There’s nothing quite like Henley. I wrote an ode to this great Regatta on the eve of the 2021 edition, after two years away, so I do not need to tell you twice that I think this is one of our community’s great gifts. Sensational racing served up against the scenic splendour of the midsummer English countryside. Step foot into the Stewards Enclosure and you are transported through the chapters of time itself into a world where all that matters is the bows locked in perpetual motion, charging towards a finish as yet undetermined. The heat of battle, the pure unbridled brilliance of a narrative not yet unpacked, a story unwritten but adding words in front of our very eyes. All pitched in the gladiatorial arena of Henley Royal Regatta’s 2112m course, demarcated by the infamous booms and set against the patchwork fields and dipping sunlight that marks where Berkshire meets Buckinghamshire.
So it’s no surprise that the ultimate aim of any schoolboy athlete is to win amongst friends on the chapel-like waters of Henley Royal Regatta. The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is the complete test of a rower’s mettle – 32 entrants, usually whittled down to this number via a set of pre-event qualifying races, pitted against each other mano o mano until only one is left standing. 2022 brings with it the allure of a bumper year, international exoticism balanced with the passion of domestic pride. The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup will be no different.
Eton College
Winners of four of the past seven editions of this event, Eton enter the 2022 staging as firm favourites from the UK. I was lucky enough to follow the final of Championship Boys Eights from the commentary car – some will have witnessed my wonky camera work on our Instagram feed – and one comment made by one of the pundits present really stayed with me; his remark was that Eton just looked a cut above everyone else on the lake. It wasn’t even their technical proficiency – which is exceptional – but their emphasis through the middle of the stroke and the raw horsepower available to them. After taking home the Queen Mother Cup on home water, they’ll take some stopping at Henley where their program theoretically peaks. Feed all of the above into the fact that this would be a record-equaling third win in a row and it seems implausible that Eton won’t collect what is rapidly becoming their exclusive property. Unless…
King’s College Wimbledon
We love a plucky upstart in rowing, plugging away tirelessly without bearing the fruit of their labour. Although KCS – one of this country’s most prestigious and revered public schools – hardly wear the moniker of ‘underdog’ with much subtlety, their narrative in schoolboy rowing has been one of tempered misfortune and near-misses. After winning the Child Beale back in 2012, they flirted with the Championship category for a few years before committing to the mission. In my mind, they will never get a better time to realise their ambition and emerge victorious on the grandest stage of all. They’re running hot, finishing as the fastest junior crew at Marlow Regatta (seventh in the ‘A’ final of Championship Eights) and a couple of seconds clear of a resurgent Radley outfit. Depending on the draw, we might be witnessing the start of a very special KCS PE campaign.
St Edward’s School
I feel a little biased every time I write about Teddies – I’ve had a soft spot for their ping-ponging around the bullet chamber of Championship Boys Eights without ever really firing with pinpoint accuracy. Their silver medal at the National Schools’ Regatta – which put them firmly on the map as a crew to watch – will leave them desperately wanting more. Their season – which has led to wins at Quintin Head and Nottingham City Regatta alongside impressive rankings at Wallingford and the Schools’ Head of the River – does threaten to flicker out as the almost-men if they don’t manage to secure a weekend berth at Henley Royal Regatta.
Shiplake
Good old Shiplake. Always the crew to beat from October to March, with tenacity, technique and horsepower in spades. Come the rising of the summer sun and for whatever reason this club fail to make good on the promises they made in the winter months. Fourth at the National Schools’ Regatta – in what was an incredibly competitive final – will not have thrilled Dave Currie nor first eight head coach Hugh Mackworth-Praed but they’ll have taken heart from a better performance at Marlow Regatta (winners of the ‘B’ final of Championship Eights in a time that would placed them seventh in the ‘A’ final and ahead of both KCS and Radley). Between National Schools’ Regatta and Henley, there is always an element of fine-tuning via external additions – the fastest J16s and Second Eight athletes come into the fold to bring added speed. Shiplake have depth to play with and only time – and several rounds of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup – will tell us whether the balancing act between consistency and search for speed has paid off. Will 2022 be the year when Shiplake finally bring this home?
