Heading into the early days of November, the chills of winter begin to creep up on the dark morning races, and with crisp air forecast for Saturday’s racing, these eleven crews prepare to battle the cold and each other. Along the iconic Henley course, the field of competition tackles the stream and bends that Henley has to offer. Let’s take a look ahead to the crews:
Henley Rowing Club
Home heroes Henley make up three of the eleven crews racing this weekend, boasting their extensive squad depth and expertise in sculling. The powerful pairing of the familiar course and local support will power these quads on to contend for, perhaps, all three medal positions. With an impressive array of National Schools’ Regatta results, including fourth in the Championship Girls’ Eights (not even a second off second place), silver in the second Women’s Eights, and wins in both the WJ16 and WJ15 eights, Henley don’t come to win: they come to dominate.
Bedford Girls School
Just topping Henley, Bedford Girls’ School have four crews entered for this race, making up over a third of the field. Claiming 16th and 18th among the tough competition in the junior coxed fours at Henley Women’s Regatta, Bedford’s specialty perhaps lies in the smaller boat categories like the fours and quads, lending them an advantage over the bigger crews of Henley and Westminster. However, the transition from a coxed four to a coxless quad is a massive stylistic change that would need to be mastered in order for BGS to be competitive this weekend.
Tideway Scullers School
Reaching the semi-finals of both HWR and Henley Royal Regatta only to be knocked out each time by the same crew must have stung for Tideway Scullers, who are undoubtedly using this experience as motivation for the season ahead. At NSR they continued to prove their style coming tenth in the women’s coxed four and ninth in the women’s coxless quad, demonstrating their skills in smaller boats. These impressive results highlight the skill and technique necessary for Tideway crews, especially in those that have returned for multiple years.
Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club
Having a much shorter stretch of river than many of the clubs across the country, Stratford tend to specialise into quads throughout the year giving them an upper hand for sculling technique. Placing 18th at NSR in the championship quads as J17s and 11th in the WJ16 quads, the returning squad holds promise for the season ahead. Rustling some crews at the British Championships, the WJ18 quad impressively time trialed in at fifth place asserting that they are a crew to be wary of, especially in this head style race.
Prediction
It only seems fitting that one of the home crews from Henley would take the win on Saturday, most likely followed by a Tideway Scullers quad for silver. I believe bronze would also be taken by Henley, who would be followed home by Stratford. Rounding out the field would be the relatively unknown crews from Westminster School and City of Cambridge Rowing Club.
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