Absolutely filled with entries, the objective for these quads on Saturday will be to give a performance worthy of impressing the Henley stewards for pre-qualification for the Fawley Challenge Cup, which kicks off in only two weeks’ time! Most clubs will have gone back to the drawing board since National Schools’ Regatta, with some changes to seating order and even crew members, in the search for as much speed as possible in these late stages of the season. At this event, there are no semi-finals which decide the lineup for the finals, it is a straight decision from the finishing order of the time trial.
Henley
With no changes made to the crew that won at NSR, Henley will be favourites to storm to victory and round off their Fawley bid in fashion. What else is there to say about this crew? They are a phenomenal lineup that hard to defeat.
Leander
In search of setting the records straight against their local rivals Henley, there has been one change in this lineup from the silver-medallists at NSR. Stephen Hughes from their NSR-winning 2nd 4x comes into the 2 seat replacing Joe Willis. Only time will tell us if this change will be the difference Leander need to overturn Henley.
Lea
With the absence of Claire’s Court top quad in this event which bronzed at NSR, Lea have a chance to assert themselves to be a ‘best of the rest’ outfit. This feat will not be a given, however, as the event has now combined to introduce second crews from other clubs. Leander B and Henley B will no doubt be aiming to medal as well after setting times quick enough to beat the majority of Ch4x entries at NSR.
Gloucester Hartpury
Hartpury have also adjusted their crew since NSR, where they placed 6th. With such a large time gap to the top crews in this event, it is unlikely they will medal. The main objective for them will be to secure a top 7 spot in the time trial and then progress to the best placing possible in the A final.
St Paul’s School
It seems that St Paul’s have elected this year to prioritise qualifying their second-ranked crew in the Fawley instead of the Temple. Stroke seat Dom Valt makes the step down from his bow seat in the crew that won Ch 8+ at NSR to stroke this crew, backed-up by his partner from that bow pairing, George Langstone-Bolt. It will be interesting to see how easily they have transitioned from sweep rowing into sculling and whether they can surprise the more frequent entrants in this boat class.
Maidenhead
This entry from Maidenhead contains 2 J15s, a J16s, and one senior, who between them raced in 3 crews at NSR. Now that they have been brought together since then, this combination of experience and youth will have a challenge if they are to replicate the success of last year as close as possible. Although an A final spot seems out of their grasp, they should not be written off not to challenge for high placings in the other finals.
American School in London
This crew has come together after racing a single and double at NSR and have a lot of experience rowing together, so I imagine the transition into the quad was smooth, allowing them to crack on with their search of free speed straight away. When I spoke to them recently, they said they are excited to see what the future holds after getting in a boat together. They are looking forward to this one, and have their sights on Henley.
Prediction
With no changes to affect their progress since NSR, I do not think Henley can be stopped from winning on Saturday. Behind them in the silver and bronze we will most likely find Leander, and then either the Henley or Leander second quad, with Lea closely behind them.
OarsomeBows
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