Head season is back, and with Chester Long Distance Sculls being one of the first races in the calendar it is always exciting to see who has maintained their training over the summer break and is in for a successful season. The annual head race is taking place on its usual 5km stretch, from Eccleston Ferry to Chester Grove, and it will be interesting to see which J16 women’s quad will take the win over this demanding distance.
Trentham Boat Club
Trentham Boat Club are right off the back of a promising season last year, especially for many of their older J18 athletes. They are clearly a club filled with strong, dedicated scullers, as seen by Meg Knight, a Trentham Junior who picked up a bronze medal at the U19 Junior World Championships this summer. Similarly, this is shown through the club’s run at Henley Royal Regatta, where the quad reached the quarter-finals. Evidently, Trentham is a club with both experienced coaching and technical skill, which we will expect to see translated into their J16 quad this Sunday. With their women’s J15 quad coming second in the B final at National Schools’ Regatta 2022, the squad definitely has speed and will be looking to tap into that and come away with a win.
The Kings School, Chester
The Kings School, Chester has three entries into the category this year. With the race being on their stretch of river, they are no strangers to the course. Presumably, one of the boats they are racing will be an A quad, made of their top J16 athletes and aiming for a win this weekend. Following promising results from the club last year, such as 5th for the J16 girls 8+ at National Schools’ Regatta 2022, the club should have confidence in their younger rowers to perform and take the title. It is also notable that King’s came second in this category last year in a close race and surely this will provide them with the motivation they need over the gruelling 5km course.
Northwich Rowing Club
Northwich Rowing Club is the third and final club entered into the category. Competing at many national events every year, they are familiar with the competition and know how to construct and execute a race plan which is an important attribute during a time trial. The club had good results at Chester LDS last year with their OpJ18 4x- taking the win ahead of St Edward’s. It will be exciting to see if the club can replicate this win in the WJ16 4x- on Sunday.
Predictions
With it being so early in the season, predicting a winner is always tough, but I think Trentham BC will come away with the title due to their strong reputation for producing such technically skilled and high-achieving athletes. However, I don’t expect the King’s A boat to be far behind, especially on their home stretch of river. Similarly, I think Northwich RC will put up a good fight against the other competing crews from King’s.
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