Reviews
Headington School BC v Putney High School BC
One of the last races of the day turned out to be a blinder, seeing the very promising J17 outfit from Putney High School take on the gargantuan in schoolgirl rowing, Headington. Too close to call at points, Putney in purple had just about edged to a canvas lead, before Headington dug right down deep into their final reserves to row through and surge over the line with about a half-length lead. Named in our Filippi Racing Recap as one of the races of the Regatta so far, we tip our hats to Putney who just missed out and are certainly ones to watch in the 24/25 season, while we look forward to Headington progressing further.
Royal Shrewsbury School v Rob Roy BC
Moving their national champions across from the coxless four at National Schools, Shrewsbury are taking on their sculling side and so far appear to be quite successful. They pulled away from Rob Roy to claim a quarter length lead at the end of the island, gliding away to claim a 2 length lead by Remenham Club. But Rob Roy weren’t willing to give up just yet, they put in a surge to reduce Shiplake’s lead down to three quarters of a length by the mile post. However with Shrewsbury’s early advances, Rob Roy were just going to run out of water when a steering warning disrupted their line, ultimately handing Shrewsbury the win.
Aberdeen Schools’ RA v Nottingham RC
A flying start for Aberdeen gave them the edge on Nottingham and a quarter length lead at the End of the Island, setting them strong for the rest of the course. The crew recently transitioned from the coxed four after winning at Henley Women’s Regatta just a week ago but seem to be comfortable and strong in their new style resulting in them pulling further away from Nottingham as they went. Although Nottingham must have put a fright onto Aberdeen when they went for a push at the bottom of the enclosure gaining back half of the lead to be down by only half a length. However the response from Aberdeen was immense as they pulled a two and a half-length lead over the last few hundred metres in a sprint that other competitors should be wary of.
Previews
Shiplake College BC v EL Crossley School, Canada
After their dominant display in today’s race against the Canadian minor medallists Shawnigan Lake, Shiplake have much to look forward to in tomorrow’s race against the Canadian National Champions EL Crossley. As EL Crossley approach this race as some favourites to final and even hold onto Wycliffe, how much did they really have over Shawnigan Lake? With only winning by two lengths at Canadian Nationals and with Shiplake beating Shawnigan by three lengths today, I believe Shiplake has a real chance going into this race.
Molesey BC v Maidenhead RC
A rematch from National Schools Regatta, the prequalified Molesey will want to really claim their place in this draw in their first run down the track. But with more experience of the course this year, Maidenhead certainly have an edge that Molesey can’t reproduce in the knowledge of the course and race strategy that suits their quad. This puts them in a position to gain back the seconds they were behind at NSR, which could produce some excellent racing down the course.
Royal Shrewsbury School BC v Hartpury College BC
Both of these crews have national medals under their belt this season however the key difference is Hartpury’s medals came from multiple smaller boats where Shrewsbury’s medals came from this same crew working together. This gives Shrewsbury the edge with their team spirit and the skill of training together although they carry the disadvantage of moving across disciplines from sweep to scull. The Hartpury crew have shown their individual speed in singles and doubles, so Shrewsbury know they face a strong crew. However, the individual style differences in Hartpury’s technique may cause a slight disruption in both flow and rhythm. Overall, both schools are worthy of a place in the next round from what we’ve seen all season, but I think Hartpury will just about pip Shrewsbury to the post.
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