The coxless fours at Henley Women’s have often given us some entertaining races, they move fast down the course and with the addition (or rather, subtraction) of the coxless aspect, the steering choices can lose or win them races. This year, as with all the categories, the draw is stacked with the big names and with 19 entries it will be interesting to see who makes the cut.
Tideway Scullers School
A club with a reputation that precedes itself and this crew is no exception. At Met Regatta they performed well on both days, with A final finishes on each. This bodes well for them coming into this race as some of the crews they lost out to are not in this category, based on this I think this crew will have a good chance at not only qualifying but making it through a few rounds.
Worcester RC
Perhaps the underdogs, although Worcester’s successful season would beg to differ, they also had a good weekend at Met ending up in the B final on the Saturday and the A final on the Sunday. They won the coxed fours at Wallingford and are clearly a strong crew. If they can continue to improve then they could be very competitive at HWR.
Vesta RC
Vesta’s fours have had a good season so far, with this crew coming top in the B final on Sunday at Met Regatta and there were two Vesta crews at Wallingford, one of which made it into the final. This shows that Vesta has a strong squad of rowers and also have the potential to perform well, they have the capabilities to make it through some rounds at HWR for certain.
Thames RC
The ever-impressive Thames machine has created some strong women’s crews this year as well, with very consistently successful results over the head and regatta season. They had two good weekends recently at both Wallingford and Met Regatta, this crew will undoubtedly be no exception.
Prediction
As hoped for, Henley Women’s this year looks set to produce some highly competitive racing, many crews on this list have had successes this year so far. In terms of who will find themselves still racing on the Sunday, I think the crew from Tideway Scullers and Vesta have a good chance. From the rest, the Maidstone Invicta crew and the London RC boat also seem strong.
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