Hampton Head is usually a very popular event and is normally oversubscribed. This year is no different, with a total of 648 crews entered across all of the categories. This year sees high level of competition in both Junior Men’s and Junior Women’s eights over this 3km course, and with it being a shorter length course than other head races at this time in the season, it is particularly important that crews have the perfect race if they are looking to be winning some silverware this weekend.
Hampton School Boat Club
Hampton are hosting this event and will be looking to put a strong performance against the rest of the field. This crew is named under Bill Downey, a strong athlete who competed with Hampton in their first 8 last season. I would imagine this combination entered will be their first eight, in preparation for the upcoming Schools’ Head, however loss of top athlete, Oliver Woodall at the start of this season puts them at a slight disadvantage compared to last year. All is not lost however, as recent acquisition of new first 8 coach, Helen Taylor, who was Molesey Boat Club’s head junior coach, sets them up to have a much stronger season than last year. Helen will be bringing a new training program to the table for Hampton’s 1st 8 this year, and this could potentially see them achieve better results than previous seasons. A top 5 finish at Schools’ Head looks possible as well as an A final finish at National Schools’. We could definitely see them fighting against the likes of Westminster and Eton for the top spot this weekend.
Eton College Boat Club
We haven’t seen much of Eton so far this season. They didn’t live up to expectations in the eight last season and therefore will be looking to rectify last year’s performances at Schools’ Head and National Schools’ later in the season. Coach, Mark Taylor, who coached Headington’s J16 eight to victory a couple of years ago, has the experience required to lead Eton’s squad to a strong set of results this season. Additionally, S&C coach, Sean Boret, will be helping the athletes to gain the strength required to be able to have the maximum power output possible in the boat. I would expect Eton to be presenting two matched eights at this event, with both of them racing in this category, as they are likely to be playing their cards close to their chest for Schools’ Head. Even with a mixed eight however, I could see Eton fighting for the win this weekend as they always tend to have a strong squad with a lot of depth to it.
Westminster School Boat Club
It will be interesting to see whether Westminster will have a change of tactics off the back of last season’s results. Last year, their eight ended up in the C final at National Schools’ and their quad didn’t manage to medal as expected. Looking at the draw, they have chosen to enter a Championship quad into this event, and if they have decided to stick to last season’s tactics, this will likely be a top boat, making the eight their second combination. In the past however, prioritising the eight has led to Westminster gaining particularly strong results, and therefore I think it would make sense to see them reverting back to their old tactic with the eight as their top boat. Whether the 8 is their top or second combination, it still has potential to be competitive this weekend at Hampton Head and I could see Westminster battling it out with Hampton and Eton for the gold medal position.
Kings College School Boat Club
KCS placed an admirable 3rd place in last weekend’s Quintin Head, finishing only 11 seconds off Shiplake, who placed 1st in the J18 category. This is likely to be KCS first eight entered into this category and the same combination which raced Quintin last weekend, and whilst I don’t think they will be competing for the top spot at Hampton this weekend, they are certainly looking even stronger than in previous seasons and it will be interesting to see what they can bring throughout the rest of this season.
Norwich School Boat Club
Whilst Norwich aren’t known as a “big name” in Junior Championship eights, their win in School Junior fours at National Schools’ Regatta last season sets them up incredibly well for another high-performance season. It is clear that Norwich are once again set out to achieve a strong set of results this season, as they placed 5th in J18 eights at Quintin Head last weekend, a respectable performance. Whilst I don’t think they will be fighting it out for first position in the 8 at Hampton Head this weekend, they will be able to post a respectable time, which will set them up well coming into Schools’ Head in a few weeks time.
Winchester College Boat Club
Winchester have been slightly out of the picture over the last couple of seasons when it comes to Junior 18 eights. Last season, their most notable result was a 4th place finish in School Junior 4s at National Schools’ Regatta and they will be looking to better this. Winchester presenting an 8 this weekend at Hampton Head indicates a good depth to their squad this year and they will definitely be looking to fight it out against their rivals, Norwich School, who defeated them last season at National Schools’ Regatta.
This event also sees entries from King’s School Canterbury, Canford School, Bedford Modern School, Claires Court School and The Grange School, however, I would expect these crews to be fighting it out for spots lower down the rankings this weekend.
Prediction
As the racing takes place over 3km, which is a relatively short distance, we can expect some close margins between crews this weekend. I would expect one of Eton College’s eights to take the win, even if it is a mixed combination, ahead of Hampton School in 2nd position, with Westminster School’s combination placing in bronze medal position.
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