*Hammersmith Head has been cancelled since this article was written*
Schools’ Head is now a little over a month away, and with many schools and clubs about to head off for a well-earned half-term break, Hammersmith is probably going to be the last major race on the Tideway before hundreds of crews swamp it for the Head of the River events. Storm Ciara has given Britain a battering during the last few days, and with Storm Dennis due to hit the country on Saturday, the extra rain and wind could potentially have a fairly major impact on the stream and water conditions on race day. However, it does look like Storm Dennis will have mostly passed by start time on Sunday, meaning the race will probably go ahead unless the extra water creates issues. The organisers are no stranger to cancellations though, with the 2018 event being called off as the crews were paddling up to the start line. This year, the 2 ¾ mile course from Chiswick to Hammersmith Bridge will see a total of 17 junior eights from across the country battle it out, split into an 8 boat A Division and a 9 boat B Division. As usual, St Paul’s have chosen to enter their 1st 8+ into the Op Champ 8+ category, leaving their 2nd 8+ to race against other juniors.
Division A
Westminster School BC
Like many crews – Westminster have not got out to race an awful lot since the start of the season back in September, but the benefits of an October water training camp in Sarnen, and a Christmas Cross Country Skiing camp in Vermont are clearly beginning to appear. Despite racing their top athletes in a quad back at Fours’ Head, the coaches at Westminster appear to be refocusing on the eight in the run up to the Tideway Heads. This shone through two weeks ago at Quintin Head- really the only race so far this season with a wide entry in the big boats- where one of the Westminster Eights placed 3rd, only about 8 seconds back on Shiplake, and 2 seconds behind St Paul’s. After what could be described as a few slightly poor years in performance terms, Westminster look like they have a competitive squad once again, with two eights being put out in Division A to gauge their speed as a club.
Shiplake College BC
Shiplake have seriously been pulling out their finger in recent years, and this season is no exception- with a squad made up of some very high-performing athletes. They have had a pretty good start to the year in the biggest boat class, with a win in J18 Eights at Quintin Head narrowly over KCS. Perhaps most importantly, they also beat St Paul’s on time (as St Paul’s raced in Op Champ Eights), although not City of Oxford College- Oxford Brooke’s impressive foray into the junior world. Shiplake also put on good performance at Wycliffe Head a week ago, in the midst of a very strong field, placing second in the first division and then dominating the second by over 20 seconds. It’s worth noting that they have entered two eights into Division A- which could potentially be matched or just a 1st and 2nd Eight. Either way, Shiplake are clearly going to be one of the biggest players this season, and will be looking to seal some more early victories.
King’s College School BC
Narrowly behind Shiplake at Quintin Head, and racing fresh off the back of a victory at Hampton Head, KCS have been going from strength to strength all season. This is most likely to continue on Sunday, with the home-advantaged crew aiming to peak for Schools’ Head. With their now-rivals Shiplake also racing in this division, the lions will be hungry to set the record straight over which crew stands on the metaphorical top step of the podium.
Radley College BC
Radley are a club that often tend to peak later in the summer than many others, but that does not stop them producing some cracking results at this point in the year. Like most of the other crews, Radley put down a fast marker at Quintin Head- coming off the back of a camp in Reading to place 4th, only a few seconds down on Teddies and Westminster. It was a similar story at Wycliffe-although Radley did appear to be slightly off the pace of quick Teddies, Shiplake and Shrewsbury crews. They will be looking to maintain their form whilst making up those crucial extra seconds to enable them to challenge Shiplake.
Other Crews
St Paul’s have entered their 2nd 8+ into Division A, with their 1st 8+ racing up against the men’s crews in Champ Eights. Although fast, they almost certainly won’t be able to challenge the likes of Shiplake’s 1st 8+. Norwich School have also entered one boat each into Division A, but once again I think that it is unlikely that they’ll have the speed to be competitive.
Predictions
Going on the results of the season so far, I think that Shiplake are probably going to maintain their winning streak and produce a fairly clear victory. Behind them Westminster and Radley will be scrapping it out in what could be a very close race for silver. If I had to put money on it I would back Westminster for 2nd and Radley for a close 3rd.
Division B
Division B is mostly comprised of entries from Child Beale schools, although a few of the major boat clubs have entered 2nd or 3rd eights. Radley have sent their 2nd Eight, who put down some decent times at Wycliffe Head and are likely to be very competitive with other clubs 1st Eights. St Paul’s have also put an eight in, but with two already entered, it will be their 3rd Eight. Despite their strength and depth in recent years, having depth all the way down to a 3rd 8+ is extremely hard, so it will be difficult for them to beat the Child Beale 1st Eights. Dulwich have had a fairly average season so far, with their last result being a 4th at Hampton head against a weak field, so although they’ll be looking to do well, I think it unlikely that they’ll be taking any silverware. Latymer, Reading Blue Coats, 1863 RC and St George’s all finished at the lower end of the junior eights at Quintin Head, with the final two entries, Bedford and Claires Court having barely raced at all in the eight, making any sort of special performance unlikely.
Predictions
I think that Radley’s 2nd Eight is probably going to dominate this division, with Dulwich in second, and the crews from Latymer and St George’s fighting it out for third.
MarginalGainz
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