With the hype of National Schools now a distant memory, it’s time to switch our attention to the upcoming Henley Women’s regatta. For Junior Women, this regatta is one of the most important regattas on the calendar. As there is only one junior women’s event currently available at Henley Royal Regatta, Henley Women’s serves as a great opportunity for these crews to showcase their side by side racing skills. There are 21 strong entries this year in the Groton School Challenge Cup and, with only 16 qualifying spaces up for grabs, these crews will definitely have to race hard to get through the time trial. Last year we saw the girls from Putney High School take the win over Henley by just under a length, but with no crew from Putney entered this year I have no doubt Henley will be looking to redeem themselves after last year’s loss.
Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston have had an exceptionally strong year so far in the coxed four. At the very recent National Schools Regatta this four won gold in the Junior 18 coxed four category, replicating their result from last year in the Junior 16 four. Kingston have had a consistent medal streak this year with wins at Schools Head and Wallingford Regatta earlier this year. I would expect this crew to make the final of Henley Women’s and maybe even come away with some more silverware to add to their collection.
Henley Rowing Club
After losing to Lady Eleanor Holles on the Saturday of National Schools these girls from Henley had a very successful Sunday, coming first in the Championship coxless four event. These rowers will have an abundance of experience when it comes to side by side racing which will definitely be used to their advantage. Although adding a cox is a slight boat modification, I won’t be surprised if we see this crew reaching the final of Henley Women’s next weekend.
Walton Rowing Club
Walton did extremely well at National schools this year and won silver in the non-championship girls coxed four event. These girls have a lot of experience in this boat class and will know exactly what they need to do to get speed out of a coxed boat. With the distance shortened to 1500 metres will Walton be able to close the 2 second gap currently separating them and Kingston?
I think it’s definitely worth mentioning the two composite fours we have racing in this event. In the St Pauls/Tideway scullers four there are some very experienced athletes, with their combined knowledge of the Henley course and international racing I would expect this crew to go far in the competition. The second composite is comprised of athletes from Glasgow academy, St Anne’s and Glasgow school, although this crew may not have had much time training together their strength and technical experience will take them far next weekend.
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