HRR 2021 – Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup Preview

Although we couldn’t convene to watch the draw in person, the tense wait for the list to be published was just as nerve-wracking. For those who tuned in online, the atmosphere might have been different, but the ceremonial act of picking names still feels special, like the ribbon is being officially cut on Henley Royal Regatta 2021- it’s open and ready for business. In terms of the crews, this Diamond Jubilee category is stacked with talent, and now we know who qualified and who didn’t, the real work can begin. 

Shiplake College ‘A’ and ‘B’: 

It goes without saying that this crew has had an absolute corker of a season and are the ones with all the expectations going into this week. But with expectations comes intense pressure, and I’m sure they will be trying to focus on each race as it comes because, as we all know, anything can happen at HRR. With a win at National Schools’, Henley Women’s Regatta and Junior British Championships, the victory at HRR would be the crowning glory of an already glittering season. But it will not be a walk in the park; there are some new unknown crews in this category, some further amalgamations, some boats moving from sweeping to sculling. The field is more open than that of HWR, and it will take all of the experience they have gained to win. Shiplake also has a ‘B’ crew in this event; it’s a testament to the strength of their programme that they have two crews qualifying for Henley. This crew certainly shouldn’t be underestimated just because of their ‘B’ boat status, however. In fact, three of this crew were part of the Shiplake quad that took gold at Brit Champs when the other three top Shiplake scullers took a stroll in the small boats (where they won both the single and the double) – meaning the top seven girls at Shiplake completed a clean sweep in girl’s sculling; if that’s not intimidating, I don’t know what is. The draw would theoretically allow for an all-Shiplake final, though I suspect others in this event have other plans. 

Glasgow Academy: 

As I tentatively predicted, if these girls could turn their sweep success into a powerful sculling boat, they would be dangerous. Glasgow clearly can because they stormed down the Eton Dorney course yesterday to qualify, and it will be interesting to see how they develop over the week. This crew is the exact one that won by a massive margin of twenty seconds at National Schools’ in the Championship fours, and then it was this same four that won at HWR by three lengths. In sweeping terms, they are the undefeated champions; it will be fascinating to see if they can cause the same damage in a sculling boat. If they’re as strong as they look on paper, they could be seriously competitive. 

Marlow R.C: 

This crew cannot be overlooked for multiple reasons. One, the club’s reputation: Marlow has had a long history of success and has an excellent programme that pumps out talent all the time. The second reason is that they have had a brilliant season, but one that has been marred by the fact they have come second to the Shiplake crew at the major competitions. Not to put a finer point on things, but despite being a strong boat, they will need something special to pull off a win against Shiplake here. However, there are potentially many rounds and variables before they meet each other again, and until then, this is a crew that is one to watch out for. 

Wycliffe Junior R.C ‘A’ and ‘B’:

I have already mentioned what happened at HWR for this crew, so I won’t go into detail again. Instead, I will focus on the achievements of this boat. A convincing second place to Shiplake at Junior British Championships a few weeks ago, only a second behind them over the line and a strong performance at National Schools’ where they came 4th show that this is a crew with serious potential. There is one crew member different in what I assume is the A boat from the lineup at NSR but the same one from Brit Champs, so based on the general performance of Wycliffe over the last few years, they clearly have a lot of talent to pick from. It is worth mentioning that they actually qualified fastest at HWR, ahead of Shiplake by a second. I think this crew could cause an upset if they are given a chance and could feasibly make an appearance on Sunday. Wycliffe is also the other club with a ‘B’ crew, again an outstanding achievement to get two units into Henely. Their ‘B’ crew had modest success at HWR, getting into the heats, which shows the squad’s strength as a whole. 

Tideway Scullers’ School: 

Usually, I would say that a quad from Tideway would, without a doubt, be a top competitor, but this year they haven’t performed as well. They only made it into the B final at NSR and didn’t enter a boat at HWR for the quads; they did have a four that made it into the semi-final, but no quad. However, the fact that one of the rowers, Zoe Scheske, who won the singles event at HWR in a decisive style, has been so successful makes it tempting to believe that they can pull something out of the bag. 

