Hot on the heels of Schools Head of the River, the Junior Sculling Head is among the first of the more high profile events of the season. With crews now having had plenty of opportunity to train for and practice their racing, it will be very exciting to see the progression and successes of the crews entered next week. I look forward to seeing the outcomes.
Henley RC – Fletcher
This crew raced at Henley Women’s Regatta in 2017, and qualified for the Saturday race but unfortunately lost out by one length. They also took gold at the 2017 Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, and Fletcher stroked the winning four at the 2017 Fours and Eights Head. With such strong performances behind them, I’ve no doubt that this quad will be going for gold, and will have a good chance of succeeding.
Walton RC – Stenning
The Walton juniors have done very well over the past few seasons. Stenning won the 2017 Pairs Head in the WJ18 2+, and also won her category by 3 lengths in the single at the 2017 Walton and Weybridge Regatta and took silver at the 2017 National Junior Sculling Regatta. Given that Walton RC has had a lot of success with its juniors in very high profile event such as Junior Brit Champs, I would expect this crew to perform very well.
Northwich RC – Cushen
This quad came fifth in the WJ18 4x- at this years Hampton Head, where Cushen also raced in the WJ18 2x, coming fourth. Northwich has also had many juniors representing the club at the Boston trials this February, suggesting that the squad has been consistently strong in their training. It will be interesting to see how they do.
Bedford Modern School Boat Club – Eales
This quad most recently raced at Nottingham Head of the Trent, coming forth in their category. Prior to this, the girls came second to Star Club at the Bedford Fours and Eights Head. Both of these results suggest that the crew is capable of doing very well, so it will be exciting to see how they’ve improved with a few weeks of solid training in preparation for this race.
Monmouth Comprehensive School BC – Boycott
The quad won the WJ16 coxless quads event at the Monmouth Regatta in 2016, and Boycott won her WJ16 single at the 2017 Monmouth Regatta. There is no further information of the quad specifically, but the Monmouth juniors appear to have been doing well with, successes at the 2017 Junior British Rowing Championships among other events.
Tideway Scullers School – Collington
TSS always prove strong competition, and I doubt that this crew will be any different. Though there is no specific information regarding this quad in particular, the junior squad did very well at the 2017 British Rowing Junior Championships, taking home two gold, three silver and three bronze medals, and coming second only to Henley. The club has also been very successful at the GB trials this February, with one crew taking first place in their trial. I look forward to seeing how the girls do.
Peterborough RC – Parker
The girls quad has started this season off with a bang, winning their race at the Peterborough Head of the Nene and coming second in the Women’s Open Tier 1 coxless quads at the 2018 Boston Head. With such a strong start to the year, I would image that this crew will go from strength to strength in the following season, and probably do rather well in the coming race.
The Kings School Worcester BC – Jethwa, Beckett
The Kings Worcester squad have also been doing rather well recently. At the Worcester Big Boats Head, Jethwa’s quad took first place, with members of the crew also racing in the mixed eight which won the Men’s Novice category. Both Beckett and Jethwa also raced in the eight which won at the Wycliffe Big Head in February, showing their flexibility and capability on the water.
Hinskey Sculling School – Marshall
In recent times, the Hinskey Sculling School has seen its membership increase drastically, meaning that there is less space for such an amount of keen athletes to train. However, this doesn’t mean that they will be less successful. Most recently, the quad came third at the Avon County Spring Head, and Marshall came third in the South of England Indoor Rowing Championships.
The Grange School RC – Campbell
Campbell was part of the composite coxless quad that won the WJ17 event at the 2017 Northwich Spring Head, and also raced in the composite eight that came ninth at last years Junior Inter-Regional Regatta. There is no information on the quad racing as a whole, so it will be interesting to see how they do.
Bewl Bridge RC – Ghauri
There is no specific information about this quad, however Bewl Bridge have had many successes over the past season. The junior squad took first place in various events at the 2017 Kingston Regatta, as well as successes at races such as Barnes and Mortlake and a range of medals from multiple categories at the 2017 Ball Cup.
Predictions:
1. Henley RC
2. Peterborough RC
3. Tideway Scullers School
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