Holders: The Windsor Boys School
Entries: 70
The second largest entry on the 2023 roster and an event that is bitterly contested before the first quad even hits the water on Tuesday. The Friday of qualifiers represents the pinnacle of many of these crew’s seasons and is in and of itself a significant landmark in the diary. The ebb and flow of this year’s schoolboy sculling circuit has meant we approach Henley Royal Regatta with no clear favourite. A number of crews have stood tallest on the various racing platforms we’ve witnessed this season; Leander won the Schools’ Head of the River and the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head before being unseated at Dorney Lake by a resurgent Windsor Boys outfit. Leander roared back into life, placing as the fastest junior crew at both Metropolitan and Marlow Regattas but with Windsor Boys, Hinksey, Marlow, Sydney and others in close quarters. We’re set up for an eventful week of racing on the straights of Henley.
Leander Club
A prolific unit from the Pink Palace who have had a near-unblemished season. The only blot on their copybook was a loss at the National Schools’ Regatta, where they slipped into third behind both Marlow (silver) and the Windsor Boys School (gold). That will have stung, not least because it deprives Leander of the opportunity to win the Triple crown of Schools’ Head (which they dominated in March), the National Schools’ Regatta and the Fawley Challenge Cup. Two of this boat (Byron Richards and Nathaniel Gauden) won bronze at the 2023 Munich International Regatta for Great Britain and the crew have been building a head of steam approaching next week. Windsor Boys are fierce competitors at Henley, Marlow have been absent since the Met and Sydney pushed everyone hard at Marlow despite having only landed 48 hours previously. It will take all of this crew’s strength and aptitude to win their first Fawley Challenge Cup since 2019.
The Windsor Boys School
Holders of this trophy and winners of three of the past five editions, Windsor Boys are (ironically) the surprise package of this season. It’s hard to overstate the achievements that Mark Wilkinson and his boys scaled last season; a Windsor one-two in the final of this competition and a gold in every single Championship boys sculling event at the National Schools’ Regatta. This year has been a re-building year, evidenced by a few erratic showings through the winter (albeit they did travel to the Head of the Charles and secure a silver in Youth Quads). They showed they were dangerous by pushing Leander all the way to the line at Wallingford before securing titles at both the Junior Sculling Regatta and National Schools’ Regatta. Losing out to Leander by nearly five seconds at Marlow will have hurt but if anyone knows how to show up at Henley Royal Regatta and blow the doors clean off, it’s the boys in green and gold.
Marlow Rowing Club ‘A’
Marlow sneaking ahead of Leander and winning silver at Dorney Lake a few weeks ago will have felt good. Pete Chambers’ outfit have trailed in the wake of Leander’s might all year up to that point and to secure a silver on the grandest schoolboy stage will have been sweet justification for a program well-run. The result was overturned at the Metropolitan Regatta, where Jonny Jackson’s men came roaring back to finish as the fastest junior crew by 12 seconds. If Marlow can secure a Saturday berth, they’ll be delighted with that. As we saw at Henley Royal Regatta last year, the sheer weight, pressure and spectacle of a Saturday showdown can cause strange situations to occur. Marlow will hope to be the benefactor of that unique cauldron of noise, swell and expectation.
Sydney Rowing Club, Australia
The boys are back in town. The last time Sydney won this event was in 2011 and they’ve had a few cracks since, including a year later where they were dispatched by a brilliant Borlase boat containing now-Olympic silver medalist Jack Beaumont. They’ve had a couple of tilts since but this crew looks like the pick of the bunch. The four of them split off into two separate quads at the Australian Rowing Championships earlier this year; Maxim Moloney and Jackson Gursoy finished first in U19 Quads whilst Charles Hine and Nicholas Whalan were fourth in U21 Quads. The former three also combined to finish fourth in Club Men’s Eights at the same event and were second in U19 Quads at the New South Wales Championships. Steely pedigree and their little cameo at Marlow – finishing third having barely arrived in England – will have sent a stark warning to the rest of the competition.
Los Gatos Rowing Club ‘A’, USA
Los Gatos are back for another crack at the Fawley Challenge Cup, having exited in the first round of the competition in 2022. Channing Walker and his group will have learned a lot from last year’s experience and come into next week hot off the back of a silver medal at the USRowing Youth National Championships. They were also US Southwest Champions and won the Shamrock invite (a one-on-one style competition ahead of Oakland Strokes & Redwood Scullers). Their only comparison point to UK crews was a victory over Windsor Boys – amongst others – at the Head of the Charles. They’ll be keen to put right the wrongs of their last campaign.
Seattle Preparatory School, USA
Another American crew opting to come over and mix it up with the best of the best, Seattle have had a strong season. They were sixth at the USRowing Youth National Championships, around 16 seconds back on Los Gatos, and finished second at the NW Youth Regional Championships. They were second at the Windermere Cup Regatta and the Brentwood International Regatta and won both the Head of the Lake and the Head of the American Regatta in 2022. Although they’re relatively unlikely to trouble the very best of the British junior crews, a Friday placing would represent a good return for these boys.
Sir William Borlase Grammar School
Another boat who will be heading into next week with high hopes of getting through a round or two will be Phil Gray’s Borlase outfit. They’re probably right on the cusp of being seeded (the Fawley Challenge Cup has 24 crews racing so eight of the nominally fastest are given a bye to the second round) and will be hoping the Stewards smile on their prospects. They were fourth at the National Schools’ Regatta before finishing fifth at fifth in Junior Quads at Marlow. 0.2 seconds separated themselves and Hinksey and, as such, a match-up between these two on the Friday could make for very compelling viewing.
Hinksey Sculling School
On that subject – meet a firing Hinksey unit. They were fifth at the National Schools’ Regatta and last in the ‘A’ final of Championship Quads at the Metropolitan Regatta (behind Leander and Marlow). Last weekend at Marlow put them in front of Sir William Borlase for the first time this season and ten seconds behind winners Leander. Again, on the cusp of a seed and a shot at Friday’s racing.
Notable Mentions
Hereford Cathedral School have brought Xenophon Chapman and William Morgan-Jones (fourth and second in the final of Championship Boys Singles at the National Schools’ Regatta respectively) alongside Thomas Hargraves from their Junior 16 Double and Jack Watts from their Championship Double. They placed sixth at Marlow Regatta, ahead of both Leander B and Tideway Scullers School. Expect the latter to want to build on their seventh-placed finish at the National Schools’ Regatta. Claires Court School, who were sixth at the latter event, have not been seen since the Metropolitan Regatta and always find speed approaching Henley. Kingston Rowing Club were last in the ‘A’ final at the National Schools’ Regatta and getting through a round (or perhaps two) would be a fantastic achievement. St. Andrew Boat Club were the surprise package last year and bring the Patton brothers to bear in the hope they can emulate their semi-final placing in 2022.
Predictions
The Saturday will probably comprise Sydney, Leander, Windsor Boys and one other. Los Gatos will be wary of getting rowed down in the closing stages like last year and any one of Marlow, Borlase, Hinksey and others are capable of securing that final berth. Depending on the draw, I expect Leander to feature on the Sunday – and I back them to walk away with their second Fawley Challenge Cup in four editions.
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