With Schools’ Head around a month away, this race over 5700m will give crews valuable experience of racing over a longer distance than they are used to in preparation for the infamous Tideway. A small entry of 6 crews will contest the J18 4x category. Out of these entries Yarm School was the only crew to compete at Fours Head in the Junior Quad, thus it is difficult to see how these crews match up against the rest of the country.
Star Club
Ed White is the notable athlete in this crew; he has raced at both GBJRT trials so far but he will have been disappointed with his latest result. Without an appearance in junior categories on the tideway this year, it is unclear how fast this Star crew can go. That being said, they did race at Bedford 4s and 8s head but were beaten comfortably by Globe over the 1.9km course. Star did race a quad last season finishing in the ‘C’ final at NSR. If they want to have a strong quartet this year, then a win at Trent is a must for this club.
Oundle School
Last season Oundle School had a respectable J16 4x which made the quad final at NSR. If this same crew races then they will look to continue their form from last season and break into the top flight of junior sculling. A win this weekend will set them on the right tracks for this to happen.
Yarm School
With a dissapointing result back at Fours Head and considerably of the pace of the top crews, Yarm will hope their winter trianing will stand them in good stead leading into the big races of the season. As with all crews racing, Yarm are a relatively unknown quantity therefore it will be interesting to see how they fair against the other boats.
Trentham BC
Trentham J16s raced in a four last season at it looks like they’ve switched to sculling for this weekend. 2nd place in the ‘B’ final and a bronze at the British Championships shows they have some speed. This weekend will prove whether they can continue this when switching from one blade to two.
Leeds RC and North Staffs are the other two entries. Due to a lack of results against top end opposition it is not clear how these crews will fair but it is unlikely they will challenge for top spot.
My Prediction…Star to win followed by Oundle and Trentham
6 man
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