The Fours Head gives juniors and coaches alike the opportunity to race at a large event
before the new year. Winners and losers will both have the opportunity to get a grasp as to
where they rank amongst the field, and this can act as fuel for the ‘winter training’ fire.
It’s my favourite time of the year; Halloween is over and the fireworks have come to a halt as
Christmas and 2023 are fast approaching. And, frankly, what better to improve this time than a shiny gold medal in a dark blue box for the mantelpiece? The young men entering this event will all have this in mind when sitting above Chiswick Bridge, with a gruelling race imminent, as almost 7km of purgatory on the tideway stands between them and the finish line of Putney.
Leander Club
Lighting the match for this event is the highly celebrated Leander Club. Leander has enjoyed
high levels of success in this event as record-holders in two separate categories. In 2018
not only did Leander rank first and second overall in the race, but their juniors won this
event by 23 seconds… over their second boat. They then went on to win Henley Royal Regatta that
season and their second boat set a course record at the National Schools’ Regatta. This particular squad
increased their depth during the off-season, recruiting from Nottingham and local neighbours
Henley Rowing Club as well as elsewhere to make a real push this year. The question remains as to whether it will be enough? Regardless, this crew individually have great talent, are setting off first and have winning pedigree.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow have always been a big name within junior rowing and in recent years they have shown
that they are well and truly on their way back to previously-scaled heights. The fact that Marlow won gold at the National Schools’ in the J16 Quad shows that their squad is full of young talent. The same crew then went on to give Leander a cracking race on their home turf at Henley Royal Regatta proving that despite their youth, they are a battle-hardened force to be reckoned with. Recent success at Upper Thames over favourites Leander can only be evidence that this squad are not here to play games this season. And I’m all for it.
Tideway Scullers School
Tideway Scullers School have come in force, and every one of the boys entered will be more
than ready having been training on the course. After their win in the open junior doubles
event at Pairs Head, TSS has shown that winning on their home course can be
achieved. The difference between the Pairs and the Fours Head of the River, other than the
number of people in the boat and the length of the course, is the field. Tideway beat off a
much weaker field at the Pairs Head and Saturday’s roster is stacked with high-calibre
competition and I’m not sure whether any of the tideway crews will be able to keep up.
Claire’s Court School
Nothing really brings the same level of joy as seeing Claire’s Court on the entry list, a school
with a vast level of recent historical success. The boys last season came from nowhere to
make the semi-finals of Henley Royal Regatta only to be bested by the Windsor Boy’s School
“B” crew and arguably the conditions. 2022/23 will see them return with a vengeance. With one athlete
returning to racing season with a vest from U19 World’s, that can only bring the rest of the crew
confidence. It’s not typical to see Claire’s Court do well early on in the season as they are
famous for their Henley peak but when these lads turn up in November, you know you’ve got a hell of a season on your hands.
Hinksey Sculling School
Hinksey are fairly new to the top of the rowing scene and honestly, I probably wouldn’t even mention them if Austin-Baker hadn’t just won the November British trials by five seconds out of
nowhere to shock the country. It’s not new to the rowing world however to see Hinksey do
surprisingly well; their most recent exercise in form book-shredding was making the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2021. I don’t predict fireworks from Hinksey at this race as one man is not enough to win the Fours Head but can Austin-Baker galvanise his crew-mates to a shock victory? Only time – and 7.5km – will tell.
Westminster School
Westminster always manages to grab my attention at the Fours Head as one of the only large schools who operate a hybrid approach between sculling and sweep. Balancing these disciplines is a complex challenge and the Fours Head can be an indicator as to what their main focus is going to be for the season ahead. Whenever these boys do well at this event, I can’t help but get flashbacks of the 2017 cohort where they were on fire. It just shows what they can do when they give their top four two blades rather than one.
Predictions
With a name like Leander, the rest of the field will need to dig deep to find a way to beat
them, but no one will have entered this race without shovels and the result at Henley, on
Leander’s home course a few weeks ago shows Marlow has ditched their shovels and
brought a digger to the winter season. A message to the boys racing; be prepared with snacks and a drink for after the race, and to the spectators, pack your popcorn. This is going to be one hell of a race.
My take on a top three would be:
- Marlow
- Leander
- Tideway
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