Some Schools have shied away for the J18 quads opting to enter some crews into the Open event. While I won’t go as far to rank them above the J18 4x crews, the open crews race in a different division to the J18s. If there are varying conditions over the course of the day, a good time in the morning could end up as an average time for a later racing crew. Regardless, there are 6 quads that are distinctly juniors entered for this Sunday.
Yarm School
Yarm have a busy Sunday ahead, with crews entered in all three of the divisions. The focus for the boys, is the quad and two of which have been placed in Band 2 of the Open 4x. The quad going off first has the pleasure of being washed down by a Women’s 8+ from Nottingham Rowing Club, while being chased by an adult Trentham Boat Club quad placed in Band 1. The other quad is in slightly milder territory, between two Band 2 quads, who are presumably also adults. This should provide adequate pressure for Yarm, who are making the change to sculling after a history of sweep. It’s hard to say where they’ll come within that band.
King’s School Chester
This is the other junior crew entered into the Open 4x. They are positioned between quads in their band, giving them the chance to race a crew that may push them considerably. It’s interesting to see King’s Chester enter a quad this year. With the recent changes to events at NSR, they may have found it better to focus on a top quad instead of an eight. A few years ago, the two were run alongside each other, with varying levels of successes. If the quad is the focus this year, they might fare better this time round.
Star Club
Not to be confused with Star and Arrow, this quad is one of the few to enter the J18 category. Provided they haven’t lost anyone to injury or illness, we should be seeing their top quad gunning for the top spot. Star have had the quad as their top boat for a while. Sunday is not their first rodeo as a crew, most recently they won Bedford Eights and Fours Head. They’ll now have the opportunity to compare themselves to more quads in their ability range. In their narrow field, they may come away with some pots.
It is hard to gauge the levels of York City Rowing Club, and North Staffordshire Rowing Club, but considering their only competition is Star, anyone of the three could be Sunday’s victor. The 3 crews in the Open events may finish at the high end. Adult crews can vary in speed, and these juniors will be driven to show a few of them up.
Good luck to all racing on Saturday.
3Speed
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