On Saturday at 12pm, we will see a field of Junior boys quads racing down the 7km stretch of the Tideway from Chiswick to Putney, battling it out for the title of fastest J18 quad in the country, in the biggest race of the season so far. With the recent Pairs Head having particularly gruelling conditions, hopefully, conditions will remain calm, however a storm will certainly be created by the aggression and competitiveness of the crews racing down the course on Saturday. With some notable club and school names from the category missing, it’s interesting to have a look at who’s entered this Saturday and who has set themselves up the best to come out on top of the rest of the field.
Henley RC
With Henley’s junior girls squad dominating at this event last season, the boys will be looking to replicate this success at this year’s event. Henley have entered in force, entering three quads, and no doubt one of these quads will be their top combination as they will be looking to get their hands on the prizes available at the prize giving ceremony in January. With a recent domination at Reading Small Boats Head in Tier 1 open quads and the success that the Henley junior boys achieved last year at Henley Royal Regatta, reaching the quarter finals, sets them up well to be in with a fighting chance of conquering this category on Saturday afternoon.
Leander Club
The Leander junior boys have gone from strength to strength since reaching the semi finals of Henley Royal Regatta last season. Leander have two quads entered into this event, with the quad racing under the name “Eilers” likely being the best of the two combinations. Eilers recently placed first at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls in a hugely competitive field of 82 J18 scullers, with his crew mate, Murphy backing him up in second position. This puts Leander in an incredibly strong position to win this category on Saturday and I wouldn’t be surprised if Leander’s top combination takes the medals with their second quad also putting in a strong position in the rankings.
Tideway Scullers School
Tideway Scullers have been somewhat absent so far in the junior racing scene this season. Perhaps this is a tactical decision however it could potentially be struggling to compose a quality crew so far this season. I believe it is more likely to be the former of the two options, as the Tideway junior boys have produced quality sculling crews year upon year at Henley Royal Regatta, with them notably reaching the Quarter finals of the event last year. It will be interesting to see how Tideway Scullers can perform this Saturday and whether they will be able to reach the top of what is a slightly less competitive category than usual, with some distinct names such as Windsor Boys and Maidenhead Rowing Club missing from the draw.
Latymer Upper School
A few years ago, Latymer were unheard of in the junior boys rowing scene. However, a strong finish in the championship eights final at the National Schools’ Regatta last season alongside a Friday appearance in the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta the year before shows the strength and depth that the Latymer squad has to offer, as well as the quality of the coaching provided. It must be said though, that we haven’t seen much of them so far this season, except for at Reading Small Boats Head, where they didn’t perform as well as one might have expected, getting defeated by a large number of Henley and Leander scullers. I therefore wouldn’t expect Latymer to be placing towards the top of this category this Saturday but I can expect that we will see them go from strength to strength as the season progresses.
Lea Rowing Club
Normally, I wouldn’t select Lea as one of the crews to preview before a sculling event, as I have seen their juniors to be more dominant in sweep categories in previous years. However, a win in Junior Championship Doubles by Den Dulk and his sculling partner at the recent Pairs Head, as well as a fourth place finish by presumably the other two members of this quad, sets Lea up for an incredibly strong race this Saturday. These results from these two combinations saw the top combination winning the whole category as well as defeating presumably one of Leander’s top combinations. This means we should definitely see Lea Rowing Club fighting it out with Henley and Leander for the top spot this Saturday and potentially more importantly, we are going to discover whether Lea are going to be a force to be reckoned with for the upcoming season.
This event also sees a few clubs entered who in past years have been particularly dominant in Junior Boys quads however in previous years haven’t performed as well as they used to, such as Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School and Claires Court School and it will therefore be interesting to see if they can field a quality combination to try and take on the rest of the field and regain their status within junior boys sculling. We also see entries from Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe and Walton Rowing Club, both of which are known for being particularly strong in smaller boats and therefore these two clubs could potentially be dark horses in this event on Saturday.
Based on previous results, Leander are in the strongest position so far to win this category, however I think we could see some fierce competition and determination from the crews from Henley and Lea Rowing Club. I think we will see Leander come through and take the win, with Lea and Henley rowing clubs battling it out for second position, with Lea just pipping Henley by a particularly small margin. However, it’s all to play for on Saturday afternoon and we could see some particularly unexpected results from lesser-known crews!
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