With the new changes for the 2018 Regatta, this First Fours event is particularly intresting this year. Those who would have entered the Child Beale may decide to move athletes into a four rather than racing with the top eights. There are established crews who have raced in this boat all season and clubs with vast depth using this event to utilise the full capacity of the squad. The Fours Cup will no doubt serve up some good racing this year.
St George’s College
A two-boat entry , St George’s College are defending the title they won last year. A boat club with a lot of experience at this level, St George’s College were 8th in first eights at the Schools’ Head of the River before switching over to the four for regatta season. Their first outing in the summer came at Wallingford Regatta, where they finished up 6th in Sch/Jun 4+ but behind both Tideway Scullers and Winchester College. It would take a monumental effort to overturn both of these crews in just three weeks, but this crew have great pedigree and a huge amount of experience. If anyone can, St George’s can.
Walton RC
Star athlete Matt Heywood raced for Great Britain at Munich Regatta in May, whilst Ben Harris has also been a prominent part of the trials process this year. They managed a third place at the Schools’ Head of the River but haven’t actually raced side by side in this crew so far – a risk that could well backfire on race day. Heywood has plenty of experience in the pair though, winning J16 2- at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2017 – his experience will be crucial in pushing this crew forward.
Winchester College BC
According to our sources, this is the top Winchester crew this year and has been all season. It always seems a shame when one of the traditional junior powerhouses prioritises the four over the eight, but it’s usually a move born of pragmatism. They were second at the Schools’ Head of the River, though the winners of that race, Molesey, are racing at championship level. The door is ajar for a Winchester takeover; they finished fourth at Wallingford Regatta and the crew consistency and rhythm could well be the key to a strong performance.
Norwich School BC
These guys look to have chosen the coxed four over the eight too, but raced the eight at the Schools’ Head of the River, finishing fourth. It’s a peculiar decision but you can’t argue that the one has proven a success – they won J18 Coxed Fours at Bedford Regatta, beating Great Marlow, Bedford and Bedford Modern all of whom are racing a level up at championship. Much like Winchester, there’s an argument to be had that this crew may be better suited to a higher level but they’ll have to medal to prove me right on that one.
Shiplake College BC
This looks to be the second boat, behind the 1st VIII, which leads me to believe they’ll be strong. Their only domestic result this season was at Wallingford (racing as Shiplake B) where they finished 5th, not far adrift of Winchester. The question is can they make the step up onto the podium? Shiplake have developed rapidly into a behemoth of junior rowing, enveloping talent and turning it into world-class crews. They’ll need to use all of their nous to pull a win out of the bag on Saturday though.
Tideway Scullers School
Another crew who have formed later in the season, Scullers raced first eights at the Schools’ Head of the River so have plenty of sweep experience. They’re a junior talent production line, having turned out a multitude of junior internationals on both the sweep and sculling side. Wallingford Regatta was a signifiant step forward for this crew, as they finished third in Junior Coxed Fours but crucially ahead of anyone they could face on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see if they can produce gold this weekend.
This is going to be an exceptional race – quality crews battling it out in a proper dogfight. To call a winner is tough – anything can happen on the day particularly with the crews so close in the weeks leading up to the regatta. TSS look exceptional coming into the event, but Winchester and Shiplake are quality crews with a lot of experience.
Prediction:
1st. Tideway Scullers
2nd. Winchester
3rd. Shiplake
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