Peterborough City RC:

I am excited by this Peterborough crew. I got to watch the double that won at HWR in person and was very impressed with the way they sculled, both Drake-Lee and Bolton are in this boat, and if they can replicate the convincing win they got at that regatta, this boat will be unstoppable. Again as predicted, they successfully qualified on Saturday and seemed to be a strong crew. They are one of the more unknown ones, a Peterborough quad hasn’t taken to the water at any significant competitions this year, but based on what I saw at HWR, I think this crew will be strong. 

York City RC

York didn’t have a presence at National Schools’ Regatta, but they have performed well when they have turned up this season. With a fourth place at Junior British Champs, they were also fourth fastest in the time trials at HWR, although they got beaten in the quarter-finals by the eventual finalists Marlow. If they can translate that time trial result into a more robust side-by-side racing performance and if they can push themselves one or two better than they did at Brit Champs, they might have a chance at going far in this competition. 

Wallingford R.C: 

Wallingford has improved significantly, to the point that they consistently have very good crews that are ones to keep an eye on; this quad is no exception. This season they have had success but fall short of clubs like Shiplake and Wycliffe. They came behind Wycliffe at National Schools’ and Junior British Championships – and lost to Shiplake at HWR. This is a classic case of being the underdog, and they are a very impressive underdog. If this crew has a good day, it could shake things up a bit, which is what we want from HRR. 

Hartpury College:

Hartpury has a particular reputation in this category, having won it four years consecutively from 2014-2017. So there was a big chunk of time whenever you saw Hartpury/Gloucester come up on the draw; you could instantly predict what was going to happen. However, in more recent times, they have been much more erratic results-wise, and this year has been another one of those. Although they have some solid finishes, a fifth at Brit Champs, and they did make it into the first round of the heats at HWR, it isn’t enough to convince me that they will get to the final here at HRR. Despite this, they still have a good programme and talented rowers, which could still cause some trouble. 

St Edward’s School:

It feels unfair to talk about Hartpury without bringing up the crew that knocked them out at HWR in the heats and ended up losing out in the semi-finals to Marlow. St Edward’s, or ‘Teddies‘ as you often hear the supporters shout from the bank, have made some serious strides in the last year or so. Their HWR result was an improvement from their National Schools’ one, which was third place in the B final. If they continue on this trajectory, then there’s no reason why their performance at HRR won’t be better again, and if it is, they will be a competitive crew for sure. 

Nottingham and Union RC:

This is another club with some solid results this season; they came first in the B final at NSR with a time that was two seconds faster than the Henley crew, who came last in the A final. At Henley Women’s, they got through to the heats, and at Brit Champs, they came sixth in the A final. So they seem to perform well, and if they can improve on these results, they could have some success. 

Great Marlow School: 

The quad from Great Marlow was not always a quad; earlier in the season, the quartet of Clayton, Rackstraw, Stewart and Bradley was a successful four, placing fourth in the Championship fours at NSR. Sensibly, because of the lack of junior fours category at HRR, they transitioned to the quad for Henley Women’s and British Champs, unfortunately. However, this was not entirely a fortuitous change. They did not qualify past the time trials at HWR and came fifth in the B final at Junior Brit Champs. Perhaps for this crew, the change from sweeping to sculling will prove to be too much. 

Lea R.C: 

Some of the girls in this crew, Alice Metcalf, have been around on the junior circuit for a while and have been very successful. This now is the pinnacle of their junior careers, and again they are another club that is bringing together rowers who have been separated for a lot of this season. The doubles of Forde and Wyn-Jones won the B final at NSR, and Dawson came third in the A final in the singles. Lea has consistently performed well over the years, and all of these athletes are talented; I hope they make it through a few rounds to show us what they can do. 

Commercial Rowing Club, Ireland:

As is often the way with the Irish crews, they come into the competition as more unknown entities. Having said that, based on the performances from both the Northern Irish and Irish crews at HWR, it is clear that there is a wealth of talent across the Irish sea. Commercial Rowing Club has produced Olympians and Junior world-class rowers over the years, so I am excited to see if this crew can cause any upsets. 

