As one of the racing calendar highlights, 4s Head presents crews with their first major test of the year. It finally gives us all a chance to see which clubs and schools will be stepping up and laying a gauntlet to claim this season as theirs. Champ Coxed Fours looks to be a packed event, with several of these crews having recently returned from Boston and the Head of the Charles. This 11 strong entry will be extremely competitive will look to push many of the top university crews.
St Pauls School
With two quick crews entered, St Pauls will be looking to pick up from where they left off from last season, With a second place at The head of the Charles under their belt, St Pauls were the quickest British crew to race in Massachusetts. Their Four entered as ‘Craig McFeely’ and their ‘C’ crew also raced in the US, ultimately placing 10th, 11s behind Fours Head rivals Shrewsbury. The other four, entered under ‘Valt’ raced to 7th place in J18 Champ 2- at Pairs Head. Having claimed both coxed and coxless fours titles last year, it will be difficult to repeat this for a second year, but not out of reach for the Tideway based boys.
Shrewsbury School
Entered as recently crowned Junior World Champion ‘Dom Sullivan’, Shrewsbury will be looking forward to properly kick starting their domestic season. This Four was the quickest British crew in Boston, 40s behind the overall winners. After a fantastic season in the Eight culminating in their semi-final loss to Eton, this will be their first opportunity to get revenge against the boys from Windsor since Henley Royal Regatta. This Shrewsbury crew is more than capable of winning this event but will need to be on top of their game coming to the home water of St Pauls.
Eton College
Eton’s last venture onto the Tideway at Pairs Head resulted in 3rd and 5th place in Champ Junior Doubles. Last season many were uncertain as to how their coach would fare following the transition from Alex Henshilwood, but Mark Fangen-Hall silenced all doubts by reaching the final of the P.E. Throughout all of last season, Eton’s second 8+ were never far behind their top boat. This was most notable when they qualified for the Temple Challenge Cup. Having had two strong crews, this squad depth will be very useful coming into this season and I’m sure we’ll see both Eton fours featuring at the top end of this event.
Radley College
Radley are another school who have been racing state-side. Their eight placed a strong 7th, 26s behind St Pauls. One of their two Fours is entered as ‘F Reynish’ who placed 21st in Youth Fours. As they were over 40s behind Shrewsbury, it is unlikely that Reynish will be challenging the top level of this category. It is possible that Radley’s other Four will come from their 8 that raced in Boston and as such Radley can be expecting a strong performance this weekend.
King’s College School Wimbledon
KCS are have also freshly returned from their American adventures. Having placed 31st in Youth Fours in Boston, KCS will be hoping their homewater advantage will play into their hands. They have stepped up into the Championship event and despite having lost Oscar Olsen, this proves they have have the potential to put together a crew that can compete with the well established schools and clubs.
This event also sees entries from Shiplake, Latymer Upper and Norwich School. Shiplake have their top crew entered into this category so will be hoping to see how they fare against the country’s top Fours. Both Latymer and Norwich will struggle to match the top end speed, but it’s great to see them push on and break into this Championship category.
My prediction… St Pauls or Shrewsbury
6 man
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