Championships. We haven’t seen as much sweep work in general from these clubs, but a fair few raced against each other in the quads at Henley Womens’ last month. Whether their sculling skill will have translated to sweep is a different matter, but some rivalries will surely come into play.
Glasgow Academy
A strong sweep education is probable here, since the seniors won by over ten seconds in the fours at HWR. In terms of the J16s, their quad (with George Heriot’s and George Watson’s as the ‘Scottish Argonauts’) was beaten by Marlow RC in the semi-finals of the Henley Womens’ J16 Quads. Such a result could well have given the now wholly-Glasgow Academy crew the drive they need to get their place back.
Marlow RC
As I said, Marlow beat Glasgow Academy in the quads recently, so have proven their skill with two blades. Whether their sweep will be up to scratch is less surely known, but the fitness they showed with their 11 second win certainly won’t hurt. Additionally, as GA may have found a newfound grudge to be settled, Marlow are likely equally keen to keep ahead of them.
Kingston GS
The third club in this proverbial triangle around the podium is Kingston Grammar, who came second to Marlow in the final of the coxless J16 quads by a mere 6 seconds. This closeness makes the exact ordering hard to call, but it’s totally feasible that they could have made up the short gap in the interim, and so are definitely one to watch.
Other notable crews include Walton RC, whose seniors came just behind Glasgow Academy in a heat of the J4+ race at HWR, possibly indicating a comparable sweep education; William Perkins Schl; and the triplet dark horses (where WJ16 sweep is concerned, anyway) of Stratford, Trentham, and King’s Worc.
Prediction
As you might have guessed by now, I think the competition will be tight between Glasgow Academy, Kingston, and Marlow. I think these crews will be especially competitive, so it should make for an interesting race.
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