The crews’ final preparations for National Schools are well underway, with the racing at Dorney Lake commencing in less than a week. Everyone’s hard work indoors and out on the water all comes down to this. This year promises to be another great year of side by side racing, with many schools and clubs in the mix to win medals.
Aberdeen Schools
Aberdeen will certainly be amongst the favourites to gun for the gold medal at NSR this year: a clinical showing at Schools’ Head with a blistering time that earned them a course record. However, we haven’t seen much of Aberdeen since, will they be dominant at NSR or have they rested on their laurels?
Westminster School
Another strong crew that has a very strong chance of finishing highly, with promising results at Ghent International Regatta and a win at Wallingford. Their experience and skills learnt on the tideway could give them a strong advantage when rowing on calmer waters at Dorney Lake. Westminster look impressive technically, with the crew rowing like a well-oiled machine, this crew is certainly one to look out for.
St. Pauls
St. Pauls narrowly missed out on a medal at Schools’ Head, they have smoothly transitioned from heads to regattas, with respectable showings at BASHER and Bedford Regatta. They did not race at Wallingford despite appearing on the entry list, there is a small uncertainty on their true potential. There is every chance St. Pauls have been concealing their true pace, and could very much be a strong contender at National Schools’ this year.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Shiplake College have now established themselves as one of the top rowing schools in the country, consistently punching above their weight: a bronze medal at Schools’ Head is an example of that, narrowly beating St.Pauls by 0.1 seconds, but have since been bested by St. Pauls with a defeat in the Semi Finals at Bedford. With a smooth transition from heads to regattas, and with improvements made during camp at La Base, they started their regatta season well with 2 bronze medals at Ghent International (albeit behind Westminster). Shiplake have changed their crews regularly, with different crew members and combinations throughout the rowing season, will the lack of continuity prove to be a disadvantage, or has their coach found their sweet spot? This could be the case with a very impressive performance that saw them win at Thames Ditton. Shiplake will be expecting to finish strongly in the A final.
Tideway Scullers School
Last seen at Wallingford, they look to be a contender for a top spot in the A Final. Tideway Scullers have shown that they have the ability to be resilient and row with a long and strong stroke, enabling them to row through crews during the middle stages of the race.
Hampton School
Hampton came 8th at Schools’ Head, but have proven to be stronger over a 2k course, with a top 3 finish at Wallingford Regatta. They were eliminated early on at Bedford Regatta, but this may likely be a blip in form for them, and they will be expecting to make the A final.
Winchester School
Winchester this year have appeared to be a surprisingly strong crew this year, with 5th at Schools’ Head and 4th at Wallingford. This crew will be a standout one for Winchester, not many would have predicted them to be a contender, but with their results throughout the rowing season, they have to be expected to battle for a spot in the A final.
Eton College
This J15 crew have been poor all season, with results far below their usual expectations. They will need to dig deep to make the A-B Semis at National Schools’, as they will face tough opposition, or have they been wrongly written off?
Abingdon School
Abingdon had a decent head season, and found a lot of speed at Temple Sur Lot and have shown signs of improvement during the regatta season, with a place in the finals at Bedford. Abingdon’s true speed could take some by surprise next weeked.
St. Josephs
An overseas crew taking part this year, they won the Limerick Regatta but came last at the Irish Schools’ Regatta. No crew would make the effort to race abroad unless they thought they have a good crack at it, or are they here to enjoy the occasion?
I expect some very hard racing just to make the A final. There are some very good crews this year and it is very hard to predict exactly who will make the A Final, as there are 8 very capable crews fighting for the 6 spots in the A Final.
A Final predictions:
Aberdeen Schools
Westminster
St Pauls
Tideway Scullers
Shiplake
Winchester
Written by Outofmyscull
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