With the second running of the Wargrave Challenge Cup for club women at Henley Royal this past summer, the opportunities for female club rowers have never been greater, and this event will be the first step for athletes looking to target that event this year. Not eligible for this category are those who have recently taken part in world level events, the Boat Race, Henley Royal semi-finals or elite finals at Henley Women’s, but still taking part are a very high-quality range of athletes from across England.
Thames RC
Winners of the Wargrave and last year’s winners in this category, Thames have a performance squad that is the envy of all their neighbours on the Putney Embankment. Starting first and third in this category their women’s squad contains such an embarrassment of riches that despite 12 athletes racing in championship categories they still have a trialist provisionally entered in both of their Club Coxed Fours. The squad hasn’t had much racing since the summer but have had a number of training blocks at their home away from home in Pangbourne. They will be hoping that this training pays off with strong results for both their boats in this event.
Vesta RC
Finishing second in this event last year were Thames’ next door neighbours Vesta. This year they bring a refreshed line up to the event in the hopes of doing one better. The new coaching team of Dave Loveday and Sean Blake will be looking to have some success at the first major event of their partnership and this boat is as good an opportunity as any of the thirteen boats racing the Fours Head for Vesta.
Barnes Bridge Ladies RC
A rarity in modern day rowing, Barnes Bridge Ladies is a single gender rowing club. Based at the other end of the Tideway to the previous two clubs, they organise the successful Pairs Head race each year. At that event this year members of this crew succeeded in a number of great results within the younger Masters age groups and will be looking to see how they compare against the young guns in the larger boats.
Cantabrigian RC
The largest of the ‘town’ rowing clubs in Cambridge, Cantabrigian RC have built a very successful women’s rowing club. They successfully qualified for the Wargrave both years of its existence and have a top 20 starting place at Women’s Eights Head earned from their finish in 2018. The women’s squad have a boat entered in all three club events at Fours Head, and while this doesn’t appear to be the top boat, it certainly isn’t worth writing off either.
Reading RC
From further up the Thames, comes Reading RC. While almost entirely unseen on the Tideway so far this season, they have been making waves elsewhere within the basin. For instance, at the well-attended Upper Thames Autumn Head, they achieved great results in the Women’s four. The women’s squad haven’t attended Fours Head since 2017 and not raced a coxed four since 2016, but this group will be hoping to make a splash on their return.
Prediction
With the sheer size and quality in the Thames programme I would be surprised if they were beaten to first place. For second, there are few crews entered with a more impressive recent resume than Reading RC, so I would have them beating the second Thames boat down into third place. But with such little information on any of the boats, there is a decent chance of a crew I haven’t even mentioned breaking into the top three.
About The Author
