With the noise from the National Schools’ Regatta just about fading into the background, we move into serious preparation territory for Henley Royal Regatta. This weekend should see the majority of major players for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup take to the water in a variety of events.
Open Eights (Saturday and Sunday)
The very best junior eights often choose to pitch themselves against top-end club and university crews, in the hope of gaining an edge on their age-group rivals. On the Saturday, Abingdon will be hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on an ‘A’ final placing last weekend. That was a poor result from the boys in pink, in a weekend where they struggled across the board – their J16’s did perform well to save face somewhat. They tend to get faster for Henley, and will be aiming to do the same this year. At the Met, they’ll be up against Hampton and Eton College, who also underwhelmed at the National Schools’ Regatta. Eton in particular were perhaps expecting to medal but failed to make an impact in the final in an admittedly un-favoured lane. Their second eight were frighteningly fast, whilst they won a very strong gold in Championship Coxed Fours on the Sunday, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked to amalgamate the two. To complete the Saturday junior line-up, Radley College are boating their top crew. Last weekend was a revelation for these boys, as they revealed a hand far stronger than anyone believed them to possess. A silver medal in Championship Eights, behind a St Paul’s crew who were some distance ahead of the field, reflects very well on Radley and they’ll be hoping to establish a margin of comfort ahead of the chasing pack.
On the Sunday, we’ve only got one featured junior crew – but they so happen to be the best of the lot. St Paul’s, who we featured in an extensive interview a couple of days ago, will race at the Met as preparations for the Quadruple ramp up. This will be one of two times we get to see these boys in action before Henley Royal Regatta, so pay close attention to how they’re moving. I wouldn’t expect them to be a great deal quicker than last weekend – indeed, with rest and recovery, they may be a tad slower – but they’ll be looking to pick up the pace in the next couple of weeks. I imagine they’ll be looking to keep pace with Thames Rowing Club, who they regularly train with on the Tideway.
Academic Field (Saturday and Sunday)
A smattering of junior crews mixed amongst Temple hopefuls. Eton’s second eight race on the Saturday in a field which also contains Championship Eight ‘A’ finalists Latymer Upper School – the match-up between these two should be fascinating as I wouldn’t imagine there’ll be much between them.
Junior Quads
A pretty reasonable field, albeit lacking representatives from any of the crews who medalled in Championship Quads last Saturday. European Champion Jake Offiler races in the Globe crew, who should be considered one of the favourites – they’ll be up against stiff competition from Marlow and Henley, the latter of whom finished fifth in the ‘A’ final last weekend. Claires Court have three crews entered but, despite the obvious depth, I don’t think they’ll be making a Henley final this year. We’ve also got an entry from Neptune Boat Club, Ireland – crews like this don’t tend to make the trip unless they’re fairly confident they have some speed.
I’d love to talk about some women’s entries too, but my scan of the draw picked out nobody who may be contending for victory next month. If anyone can prove me wrong, let me know!
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