This Saturday 544 crews will take on Henley’s iconic 3000m stretch of the Thames, albeit with an extension. With Henley Royal Regatta seeming like an age away, this event will be an excellent opportunity for junior rowers to relive experiences of last summer, but also to boost their experience of the course in what promises to be an excellent day of racing. With 19 crews competing across two bands, the J16 event will encompass a wide variety of crews from twelve clubs, showing the prowess and adaptation rowers have accumulated since the end of the summer season.
Guildford RC
Kicking off the start order (and with a further two entries further down the list), Guildford RC are the race committee’s pick for the fastest crew, based off of CRI ranking. Though they missed out on a medal at the British Rowing Junior Championships this year in Scotland, finishing 5th in the category, after coming 3rd at the Junior Sculling regatta that year. With further absences at other notable events and a difficult profile to track down, this Guildford crew is relatively under the radar at this point, but they must have garnered some local successes to be placed so highly.
Shanklin Sandown RC
However, start orders aren’t always accurate, meaning Shanklin Sandown could well make ground on Guildford during the race. Having peaked their summer season with a bronze medal in the J16 2x at the British Rowing Junior Championships, along with a B Final victory and a fourth place, the Shanklin boys have acquired a good reputation which will aid in their preparations for this weekend.
Not only does this crew show promise on the rivers, but they competed at the recent coastal performance at the South Coast Championships, winning the J16 event which contributed to the junior squad’s retention of the Victor Ludorum. Though this may not be directly translatable to their on-river competition, this victory will definitely be a favourable advantage should conditions deteriorate.
Maidenhead RC
Starting fourth on Saturday, Maidenhead have two entries into the category this year. With their last performance at Reading Small Boats Head, Maidenhead came away with a solid 20 second victory, while the J16 quad achieved a silver. On the smaller boats side of things, the J17 double had a convincing victory while the J16 single also came top of his race, showing promise for the double. Along with their second boat (placed fairly high up the rankings too), Maidenhead will have twice the opportunity of singular crews, and along with their other entries, it is a testament to the depth of the club to be able to procure multiple crews for a single event.
Bewl Bridge RC
Bewl Bridge are starting further down the order this weekend, but don’t let that discard them. Their J15s achieved a very close fourth place at the Junior Sculling Regatta this year, evidence of a strong rowing base, and it is likely that some of these athletes will be racing up a category this year. One of the double’s athletes has already accrued great successes during the summer season, winning the British Rowing Junior Championships for the J16 category (racing up) after winning the National Schools Regatta in the same category. With a new doubles partner, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes, but the racing experience of the remaining athlete should be instrumental in securing a good result for Bewl Bridge.
Though we are still relatively early on in the season, I know readers are always hungry for a prediction. Going off of the ‘omniscient’ view of the race committee seems to be to our detriment here though, with all crews having secured accolades during the last season, however based off of Bewl Bridge’s incredible dominance in the category, I find it hard to believe that they will topple so far as to not podium at this comparatively smaller event. I don’t think Shanklin will be far behind, and perhaps they will themselves be pursuing Guildford.
Having been cancelled last year due to flooding, all hopes are set that this year’s event will go ahead, omitting unfavourable weather and reviving the competition for a new wave of crews. Every day is getting colder, and so crews will need to wrap up warm, especially if showers are expected. As always though, conditions and unforeseen events can mix up any crews chance of winning (potentially favourable to Shanklin Sandown) and so each prediction should be taken with a pinch of salt. We’ll just have to wait until Saturday to find out!
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