With 7 crews in this category, this race will provide enough separation between the crews to help them judge how they are doing at this point in the season. As the draw is filled with many of the more well-known crews, it will be interesting to see how the ‘big names’ in the WJ16 racing scene are doing as the 2018 racing season begins.
Lady Eleanor Holles School
The LEH eight’s success at Quintin Head last week has given us a clear understanding of what they are capable of. Winning the category confidently against 2 other boats, which included the Emanuel eight, proves to us they are in a strong position coming into this race. Before last weekend, there was a sense of ambiguity surrounding their potential as they had very little proof regarding what they were capable of but last weekend’s win has left them in good standing for facing the other boats this weekend. Having seen their time in comparison to the other crews, I think that they have a high chance of placing in the top 3.
Emanuel School
With this being the Emanuel boat that I imagine was racing alongside the LEH crew last weekend at Quintin Head, it will be interesting to see if they have improved and if last weekend was an anomaly in their performances. After placing 3rd on a course which races over their home turf, I imagine they will feel they have a lot to prove but due to the lack of results, I suspect they will place at a mid-point in the leader board.
Godolphin and Latymer School
Godolphin and Latymer School appear to have had a strong season in fours this year and last weekend, as their first visible race in an eight this season, they raced at Quintin head in the J18 8+ category. While they placed last in that category, their timing places them in a good place to receive good results this weekend when they are back racing in their correct category. I would place them at a mid-point in this category.
Henley
Henley appear to be quite an experienced crew having won gold at the Junior Inter-regional regatta last April in the J16 category, despite being made up of majority J15’s at the time. While it is apparent that there will have been crew changes since then, I imagine that this strong crew base will be able to pull off strong results. They do not appear to have taken part in many events in the past few months but I am confident that as long as they’ve been keeping the eight in shape and ensuring that they haven’t let their technique go rusty, they will post a strong result.
Surbiton High School
This crew does not seem to have any results from this year and very few from last year, however this sense of the unknown about this boat may help them succeed as the unexpected competition.
St Pauls Girls School
St Pauls Girls School again doesn’t seem to have many results which again could play in their favour or may highlight a lack of experience in comparison to other crews.
Wimbledon High School
Although, they appear to have participated in many events over the last few months, it is not clear how they have fared in each event. However, we can assume that each race will have given the crew experience and therefore they will finish mid-field.
My predictions are that the win will go to Henley with Lady Eleanor Holles coming in close behind.
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