Three crews will be taking to the Henley straight this Saturday, competing along the 3000m course upstream, which is sure to prove a more challenging effort than previous downstream events. Shiplake College, Hinksey Sculling School and Reading Blue Coat School will be racing off in that order, indicating a (justifiably) the potential results rankings. With just three competitors, this year’s race will be a close one, quite literally, with the whole race being lost and won within a matter of minutes as each boat crosses the finish line just after the one before. It will also provide the crews with an opportunity to race along the famed Henley course, something I’m sure they’d all like to do at the Royal Regatta when they are competing at an older age level.
Shiplake College BC
Having won the event last year, Shiplake is going to be looking to repeat their success against more competition. As a club, they have achieved two School’s Head Of The River course records and won the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup at Henley in 2021. In the men’s eights, Shiplake competed at the School’s Head last year, taking the gold in the Junior Championship and second eights, as well as a bronze in their third eight. With such success in their eights category last head season, it is difficult to imagine a poor performance from Shiplake, whose J15 athletes will be striving to follow the path of their victorious J18 counterparts.
Reading Blue Coat School
After a recent weekend of quality racing at Quintin Head, Reading came away with an acclaimable 8th place in the J15 category amongst a competitive field of 18 crews. This gives Reading security and testament to their current success, with other competitors absent from the latest eight races. The school also performed well at School’s Head last year, taking the win for the 1st Eights category, making club history in the process. Yet another strong school rowing team, Reading Blue Coat School will be looking to place high (and possibly beat J16 competition) if they hope to achieve similar success to their peers this year.
Hinksey Sculling School
Another successful rowing school, Hinksey Sculling School have previously achieved a win in the mixed Junior coxless quads at School’s Head, 3rd place at the British Rowing Junior Championships last year and sent an athlete to the GB trials, who came 1st overall- all further evidence for the strength of their team. Hinksey are setting off in the middle of the pack on Saturday, a strategical position where you can make gains on the boat behind you (Shiplake) whilst being fully aware of the other crew in the race in front of them (Reading). With a trained cox making the most of the tactical position, this element will be crucial in getting the best result for Hinksey as possible.
Predictions
Even though this is a relatively small category this year, the event still provides the opportunity for competitive racing between local schools, acting as a valuable stepping stone to gain experience racing as a junior eight before larger events with an even greater field later this year (namely School’s Head in March). As far as any predictions go, I’m excepting a close race between all three crews, each being prestigious in their own right. Shiplake will likely take the lead if their school’s success is anything to go by. However, I wouldn’t discount the ‘safer’ Reading Blue Coat School who have already shown in the last weeks that they can perform amongst an array of talented crews and the boating position of Hinksey that they may be able to use to their advantage.
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