Running over the 3000-metre stretch of river just downstream of Sunbury Lock in Walton-on-Thames, Hampton Small Boats Head sees crews from around the area battling it out in the autumn weather for the win. With this event not taking place last year, it will be thrilling to get back on the course. In the J18 doubles, we will see 15 crews taking the water, eager to claim the title, so without further ado, let’s look at the crews worth watching.
Molesey Boat Club
Molesey will be able to soak up some serious home water advantage, being a club which trains regularly on the exact stretch of river they will be racing on. That is not to say that they will necessarily need it though, already being a club with a rich background of rowing success. Come Saturday, they will be boating two crews in this event. And technically returning as reigning champions, having won this event the last time it was run in 2022, the pressure could be on. However, the crews do not appear to feature any of their top athletes from last season, with their top-seeded crew featuring at least one member of their J16 double from National Schools’ Regatta 2024. Although this does not rule them out the win just yet, it will be interesting to see how the club’s younger or less experienced athletes fare in the J18 events. It seems they have chosen to enter the bulk of their athletes into the J18 quads, so could a win in both events be on the cards for Molesey?
Walton Rowing Club
As a club that flies under the radar at significant events, often while producing reasonably impressive results, Walton is not a club to be underestimated. The last time this event was run, they finished third, only four seconds behind the victors. Unfortunately, there is very little information about this crew in the draw, with no crew explicitly named. This could either be taken as a worrying sign, or as a possibility for a dark horse entry, with so little being known about them. Either way, it may be worth keeping an eye out for them come race day. And, as the second seed in the event, maybe the organisers know something we don’t.
Lea Rowing Club
Lea could be the favourites going into race day, with a lineup that features at least one member of their top quad from last season, a boat which placed second in the B-final at National Schools’. Looking at the other entrants in this event, they may possess the most experience, especially in J18 events. With that said, they don’t possess much knowledge of this particular stretch of river, so a lousy racing line could cost them dearly. Moreover, they were not present at the last Hampton SBH in 2022, potentially a significant disadvantage.
Peterborough City Rowing Club
Alongside Lea, fighting for the win will be Peterborough, the only other crew in the entries list with proper high-level J18 racing experience. At least one member of this crew raced in the Championship coxless four at National Schools’ last season, finishing fourth in the B-final. They should be reasonably competitive if they can convert what they had in sweep boats to sculling here.
Kingston Rowing Club
Despite being seeded last in the draw, Kingston have had success here in the past. Back in 2022, they finished second in this event, less than a second behind the winners, Molesey. Furthermore, the crew features at least one member of the club’s top quad from last year. This will provide valuable experience to the boat. Although they only finished in the D-final at National Schools’ earlier in May, I am sure they will be eager to improve on that result.
Predictions
As stated earlier, I believe it will be a battle between Lea and Peterborough for the win. They are the crews with the most experience and will surely use that to their advantage. That said, it would be difficult for me to count out Molesey from contention, though, from the look of it, they may ultimately trail slightly behind the aforementioned crews.
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