This is a four-horse race between Bedford Girl’s School, Star Club, Trent and Bedford Modern, and over such a long and arduous course it’s an exciting prospect to have a small category battling it out. However, none of these eights are likely to be contenders come the summer; these are all fairly small junior girl’s squads, with a lack of depth when compared to the likes of Henley or Headington.
I think the likely winners of this race will be Trent. They’re probably the most experienced out of all these crews, and out of all the entries, they are the only ones to have raced at NSR last year in the Champ Girl’s Eights. Despite losing out in the semi-final, the sweep experience of these girls should see them through, as well as experience in the eight itself. It can’t be stressed enough how much composure and strength is needed to hold form across a 5.6KM course – and I think Trent are the most likely to keep on top of things across the entire course. Star didn’t really make a strong showing in junior women’s sweep, with their Championship 2- at NSR losing out in the time trials; while they have a decently sized squad, and are a well-established club, I think it’ll be a few more years before Star really start to see top-end results for their junior women. Bedford Modern had a fairly good year for their WJ16s last year, with some decent results at NSR both in the 8+ and in small boats. This will certainly serve them well, but with a lack of depth in the senior squad from last year, I think they’ll struggle to make a serious impression this year – although next year, there could well be all to play for. Finally, Bedford Girls probably represent the most serious challenge to Trent. They aren’t a well-established club, but they’ve seen some strong athletes in their ranks – Robyn Armstrong and Lottie Bruce to name just two, who won the Junior Double Scull event at Henley Women’s. They’ve seen some positive results in sweep boats at both NSR and Nat Champs, and I think they may well pose a serious challenge to take the win tomorrow. With a good row, I can definitely see them overhauling Trent – but I think it’ll be a close one.
Prediction
Trent for the win, followed by Bedford Girls.
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