With the conclusion of Henley Royal Regatta, the season has come to an end. It’s been a phenomenal year, so join me as we look back on what our grandchildren will surely look back on with the same air of inconceivability as we experience as our grandparents recount their tales of the Second World War.
In a cruel twist of fate, the final event our team previewed before the nation was locked down in 2020 was cancelled due to inclement weather: Schools’ Head. This is, of course, far from news to anyone who’s spent more than a few months in a boathouse; in fact, events have been tumbling in the face of more extreme weather patterns, likely caused by the rapidly changing climate. This is a genuine and substantial threat to the rowing calendar, especially on waterways already highly changeable.
After the collapse of Schools’ Head, most other heads fell in quick succession until on the 16th of March, the largest rowing event in the UK – the Boat Race – succumbed to the pandemic. For every Blue, this was simply devastating. Tears flowed, and WhatsApp chains between opposing Presidents danced around the idea of an unofficial event, but of course, there was no such race. This was only one side of the story, as the local community lost out on an estimated £3.7 million of direct economic uplift. Indeed, by some metrics, the Boat Race has become more successful than the Olympics, with coverage attracting 100,000 viewers per athlete, compared to 4,900 per athlete at the 2012 Games*.
With the final door slammed on rowing, our species retreated to their respective living rooms, sheds and garages, as group training took on a whole new meaning. The first lockdown was, by far, the most invasive exploration of our fragile sport for generations. The importance of mental health in sport, a subject often swept under the rug, was reexamined as programme directors grappled with their carefully designed training spreadsheets becoming useless overnight. Those institutions that managed to overcome these initial challenges have produced the crews of the year, and no doubt now have the mechanisms to facilitate a far more flexible – and successful – programme.
We stayed in this state of pseudo-suspension for months, with a relaxation of restrictions arriving too late to have a meaningful impact on the summer season. When September arrived, hopes for another crack at an uninterrupted head season were high, but aside from Pairs Head sneaking under the wire, such dreams were soon dashed by a return to more onerous constraints.
This year’s Boat Race at Ely provided fantastic racing but lacked the atmosphere that is so central to what makes the Boat Race such a special occasion. The 2022 rendition was rumoured to take a different route, passing the Houses of Parliament. Still, with the reopening of Hammersmith Bridge, I’m quietly confident that we will enjoy a return to the normal stage for everyone’s favourite varsity event.
Turn then to Hammersmith Regatta, the first event the previews team could get their teeth stuck into after months away from the sport. It’s a race that often flies under the radar but gave crews a welcome opportunity to spread their wings ahead of the mammoth task at National Schools’ Regatta.
NSR is the de-facto national championships, and after losing all semblance of crew tracking, it was no surprise to see unlikely heroes emerge. Shiplake’s dominance in the women’s championship quads is, for me at least, the standout narrative from this season, with their gold at NSR being described by coach Dan Safdari as “a complete shock.” The absence of a Headington eight at Dorney gave a false sense of security for other programmes, with the subsequent success of the likes of LEH leading us to chase a red herring over the following weeks. It was not a total shock to see Eton top the podium on the men’s side, but to see them standing alongside KCS and St Paul’s caused more of a stir. The men’s quads saw three favourites emerge in Leander, Windsor Boys’ and Tideway Scullers School: the three musketeers that would carry the class through to Henley.
But before the Royal, the women’s crews first visited the Henley Reach for Henley Women’s Regatta. Here some of the most complex crew interactions were realised. Headington finally appeared in an eight and positively annihilated anyone who dared to challenge them. Shiplake held fast in the quad and established a decisive victory over finalists Marlow. On the J16 front, Surbiton built on an impressive National Schools’, posting a TT result in the four almost 20 seconds faster than their closest competition from Latymer.
Turn then to our favourite event of the year: Henley Royal Regatta. Three new women’s events made their debut on the course, to the delight of competitors and spectators alike; we can only hope there’s more to come in the next few years.
In case you somehow missed it, the junior events didn’t yield too many surprises: Eton took the PE, retaining their title from 2019; Headington became the first ever school to win the JWE; Shiplake continued their seemingly unbreakable string of successes in the DJ; and for the first time in the club’s history, Tideway Scullers’ School lifted the Fawley Challenge Cup.
And with that, the season came to an end. Sitting in the press barge at Henley after the crowds have vanished on a Sunday night leaves a potent mix of melancholic reminiscence in the heart and an unabating hunger for more in the stomach.
But Henley will be back, and so will we. JRN has soared to new heights this year, despite a global pandemic, and that’s in no small part thanks to the support of our readers, listeners and followers: so thank you for allowing us to continue to work in the sport we love.
We’ll be back next season with our biggest ever contingent. Rachel takes over the reins of the junior team, whilst John heads up the first-ever student writing unit. Rosie takes point on The Catch as Opinions Editor, and Fergus has bold ambitions for The End of The Island. We’re working on daring new plans for JRN and we can’t wait to share them with you.
We’ll see you there 👋
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