Radley College
Up until Saturday, I wasn’t really considering including Radley in the main section of my preview. Their performance at the National Schools’ Regatta flattered to deceive – seventh in the ‘A’ final of Championship Boys Eights – whilst a sixth-place finish at the Schools’ Head of the River hadn’t done much to get the blood flowing in the first place. Then, along came Marlow Regatta. Bolting out the blocks and securing one of only two junior berths in the ‘A’ final of Championship Eights, whatever Radley have been cooking over the past few weeks seems to be coming to the boil at just the right time. For those that have tracked junior schoolboy rowing for the past decade, the notion of a ‘Henley spurt’ for Radley is no surprise. As to where it’s come from, one need only look at the remarkable National Schools’ Regatta RCBC had beyond their first eight; winners of both Junior 16 and Second Eights, which gives Sam Townsend and co plenty of optionality approaching the apex of Henley. I consider Radley a very real threat.
St Paul’s School
You can’t really have a Henley Royal Regatta preview without featuring the lads in black and white from Hammersmith. Revered for that crew in 2018, Bobby Thatcher’s boys have never really scaled the same lofty heights since. They were beaten finalists in this event last year and early indications show that a step further in 2022 might be a step too far. They ended up sixth in the final of Championship Boys Eights at the National Schools’ Regatta and were third in the ‘B’ final of Championship Eights at Marlow Regatta (crucially behind both Shiplake and Teddies). That’s a hell of a lot of speed to gain between now and Tuesday. A weekend would be a genuinely excellent result for this crew.
The King’s School Parramatta, Australia
Ears always prick up when talk of Australian schoolboy crews begins. The ‘Scotch College’ effect – which benefits from recency bias – is something that UK crews vying for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup fear and relish in equal measure. The King’s School Parramatta, according to those in the know, are de-facto the fastest schoolboy crew in Australia – no mean feat when you consider the heavyweights that play in that field. Winners of the New South Wales Head of the River, all the athletes in the crew are sub 6:15 on the ergo and the boat has gone sub 5:50 this season. This unit did not race at the Australian National Rowing Championships due to illness but a few of their athletes took to the four and swept all before them. Their first performance on English soil probably didn’t put the fear of God into any UK competitors – a first place in the ‘C’ final of Championship Eights. Talk on the towpath suggests jet-lag played a significant role but the real question is how much speed will King’s find before next Tuesday. The last crew to win at Henley Royal Regatta from this school went down in history as one of the best of all time – it remains to be seen whether these boys can repeat that feat.
Brunswick School, U.S.A.
A regular at Henley Royal Regatta, Brunswick’s Varsity Eight have gone undefeated in the open season this year. They capped off an impressive run with a win at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championship Regatta, where they beat Exeter and Kent in the Varsity Eight category. Despite that, we usually know if a crew coming over from the USA is to be considered as top notch and likely to push the fastest schoolboy crews in the UK. I personally have not heard that type of furor around Brunswick in 2022 – they’ll certainly be a competitive outfit, with a very high chance of making it through a round or two, but I’d be surprised if they had the speed to match the sharp end of this event.
Woodrow Wilson High School, U.S.A.
These boys claim to be ‘as fast a crew as the Washington, DC, area has ever produced’. A big bold shout but the sort of chat we absolutely love coming into Henley. This boat touched down in England a few days ago and have been acclimatising in Shrewsbury before making the journey south to Henley and a first contest in just under a week’s time. This crew won the Varsity Eight at the US Scholastic (SRAA) National Championship Regatta and also beat 2021 Princess Elizabeth entrants St Joseph’s prep to the Boys Senior Eight title at the Stotesbury Cup. Impressive credentials and a crew to watch – the Wilson Crew is the oldest high school rowing program in Washington, DC and the only rowing program at a DC public school.
Prediction
God, I knew you’d ask. For me, this is Eton’s trophy to lose in every sense of the word. As it stands, they’re the fastest junior crew in the country and choose not to race at Marlow, giving us little to no indication as to how they’re peaking. Their sternest challenge could potentially come from the Aussies or a really blockbuster performance from an American outfit but my instinct is that their toughest test lies in one of several UK crews all within a second or two of each other. Eton’s closest race last year came on the Friday against KCS, who went down by 3/4 of a length – let’s hope they’re pushed harder and faster in 2022.
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