We have now reached a point in the season where crews really begin to come together. With five months of the season under athletes’ belts and events such as Fours Head providing a baseline of performance, key races such as Schools’ Head of the River loom closer. Heads such as Henley Fours and Eights, therefore, provide a great experience for crews to finalise their strategy and style and allow comparisons to some of the top competition. As usual, the Women’s J18 Quads will be a highly competitive category within this 3000m race, with big names contesting for the win. Saturday the 11th is therefore sure to generate a plethora of strong performances and will be full of some fantastic racing.
Henley RC
Henley’s junior women will be racing on home waters with confidence as they return from wins at both Fours Head and Hampton Head. The squad also had a successful turnout at GB early IDs in December with scullers taking impressive 1st, 15th and 16th places. Taking 1st by only 5.9 seconds at Fours Head means that the girls will still have to work hard for triumph but with only one crew from HRC entering into this category, we can expect it to be a strong one. Additional challenges will include the straighter course which could enable crews which struggle more with steering to make a marked improvement.
Marlow RC
One club biting at the heels of Henley and also in the tussle for the win is Marlow RC. They mirror Henley’s early success with a 2nd place finish at Fours Head as well as successful athletes at November’s Early ID trials. Marlow has entered two quads into this category and as their older juniors tend to focus on sculling events, these are likely to be filled with their top athletes. In 2022, Marlow’s junior girls became national champions in the 4x- with a win at National Schools Regatta and therefore show promise over a straight, medium-distance course – certainly some more crews to watch out for.
Shiplake College BC
Shiplake College had a remarkable season last year with their Junior Women’s Quad making a course record at Henley Women’s Regatta and taking 2nd at the National Schools Regatta. They had no entries for this year’s Fours Head and hence it will be interesting to see how they perform against some of the other top clubs/schools. Shiplake have entered four quads and the spread of performance across these crews will be an interesting watch. Demonstrating the improvements from their training camp in Seville earlier this season, over predictably worse conditions, will be another intriguing performance to see.
Hartpury University & College BC
Hartpury is one of the smaller squads competing in the Women’s J18 Quads but nonetheless a successful one, with a win this season at Gloucester Head and qualification at last year’s Henley Royal Regatta. Another club not to race at Fours Head, coming up against some of the bigger names will be a fantastic test for Hartpury and show what this crew is made of.
Other competitors
It is also important to mention some of the less obvious names competing as clubs such as Globe RC have displayed some impressive results in previous years. Moreover, Henley Fours and Eights not only provides a competitive atmosphere for high-performance crews but less competitive clubs are also provided with a taste of racing to demonstrate the improvements they have made throughout the season. Staines BC, Southsea RC and Shiplake Vikings RC are also among those taking to the course and it will be great to see what they can produce.
Predictions
Looking at results so far this season, it seems likely that Henley RC will come out on top, followed by some fierce competition between Marlow and Shiplake. Twelve entries across eight clubs will generate some close and competitive racing and rivalries between the top competitors makes a decisive win less likely than first assumed at a smaller event. JRN wishes all crews the best of luck and looks forward to some impressive results.
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