Fours Head of the River 2019 – Open School/Junior Quads Band 1

photo creds to @a_blind_photographer

No doubt a faced-paced yet also a lengthy race, as mentioned in my previous article, nailing a race rhythm and a perfect line are essential on the Tideway down the 6.7km, reverse-Championship course. This is of course the top school quads category, bringing prestige and bragging rights all the way up to Schools Head. If clubs wish to make a statement about their campaign to their rivals, this is the first real opportunity that they have.

With the cancellation of many recent events, it is hard to find results to go off to predict the finishing order for these crews. There is of course the results of junior trials, but having outstanding athletes in a scull does not always mean a quad will have the same relative speed. What is notable to mention is that Westminster School BC have decided to make a return to quad racing after a season out of it. In 2018, a top Westminster quad bronzed at NSR and one athlete went on to become Junior World Champion. A number of Westminster athletes placed very highly at trials last weekend, so we could see a big return for them to the sculling scene this weekend, while they are chased by the top coxed four from Oxford Brookes. In fact, the majority of the clubs racing in this category had high-finishing athletes in Boston last weekend. There is also a good mix of home and away crews, with only TSS, LTU, and WES being the crews with home advantage in a field of 11 crews. This will of course be a highly-anticipated race for the athletes in this category, wanting to start their season in the most important boat for them right, hopefully setting them up for a Fawley campaign that will put their rival programs to shame.

OrasomeBows

About The Author

Publisher's Picks

Our Work

Our Partners