Holder: Claires Court School
Entries: 54
With 2023 marking 184 years of Henley Royal Regatta, it appears that each year the calibre of athletes is raised higher and higher. Junior events are no exception to this and in recent years the likes of Claire’s Court School, Shiplake College and Latymer Upper School have experienced the elation of lifting the trophy. High performing crews from across the world and here in the UK will be contending for the 2023 title and we can only anticipate the edge-of-your-seat racing that is to come.
Oregon Rowing Unlimited, USA
Small but mighty, ORU produces consistently impressive results, with their current U19 4x taking home gold from this year’s USRowing Youth National Championships. The crew has achieved several other wins throughout the season such as at Head of the Lake, Portland Fall Classic and Covered Bridge Regatta. All four crew members have demonstrated their strength in a range of boat classes with stroke seat Lauren Garrett claiming the 2021 U17 1x win at the USRowing Youth National Championships and athletes Zola, Claire and Kalista forming part of the U17 4X that also won that year. The ability of this crew speaks for itself and they are sure to be rattling some of the UK’s top crews who may not be used to such close competition. ORU are certainly a crew to keep an eye on.
Sydney Rowing Club, Australia
The girls from Sydney have already made their mark on the UK scene as two of their athletes raced to first place in the Rayner Cup at this year’s Henley Women’s Regatta. Their successes don’t stop there. Talisa Knoke-Driver competed at the U19 World Championships in 2022, placing 13th and her doubles partner Lucy Searle placed first in the U19 4X at the 2023 Australian Championships. They are joined by Neve Tierney and Amelia De Villiers who placed first and second in the single at the NSW Schoolgirls’ Head of the River. Having already proved what the club can do at Henley Women’s, the girls will be keen to reproduce this success at Henley Royal. Once again, this is an undoubtedly effective crew who will be moving with speed down the iconic course.
Wycliffe Junior Rowing Club
Fresh from their win at Henley Women’s Regatta, the Wycliffe girls will be making their way to the start line with confidence. Backed by their wins at the National Schools’ Regatta and Junior Sculling Regatta, Wycliffe have gone from strength to strength this season and will be in the hopes of maintaining their winning streak at the prestigious Henley Royal. It also appears that Wycliffe aim to verify the depth of their programme, entering three crews into this event. Ella Fullman, Yasmin Howe and Lily Martin won numerous golds when representing GB at the Munich International Regatta and are certain to appear in the top quad. Wycliffe have therefore become almost unbeatable here in the UK, but could this be threatened by an overseas entry?
Pymble Ladies College, Australia
Another crew to make the trip from Australia are the girls from Pymble Ladies College who won bronze in the U19 4X at both the Australian National Championships and NSW State Championships. Similar to the athletes from Wycliffe, these girls have also proved their versatility through their selection to the state crew for the NSW pathways interstate eight where they raced to second place. Outstanding results in both sweep and scull highlights the sheer strength of the girls from Pymble and sets them up well for what is to come at HRR. Another impressive international entry sure to make it far.
Nereid Boat Club, USA
Yet another compelling proposition from overseas, Nereid Boat Club’s entry into the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup demonstrates this event’s increasing global popularity. Hailing from Rutherford, New Jersey, these girls were Head of the Housatonic Champions and winners of the Youth Coxed Quad category at the Head of the Charles in October alongside becoming Cooper Cup Champions in April and USRowing Mid-Atlantic Champions in May. At the USRowing Youth National Championships, they finished fifth, some 14 seconds adrift of the Oregon Unlimited combination. They’ll still be fierce and capable competitors.
Marlow Rowing Club
Winners of the Schools’ Head of the River and silver medalists at the National Schools’ Regatta, Marlow opted not to race at Henley Women’s Regatta as too many of the girls had exams and school-related pressure. They’ll be approaching Henley Royal Regatta as a relative unknown but will be emboldened by their last domestic pitching, where they beat both Wycliffe and Tideway Scullers at the Metropolitan Regatta. Beaten quarter-finalists last season in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, Marlow will be looking to make the weekend as a minimum.
Shiplake College
Victors in this event in 2021, Shiplake will be focused on reclaiming the title that catapulted them into the big leagues. They have had a frustrating season by their own high standards, losing out to Marlow at the Schools’ Head of the River, finishing third at the Junior Sculling Regatta, sixth at the National Schools’ Regatta and a quarter-final placing at Henley Women’s Regatta. However, Jess Weir – the winner of Junior Single Sculls last weekend – will be rejoining the quad ahead of an assault on schoolgirl sculling. There is no doubt she will make the crew faster and they’ll be looking to improve upon their Saturday showing last year, where they were rowed down by a tenacious – and winning – Claires Court combination.
Henley Rowing Club
This is probably Henley’s top boat. Iterations of this crew were winners at the Fours Head of the River before switching into the eight and finishing second at the Schools’ Head of the River and Women’s Head of the River (the latter largely due to a time penalty). They were third at the National Schools’ Regatta and would have hoped to have been racing in the final of the Bea Langridge Trophy last weekend, only to lose out to a rapidly-improving Tideway Scullers School boat. Henley have not won this trophy since its inception in 2012 and to emerge victorious in 2023 will take a monumental effort.
Tideway Scullers School
Hard to write this preview without acknowledging the steep curve of increasing speed that the Tideway Scullers School are currently on. They were third at the Schools’ Head of the River before muscled into seventh in an incredibly competitive National Schools’ Regatta final. That fueled the fire because their last few weeks have been impressive; they beat all junior crews barring Marlow Rowing Club at the Metropolitan Regatta before defeating Shiplake College and Henley Rowing Club on their way to a final showdown against Wycliffe at Henley Women’s Regatta. With Alice McCarthy, bronze medalist at the 2022 Junior World Championships, and Orla Harvey, bronze medalist at the 2022 Coupe De la Jeunesse, on-board, this crew has serious potential.
Predictions
On balance, I predict that the final will be an outright battle between Oregon Rowing Unlimited and Wycliffe Junior Rowing Club. Both with a history of achievement, individually successful athletes and national titles, it seems that they are an almost-perfect match. With so many high-performing entries, racing will be nail-bitingly close and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top. JRN wishes all crews competing the best of luck and performances they take home with pride. The wait is almost over, to find out who comes out on top and raises the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup in 2023.
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