As the days draw shorter, the mornings become colder and earlier with the crisp winter air biting at your bare hands, Henley Long Distance Sculls marks the true start of the cold winter of races ahead of us. The exciting 3km course with the iconic Henley stretch and the twist and turns before Temple Island proves a fascinating course for these new foot-steering bow seats; here’s a look ahead to the crews racing:
Henley Rowing Club
Based just upriver of the iconic Henley Royal Regatta course, the two home quads representing Henley Rowing Club are undoubtedly the favourites looking ahead to the weekend. Over the summer season, this squad claimed gold in the WJ15 eights and silver in the WJ15 coxed fours- not leaving many medals for anyone else and asserting their dominance and strength as a squad. However, at the British Junior Championships, the squad transitioned back into the quad, where they dropped back into the bronze medal position, followed up by an eleventh place in the doubles, perhaps suggesting a preference for sweeping to sculling- maybe leaving them vulnerable this weekend.
St Mary’s School Cambridge Boat Club
Specialising in sculling, St Mary’s School Cambridge Boat Club have proved themselves on the circuit as a crew to beat. First staking their claim back in J14 when they placed second at the National Schools’ Regatta behind the aforementioned Henley, the small school in Cambridge were thrown into the centre of attention amongst the J15 age group. Faced with the increased levels of competition this year, St Marys dropped back to twelfth- a position I am sure they will want to improve on for this year. I have no doubt this crew with their track record of success should be challenging Henley for the top spot this Saturday.
Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association
Racing up a year at NSR last year, Notts County entered the WJ16 doubles where they out on a tremendous performance to earn themselves an 8th place finish in a highly competitive category. Clearly showing the skill of two members of this crew, it does also point to the new addition of two other members who did not join their counterparts at National Schools back in May. Both pairs in the boat did enter the British Championships in the summer placing fourteenth and thirty third in a field of 93 crews proving their competitiveness in their own age category as well as the year above.
Bedford Girls’ School Rowing Club
Well-matched with St Mary’s School, Bedford Girls’ had an impressive debut season last year, securing 10th place at the Junior Sculling Head early on. This performance highlights the quad’s stamina over the 3.8k course, a strength that should serve them well in head races throughout the upcoming winter season and offering them a potential edge over the shorter sprint rowers. After a tremendous improvement in their time trial position, they claimed fourteenth place at the NSR, showcasing a well-executed race plan and technique that is sure to challenge their competition this weekend.
Prediction
This category looks fairly well matched, and it is safe to say the timings will be tight. However, I think it will be the home heroes of Henley who walk away with the gold and bronze medals, separated by St Mary’s School sneaking in for the silver. Just outside of the medals will be Bedford Girls, who are closely followed by Notts County, with Weybridge Rowing Club and Claires Court School Boat Club rounding out the field.
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