This is the first big race of the year where we should see some of the best crews competing against each other. There are a lot of crews entered into this category from a large breadth of clubs. This race will give us an idea of what we should expect as we head towards the final, biggest races of the head season. This category looks as though it is a strong one with many of the athletes being on top form at the moment and that is likely to be reflected in the times we will see on Saturday.
Headington School will be racing in this division and they always prove to be strong so I will expect a lot from them on Saturday. Recently this particular quad has had some big success; notably at Evesham junior head where although not winning their age category were able to pull through with a win when racing in the WJ18 category. These girls have done a lot of work in different sized boats as well so it will be interesting to see how this combination works together in this race.
City of Oxford have had a lot of successes and although maybe not always placing first are often able to put in some very good performances so this quad should be able to get a good time on Saturday.
Henley RC has some very strong juniors with these WJ16’s being no exception. This quad have recently been on top form with strong results at Henley Long Distance Sculls and the Upper Thames Autumn Head and therefore should be able to do very well and are definitely one of the top competitors.
Walton RC are looking as though they are quite strong at the moment. Stenning placed second at the Pairs Head and hopefully we will see Jackson joining her in the quad this Saturday. Stenning also placed first in a single at Weybridge Silver Sculls and she is clearly a force to be reckoned with some very impressive recent wins. If the rest of the crew are as strong as she is this will certainly be a crew to watch out for.
These are the crews which I believe should be able to do very well and are in with the chance of winning. Having looked at the crews competing this weekend it looks like there should be some fierce competition. This is just a quick look at the crews that will be showcased which means that there is always the possibility for crews to come through and surprise me therefore making the results as heavily anticipated as ever.
Good luck to everyone racing this Saturday.
SassyCox
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