We have reached the summit. As a rowing community, there are few weeks in the calendar that we collectively look forward to more than Henley Royal Regatta. The unique match-racing style format, the frivolity and festival unfolding on the banks alongside a pomp and circumstance that transports the punter back through the pages of time itself. All of this is secondary though to the curvature of competition that angles upwards as the week unfolds. From heats on the Tuesday to finals on the Sunday, all roads lead to the red box. JRN will be with you every step of the way to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the Regatta available anywhere in the world – and we start with our exclusive set of event previews. Roll on the racing.
Total Entries: 63 (To be reduced to 24 by Qualifying Races)
Claires Court School ‘A’
Claires Court are no strangers to the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, having won this event in 2022, and with one member of that crew remaining, I’m sure they will handle themselves well despite the challenges of the Regatta and the Henley waters. They have had one of their strongest seasons yet this year, finishing fifth at the National Schools’ Regatta and fifth again overall in the women’s quad at the Metropolitan Regatta. Crucially, this was third from the junior boats present, beating Sir William Perkin’s School and Headington in the process. They appear to be progressing nicely throughout the season, as recent results are an improvement on their ninth-placed finish at the Schools’ Head of the River and 14th at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head. If they can continue building this momentum into next week, and use their past experience to their advantage, then I can see this crew progressing in the regatta.
E.L. Crossley School, Canada
The last time we saw Canadian crews in the Diamond Jubilee was in 2014, where they were both knocked out in the heats. Ten years on, the event has grown at an astonishing pace and we are seeing a strong interest from across the Atlantic this year, with Canadian schoolgirl champions E.L. Crossley School in particular looking to make their mark on the junior women’s sculling scene. This crew won the Head of the Charles Regatta in the youth women’s coxed quad, racing under Notre Dame RC, defeating fellow Henley Royal Regatta competitors Tideway Scullers and Los Gatos in the process. They’ve also proven their speed over the two kilometre distance at the recent Canadian Secondary School Championships, where they came away with gold in both the quad and eight, defending both titles from the previous year. I think this is one of the strongest international crews we’ve had in recent years, and based off results from HOCR, I can see this crew fighting for a place in the final, in similar fashion to Redwood Scullers back in 2022. However, I am wary to build too much hype around international entrants as our expectations last year were somewhat let down, with only crews from the UK featuring in the semi-finals.
Hartpury College ‘A’
Another club with a lot of history in this event, Hartpury have had an incredibly strong year and are perhaps returning to their former strength. They enter Henley Royal Regatta rather mysteriously, having chosen to not race their quad throughout regatta season. This hasn’t stopped them from picking up plenty of silverware in the smaller boats and I’m sure have been training the quad on the side ready for next week. Sheppard and Hurrell have dominated in the double this season, leading from the start to take the win in the championship girls’ event at the National Schools’ Regatta as well as controlling every round of Henley Women’s Regatta whilst winning the Rayner Cup. This boat has a lot of international experience with Sheppard a bronze medalist in the quad from the junior world championships last summer, and Hurrell and Gardner recently representing Great Britain at the European U19 championships, placing fourth in the quad. This crew has some younger talent with Gardener only a J17, but finishing second in the championship single at the National Schools’ Regatta before securing an incredible victory in the aspirational double at Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend,. Their fourth member is Matilda Hudson-Hulls, a 15-year-old future starlet from their National Schools’ Regatta-winning women’s junior 16 quad.
Lea Rowing Club ‘A’
I have a bone to pick with the Stewards here – Lea have had an incredible year and, in my opinion, deserve not only to be prequalified, but seeded into the top eight. Having directly beaten many of the crews who are prequalified in the quad, I’m unsure as to why they are being forced to race this Friday, but I’m sure will have no problem getting through and hope this doesn’t affect their future rounds too much. They’ve raced plenty in the quad, finishing second at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Regatta and fourth at the National Schools’ Regatta, staying calm despite the late charges of Claire’s Court. This past weekend at Henley Women’s Regatta, their top girls – Kerbiriou and Hughes – (both in the A-final at the GB April trials regatta) raced in the double and looked really strong, eventually losing to Hartpury by four seconds in the final. They also qualified a quad, losing in the heats to Shiplake. They should have a lot of confidence in their speed coming into Henley Royal Regatta, and I back this crew to repeat last year’s Friday appearance and be fighting for a weekend spot.
Los Gatos Rowing Club, U.S.A
After a successful Henley Royal Regatta for their junior men last year, who reached the semi-final in the Fawley Challenge Cup, this is the first time we see the junior women of Los Gatos Rowing Club, USA make an appearance. I expect they would only make the trip if they were going to be highly competitive. They came third in the 2024 USRowing Southwest Championships, qualifying them for the USRowing Youth National Championships where they came second to Redwood Scullers, who are also the only crew that bested them at the San Diego Crew Classic. However, in a 1-on-1 race with Redwood at Shamrock Invitational, Los Gatos were victorious so perhaps the gladiatorial style of HRR will be in their favour. These girls have been rowing together for a long time, with two returning from their last year’s quad that came fourth at the USRowing Youth National Championships. Three of the crew raced the head season together, with a fifth-placed finish at the Head of the Charles. With Redwood Scullers not making the trip across the pond this year, Los Gatos are the fastest crew from the US in the event, but with the standard rising continually, I think this crew might struggle to make the weekend.
