The winter miles are in the bank, the seat racing and small boat testing done and Easter camps signed off. The Junior Sculling Regatta is the curtain raiser for this year, with a morning time trial determining the side by side draw later in the day. This event, raced over 1500m gives crews a chance to lay down their potential hand for the summer months with National Schools looming large on the horizon. The J18 4x has an 11 boat entry so there will no doubt be some close racing with fine margins.
Star and Arrow Club
A two boat entry as has been the standard form from what is the Leander Club juniors here with the top crew entered under the name of Willis. This crew came 3rd at both the Schools Head and Junior Sculling Head. Leander had 3 athletes at the recent GB trials in Nottingham with the top result being 5th in the JM1x. As Willis was one of these 3 this does suggest a quality crew. Another memeber of the squad also was at the recent German squad trials so Leander really do have a good calibre squad this year, hoping to be the squad that finally fulfill their potential as those who have gone before them may not quite have done. Whilst I don’t expect the second crew to be as fast, they did finsh a strong 6th at Schools head so clearly are a competent crew who will want to give the A crew a run for its money.
Marlow RC
This is an important season for Marlow, a club with a strong history of crew sculling boats having had a poor season last year with elimination on the Wednesday at Henley. With no J17 4x Marlow have been able to combine their top athletes to make their crew. At the Junior Sculling Head, they had a J18 crew finish 8th with a J17 crew 2nd so I think combining the two crews will result in a much faster quad here, a crew that will want to put down a marker and challenge the top Leander crew for the win here.
RGS High Wycombe
Another solid sculling programme, RGS High Wycombe have put out what appears to be their top crew for this event and as such I would it expect it to be very strong. The crew is entered under the name of  Hinves who had raced in the early stages of the GB trials process so clearly a good standard of crew. At the Schools Head they finished 9th in Ch4x behind both Leander crews so it will be interesting to see if they have turned the tables on Leander in the time since Schools Head.
Northwich RC
Northwich have made the long journey and will only be making it if they feel they have a realistic chance of winning a medal. The crew is entered under the name of Burke, who won J18 1x at the recent Northwich spring Head. In terms of results as a crew they placed 13th in a tough Hampton field. Â That said, Hampton was a long time ago so crews will no doubt have found some speed so this crew could be one to watch come Saturday.
Predictions
In terms of picking a winner, I would think Star and Arrow-Willis will win this one, trials experience proving decisive in this crew. I think the medals will be completed by Marlow and Northwich, however RGS High Wycombe and the other entries will all have something to say so we can expect some close racing come Saturday.
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