Newark R.C:

This category feels a little bit like the battle of the doubles, with Newark also using their bronze medalist double of Neve Woodman and Connie Ferrer as the bow pair in this quad. However, this is one of the crews that had to race on Saturday at Eton, and they successfully qualified; despite the strong bow pair, I think it will take something special for them to make it to the weekend. 

Northwich RC: 

Northwich attempted to follow Shiplake and Wycliffe and get two of their boats into the category, but unfortunately, the ‘B’ boat didn’t make it past the qualifying race on Saturday. There has been some shifting within Northwich, as Smyth, who was in the quad that made it into the heats at HWR, was in the ‘B’ boat and was also not in the boat that came fourth in the B final at Brit Champs. They have had some solid results, but I think they will get lost in the weekday racing. 

Reading RC:

This is one of the other crews that is a bit of an unknown quantity. Reading had a sculler at HWR that made it to the final, and she is not in this boat, but it is an excellent example of some talent around at Reading. Even though they have not yet raced a J18 quad at any major competition, they did still qualify on Saturday, so they have some speed. Whether or not they will be quick enough to make it past Wednesday is up for debate.

Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Boat Club: 

It was a battle of the schools for Sir Willam Borlase at Henley Women’s, with them losing out to Teddies in the quarter-finals, a result I’m sure they will be hoping to amend this week. This crew has a tough first round against Glasgow, so it will be an outstanding achievement if they make it past Wednesday. 

Sir William Perkins’s Sch:

This is another crew that hasn’t rowed together consistently this season. However, SWPS entered two crews at NSR, combining them to create a semi-successful quad at Henley Women’s, making it through to the quarter-finals. At Brit Champs, they won the B final, which convinces me that they could make it into Thursday’s racing, depending on how they fare against Commercial Rowing Club. 

Claires Court School: 

The stroke pair of this quad, Hannah Hickson and Nuala MacFarlane, got the closest to the Peterborough double at HWR, losing out to them in the final and again at NSR, where it was Peterborough, Claire Court and Newark on the podium for the doubles. Again, another crew that has only just been put together; they had a decent regatta at British Champs, coming sixth in the B final. I can’t help but wonder, like with many of these more scratch crews, if the extra couple of weeks between British Champs and HRR will serve them very well. They are obviously skilful athletes, and now they have had time to gel as a crew, they could perform much better. 

Trentham B.C:

The Trentham crew is another boat that had to fight for qualification on Saturday, and they have had a few changes in their lineup since NSR, with I. Punchard coming in instead of M. Birnbacher. They did not race as a quad at Henley Women’s or Brit Champs, but again, as we have seen so many times in this category, at least one of these athletes was in the double that made the semi-finals at HWR. If they have used their time wisely, I could see this crew making it to the racing on Thursday. 

Walton R.C:

A last-minute change, HRR never fails to provide the drama; Walton has replaced Hinksey in the draw after Hinksey pulled out this morning. They are the fastest non-qualified crew and now know what it’s like to almost miss out on the dream at HRR; who knows how much that will inspire them. The Walton four got second place behind the dominant Glasgow crew at NSR, and despite a slight change in members, TJM Beard instead of Elysia Rushworth at bow, the crew is the same. They did not take a quad to Henley. Instead, they stuck with the four and disappointedly lost out to the eventual winners, Glasgow Academy, in the heats. At Brit Champs, with the original NSR lineup, they came forth in the fours A final. Just as we have seen with the Glasgow Academy crew, they could be quick if they can translate this success into sculling. 

Predictions: 

As always at Henley Royal, the field feels wide open. We have crews that have now had time to settle into new formations, ones that may have peaked too early this season and some completely unknown. Shiplake seems like the favourites, and while that would be a safe bet, everyone seems to step their games up when they get onto that course. Glasgow Academy will be fascinating to watch to see if they can do the impressive task of translating their sweeping success into sculling success – and of course, Wycliffe, York and Marlow will also be potent boats on the reach. Part of me hopes for some surprises and upsets, but mostly I can’t wait to see everyone rowing at their absolute best. As we well know, anything can happen at Henley, and I, for one, am excited to see how this event unfolds.

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