Henley Women’s Regatta is finally here. One of the most important races on the junior women’s calendar, it is sure to bring tense battles between the famed Henley booms. The Groton School Challenge Cup is awarded to the quickest junior 18 coxed four and is a coveted piece of silverware for any junior rower. With a stacked set of competitors, there will certainly be some tight racing.
Marietta High School (USA)
Coming to the UK for the first time in their program’s history are the crew from Marietta High School, Ohio. This crew couldn’t get out of the repechage at the SRAA National Championships over in the USA but finished strongly at the Midwest Scholastic Championships, winding up fourth in girls varsity coxed fours. They also placed ninth overall at the Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta in April.
Henley Rowing Club
Veterans of this category, Henley have never failed to field a strong crew for this event. Despite losing in the quarter-finals last year to Teddies, these girls will want to prove themselves on home waters and to show the growth they have undoubtedly delivered over this season. Furthermore, both Smith and Pagdin were winners of the junior 16 quad event last year, demonstrating the depth that this Henley squad can field. Hopefully they can build on their successes to take the squad to the next level.
Kingston Grammar School
Though they did not race in this event at the National Schools’ Regatta, Kingston Grammar School are one of the few crews entering a coxed four as their top crew. This bodes well for the Thames-based school, who have whittled down their crew to ensure a strong combination. After a mixed performance in the championship eights at the National Schools’ Regatta, finishing eighth, Kingston have decided to maximise their potential by fielding only their strongest four competitors. Only time will tell to see if this swap had paid off.
Other entries
Other notable entires include the likes of Surbiton and Headington, who are not opting to feature their top crews in this event. Despite this, there is always room for an upset, especially from two clubs as strong as these. I would not put it past the likes of Headington to usurp the favourites and cause a real upset.
Prediction
Interestingly enough, very few of these crews chose to race in this category at National Schools’ Regatta, the traditional starting point for the Henley stretch. For that reason, I believe it will be the Marietta crew who will take the win due to their experience racing together. Racing next to them in the final, I believe it will be the formidable Kingston crew, who will be rewarded for their decision to split their eight.
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