photo creds to @a_blind_photographer
The new racing season is now well and truly underway and Fours Head is one of the most important races in the head race calendar. It comes at an important time, all crews will be settled into their new training plan and the top crews therefore begin to emerge. With a long race ahead of them, all crews in this category will be aware of the challenge it represents, it will be interesting to see who effectively rises to it.
Maidenhead
It is always hard to ignore the prowess of Maidenhead and these crews are no different. Not only did they have a very good season last year, most notably with a 3rd place finish at National Schools Regatta in the WJ15 4x+ category but Carpenter and her crew also had an excellent start to this season. They came 1st at Wallingford LDS in the WJ16 4x category and Maidenhead girls also had a very good day at Pairs Head. All these good results show the potential of these girls and their capabilities to put down very good times, Fours head should be no exception.
Wycliffe
Wycliffe is a club that has gone strength to strength in the last few seasons and these WJ16 girls are proof of that. Their WJ15 quad came 2nd at Nat Schools and although their Pairs Head results were average, I believe they have the potential to do very well if they can bring all the training and experience together.
Trentham
The WJ15 quad that came 1st at National Schools included Oakes and I’m sure this quad will be looking to continue that success into their J16 year and a win at Fours Head would be a promising start. They beat both Maidenhead and Wycliffe crew to take that win, so it seems as if these boats will be in close competition at this race.
Marlow
Marlow is another club with a good reputation and this crew seems to be no exception. They had a good season last year, with their Championship 8+ coming 3rd and the Championship 4x coming 1st in the B final – Dabinett was in both of these crews. This race will be a very good chance for the girls to build from these results and translate them into a win in the quad.
Prediction
This has the makings of being a very competitive category, with a lot of entries including WJ16 crews. Henley also have a strong previous season so will be another crew to look out for. However, Maidenhead have had an excellent start to this season so should be the ones to watch coming into this race.
SweepingSculler
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