This year, a whopping 593 individual crews will take on the Henley course, giving junior rowers the chance to row the Henley Royal Regatta straight for the first time, in varying disciplines as well. Though there may not be the 300,000 spectators that attend the Royal Regatta, Henley Long Distance Sculls will be a showground for younger rowers in categories below J18 to show what they can do when set out on that iconic stretch of the Thames.
Claires Court School BC
Located near Maidenhead, Claires Court have given strong recent performances both at home and internationally, with an athlete racing in the Junior Men’s 4x in Varese at the U19 World Championships and alumni in the M8+ at the under 23 championships as well. More relevantly, the J14 coxed quad came away with a strong 5th place at the British Rowing Junior Championships this July, putting them in a good position, furthered by them setting off first.
Wallingford RC
Wallingford don’t have far to travel on Saturday morning, being the closest town east of Henley, but as well as this minimal psychological advantage, Wallingford has been a club to watch for a while, recently getting 11 wins at Reading Small Boats Head. This win over a longer distance proves their head race potential, unlike other crews whose only experience has been built over the short, sharp regatta season. In the J15 4x+ category last year, Wallingford RC placed a close 4th at the British Championships, something that the new crew will be wanting to repeat this upcoming year, if not better.
Hinksey Sculling School
Hinksey Sculling School is another club that isn’t too far from Henley, and like the other aforementioned clubs, Hinksey has had an equally prosperous summer season. They placed 3rd at the British Rowing Junior Championships, the best performers out of any racing this weekend. As well as this, the boys’ J14 quad (now the j15s racing) placed first at the Thames Ditton regatta back in May. Having not raced at Henley Sculls last year, it will be interesting to see how they fare against the current champions of the race, Wallingford.
Predictions
As far as predictions go, I am expecting a close battle between Hinksey and Wallingford (who won last year’s event by a good 30 seconds). Hinksey could put up strong competition if they’re staying on their British Championships medal streak, though we can’t discount the lesser-known crews, who may have been training hard over the summer break. We’ll all just have to wait until Saturday to find out!
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