Marlow Rowing Club, ‘A’
Having been knocked out on the Thursday for the past two years at Henley Royal Regatta, Marlow Rowing Club will be out for self-advancement next week, and are in a very strong position to enact. After a noticeable absence last year, they put in a strong showing at the Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend, beating Tideway in an excellent race to reach the finals of the Bea Langridge Trophy. They have beaten all but Wycliffe this year, picking up silver medals at the Schools’ Head of the River and the National Schools’ Regatta, and are clearly a very strong crew, both technically and physically. There is also a lot of experience in this boat, with the stern pair both medaling for Great Britain at the Coupe de la Jeunesse last Summer, and returning from Marlow’s top quad at HRR last year. Something has to be said about their stroke Mia Lawrence, who is an incredibly strong junior sculler, winning the GB April trials, and racing to two gold medals for Great Britain at the Munich International Junior Regatta. At Henley Women’s Regatta, she was not only setting their rhythm, but also steering the course, something that is very rare to see in junior crews. I imagine Marlow will be seeded to meet Wycliffe in the final, but will face tough competition in the process – I hope we see this crew deliver to their full potential next week.
Molesey Boat Club ‘A’
For the past two years, Molesey have been knocked out on the Tuesday of Henley Royal Regatta, and I believe that run ends here. The junior women have had their best season yet and I imagine could be one of the eight crews seeded to start racing on Thursday after their performances so far, which include a fourth-placed finish at the Schools’ Head of the River and a bronze at the National Schools’ Regatta. There’s a lot of experience in this crew, with Liv Cheesmur representing Great Britain at the Munich International Junior Regatta to sit alongside her bronze medal from the quad at the junior world championships last summer. She is joined by Maia Bentley, who raced in the eight at the Coupe de la Jeunesse. They were noticeably absent from Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend so arrive less prepared for the Henley waters but with plenty of side-by-side racing experience.
Putney High School
With this exact same quad racing at Henley Royal Regatta qualifiers last year as J16s and missing out by only four seconds, these girls will be delighted to be pre-qualified and deserve it for the season they have had as a boat of J17s. They won the women’s junior 17 category at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, then came sixth at the Junior Sculling Regatta and seventh at the National Schools’ Regatta whilst racing those a year their senior. They reached the quarterfinals of Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend, losing to Wycliffe, but arguably giving them the most testing challenge off the start. I would look out for this crew as they do have one of the fastest starts across the junior quad contingent, and if they can unsettle their opponents and race tactically, anything can happen down the Henley course.
Ruderclub Zurich, Switzerland
The only international entry from Europe into the Diamond Jubilee this year, and I believe the first ever from Switzerland, comes from Ruderclub Zurich. These girls have experienced lots of success this season, racing in the eight all winter and then doubling up in the quad throughout the regatta season, taking gold in multiple regional regattas in Switzerland. At the 2024 Swiss National Championships, the club came second in the junior women’s quad and eight and Olivia Stalder of their Henley Royal quad came first in the BJW4x and third in the BJW1x. They are at the top of the sculling scene in Switzerland and come to challenge the best the UK has to offer. I would question how much time this quad has had to train together if they race in so many different combinations, but their abundant racing experience will make up for this as Henley often involves very tactical and unique contests.
Shawnigan Lake School, Canada
Another strong international entry comes from Shawnigan School, Canada, the second Canadian crew in the draw, and the second fastest junior women’s quad in Canada. Not only will these girls be looking to challenge on the international scene, they will also be keen to overturn their recent result against messers E.L.Crossley, where the latter beat them by six seconds at the Secondary School Rowing Association Championships. This crew have had a solid winter of training and competing together, finishing first at both Head of the Gorge and Head of False Creek in Canada, then travelling to the US to compete in the Head of the Lake, placing third. The knockout style of Henley Royal Regatta will be a new experience for them, and so it’s hard to predict how they will fare, but I hope to see them make it through a round.
Sir William Perkin’s School
Defeating two international crews to make it to the Friday of Henley Royal Regatta last year, SWPS will be looking to equal or even better that result next week. They split into smaller boats at the National Schools’ Regatta, coming away with an impressive set of results; bronze medals in the championship double and pair, and a silver in the junior 16 double. There are some outstanding individuals in this quad; Annabelle Thornton and Emily Nicholas are both younger athletes, but recently represented Great Britain at the Munich International Junior Regatta, winning the women’s pair. It’s difficult to continually swap between sculling and sweeping and I don’t know how well-drilled their quad will be come Henley Royal, but I’m sure we will see improvement upon their recent race results. They finished seventh in the A-final of the women’s quad at the Metropolitan Regatta, close behind Wycliffe ‘B’ and Claires Court, and made the semi-finals of the Bea Langridge trophy at Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend.
