A race on the iconic Henley Royal Regatta stretch must be exciting for all the crews racing, especially during the last sprint coming into the famous HRR finish. The three kilometre race is sure to see a lot of overtaking especially considering that the course is primarily straight, apart from the sharp bend after the start. The J16 quad’s division doesn’t have many entries this year, since most of the J16 competitors are racing in either singles or doubles.
Royal Grammar School High Wycombe Boat Club
With three entries into the category, RGS High Wycombe are bound to get a crew into the top spots, however ‘HWG-SMITH’ seems like the most likely crew to do it. The crew came third in the B-final at National Schools’ Regatta in the second J15 quad last year and will take on the pressure of friendly competition against their clubmates and the rest of the division.
Guildford Rowing Club
Guildford Rowing Club have always been a strong crew, especially in this division. They missed out on the A-final in last year’s NSR by 0.6 seconds and then ended up dominating the B final by 4 seconds. They also came 6th in the A-final of the Junior Sculling Regatta last year as well, strengthening their consistent output of results.
Magdalen College School Boat Club
Being the only crew from their boat club in the division, the quad from Magdalen College is backed up by their performance in NSR, where they came fourth in the C-final of the second J15 quad division. Although they are a smaller club, tending to stay away from the larger races, we often see Magdalen at the smaller ones. Being a young and inexperienced crew might be to their disadvantage this weekend, especially with the state of the river being what it is right now.
Predictions
I think there is no doubt that Guildford will end up dominating this race, defending their reputation in this category, as their results are nothing short of impressive. However, RGS High Wycombe aren’t going to give Guildford an easy route to victory and will put up a good fight for the top spot in the final results. I think that Guildford will be able to defeat the other crews to take the victory and High Wycombe will be able to just get in front of Magdalen College.
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