Floods, an inevitable fact that has plagued winter racing for years, and has meant that up until recently it has been hard to tell what the regions of the UK will have to offer moving through to spring and summer in the premier junior sculling boat class.
Yarm School Boat Club
Previously a strong contender in the midfield of British junior rowing, Yarm School Boat Club has had some good performances and strong individual athletes. In 2024, they sent a quad to qualifiers for the Fawley Challenge Cup and subsequently qualified. Members of this crew have shown their talent and continued on their endeavours at university, Harry Wildridge currently in the Durham University Boat Club first eight and Archie Norton in the University Of Bath Rowing Club top quad, to name a few. As we know, success breeds success, so I look forward to seeing how the new crop of Yarm rowers face up to the challenge.
Hexham Rowing Club
A name synonymous in the Junior 16 rowing circuit, Hexham Rowing Club have produced some standout crews such as their Junior 16 womens crew who claimed multiple national medals over the course of 2024 and the coveted opportunity to race the GB v FR match. The boys from Hexham must not be underestimated, coming eight and 12th in the Junior 16 doubles event at the National School’s Regatta in 2024; the crew I imagine being the aggregation of those two boats, will prove to be a solid opponent to the other crews present at the head so it will be interesting to see how their skill coalesces to form a larger crew.
Durham School Boat Club
A school that has possibly flown under the radar for some time in junior rowing, producing some standout athletes, given the nature of boarding at the school and attracting some international students, Durham School Boat Club found themselves last year with Valentin Suter representing Switzerland in the Under 19 World Rowing Championships quad and Johanna Debus, an Old Dunelmian, representing Germany in the Under 23 Women’s quad. As we can see, there is no question about the talent coming out of the school, the only question is, are the current cohort of rowers up to the task of holding the standard of those who came before them?
Prediction
I think this is by all accounts Yarm School Boat Club’s race to win. The spots of second and third however are a slightly more difficult prediction to make. But, the main factor that cannot be ignored is the prominence of Hexham Rowing Club in the Junior 16 rowing scene, providing they can make the step up in quality from Junior 16 to Junior 18. I am confident they will be able to take the second place, leaving Durham School Boat Club in a strong third place.
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