The Tideway Scullers School ‘A’
Current holders of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, Tideway Scullers definitely know how to perform on the biggest stage, and they seem to peak perfectly for this event, displaying an astonishing improvement curve this time last year. They have a bit more ground to make up this time around, but possess a lot of impressive results and individuals that no doubt will culminate into a Henley Royal Regatta campaign of note. In the quad, they had a strong head season to place second at the Head of the Charles followed by a close third at the Schools’ Head of the River. They then split into smaller boats with Amalka Delevante and Ansley Vicars finishing second in the championship double at the National Schools’ Regatta, whilst Georgia Allen took bronze in the single. There’s a wealth of experience in this boat, with Delevante returning from last year’s winning crew, whilst her and Vicars make up the other half of the British quad that came fourth at the European U19 championships. They recently reached the semifinals of Henley Women’s Regatta, controlling their earlier rounds beautifully before eventually losing to Marlow by a length. However, this is a smaller margin than the one they overturned last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the girls in red and yellow once again facing Wycliffe in the final of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup.
Wycliffe College ‘A’
After a remarkable season in 2023, which ultimately ended in disappointment for Wycliffe, Greg Flower and his squad have somehow stepped it up again in response. Their 2024 season will go into the chapters of junior rowing as a vintage of great quality; no-one in the UK has been able to stand up to this crew at any point. They won the Schools’ Head of the River by a whopping 34 seconds, setting a new record and beating all but two of the eights in the process. Two days later, they then won the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head by 29 seconds. After winning the National Schools’ Regatta time-trial by 13 seconds, topping the time of all of the junior women’s eights, they controlled both their semi-final and final, leading from the first stroke to the last. Perhaps the pinnacle of their season, regardless of the outcome of Henley Royal Regatta, was the Metropolitan Regatta, where they became champions in the championship women’s quad, in a thrilling race against two senior Leander quads. Any doubts over whether they can perform on the Henley course were silenced this weekend as they beautifully executed race after race to win the Bea Langridge Trophy at Henley Women’s Regatta, a whole 13 seconds ahead of Marlow in the final. Stroked by returning finalist Lily Martin, the only challenge I can foresee for these girls is via an exceptionally quick international entrant, as listed above. With three members of this crew medaling at the junior world championships last summer, I’m not sure there’s a quad in world rowing at a junior level that could best them. I can only look forward to watching them at Henley Royal Regatta and I hope the conditions are in their favour as I’m sure they will have their eyes firmly set on the course record of 7:20 set by Y Quad Cities, U.S.A in 2018.
Wycliffe College ‘B’
Another crew I believe deserve to be prequalified, Wycliffe College ‘B’ have had an amazing season in their own right and deserve a separate preview. They successfully defended Wycliffe’s title in the second quad event at the National Schools’ Regatta in dominant fashion, which was followed by an excellent race at the Metropolitan Regatta to finish second out of the junior quads (beating prequalified crews Claires Court and SWPS). They are clearly a very quick outfit and one I’d expect to see progress far into the regatta; there is even the potential that we see a repeat of 2022 when two Windsor Boys quads made the final of the Fawley Challenge Cup. They broke into smaller boats this weekend at Henley Women’s Regatta, with junior 17 athlete Lily Anderson taking a convincing win in the Di Ellis Trophy for junior singles, whilst the double of Amelia Flaxman and Georgina Joy reached the semifinals of the Rayner Cup. Their fourth member, Natasha Phillips, brings power and international experience into the boat, with two medals for Great Britain at the Coupe da le Jeunesse in the quad last summer. Just this weekend, she placed fourth at the European Beach Sprints championships. The odds may be against them having to go through qualifiers, but it didn’t stop Wycliffe ‘B’ overthrowing a seeded crew last year, and this quad is ready for the challenge.
Other prequalified crews
Aberdeen School’s Rowing Association come off the back of a win in the Groton School Challenge Cup for junior coxed fours at the Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend so clearly have the strength and the experience on the Henley waters. If they can make the swap back to sculling smoothly then they definitely have potential to progress in the regatta. Maidenhead Rowing Club and Grange School rounded out the A-final at the National Schools’ Regatta, finishing sixth and eighth respectively, so I’d expect to see strong performances from them. Nottingham Rowing Club and Trentham Rowing Club came first and second respectively in the B-final at the same event and will be happy to have pre-qualified. With the latter not racing at Henley Royal Regatta last year, this an exciting and well deserved step on for them.
Prediction
It really is practically impossible to look past a completely rampant Wycliffe crew. They will have learned valuable lessons since their shock defeat in the final of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup last year and Greg Flower and his girls will have left no stone unturned in their pursuit of the ultimate trophy in schoolgirl sculling. Behind them, the jostling gets frantic with a range of powerful domestic entrants – including the likes of Marlow, Tideway Scullers and the Wycliffe ‘B’ boat – aiming to get the better of an international cohort that appears to be led by the enigmatic E.L. Crossley School of Canada.
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