Anyone for a National Schools’ Regatta round two? Just under a week after some of the country’s finest junior men’s quads took to the water to pursue national glory, seven of the eight finalists from the Championship Open Quads return to Dorney Lake to pit their collective wits and weapons against each other once again. With gold, silver and bronze all present at the Metropolitan Regatta – albeit not all in the same category – we get to see the Fawley Challenge Cup contestants back under the microscope as the run-in to Henley Royal Regatta properly begins.
The Windsor Boys School
How do you stop the Windsor war machine? They’re the best junior sculling program in the country and are showing no signs of slowing down in the face of increasing competition. Many had written them off after a fairly uninspiring winter but they emphatically dismissed any notion that their reign of dominance was over on Sunday, winning the Championship Open Quads ahead of Marlow and pre-race favourites and previously unbeaten Leander. Mark Wilkinson will be under no illusion the scale of the task in front of him – all of the defeated from last weekend will be back with a vengeance, beginning Saturday.
Leander Club (G Hutchins)
Leading the pack of Championship Open Quads out of the time trial at the Metropolitan Regatta, Leander will be keen to put a disappointing National Schools’ Regatta behind them. We won’t get to see a like-for-like comparison between the Pink Palace and their junior contemporaries, as Leander have chosen to race up a category, but the sterner tests certainly lie with senior competition. Leander last won the Fawley Challenge Cup in 2019, rounding off a season-long battle with Henley Rowing Club to be crowned the fastest junior quad in the land. They’ll be determined to re-scale those lofty heights come Henley Royal Regatta 2023.
Marlow Rowing Club
The plucky upstart whose consistency and tenacity at the highest level should be applauded. Marlow have a rich history of boating superb junior quads – harking back to their 2013 Fawley Challenge Cup victory and 2014 Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup final appearance – but the ultimate prize so often eludes them. They kept Windsor Boys honest in the opening kilometre at the National Schools’ Regatta but eventually ran out of steam, ending up in a dogfight with Leander Club for the silver medal. They’re a talented bunch with three of the four from last year’s Junior 16 Open Quads-winning crew and Jerry Anderson, who took the Junior 16 Open Doubles prize.
Claires Court School Boat Club
The battle between Claires Court and Hinksey during the final on Sunday was one of the more compelling narratives in a race that sort of folded out into two distance contests (medals and minor placings). After leading Hinksey to the halfway point, Claires Court fell back and never managed to regain parity. Their program never fails to surprise in the run-in to Henley Royal Regatta though – they came from nowhere to win the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup last season with a J15 on-board. Their main aim on Saturday needs to be gaining ground on the group ahead of them – namely Hinksey and Leander.
Hinksey Sculling School
One of the feel-good tales in junior rowing at the moment, Hinksey have gone from quiet insurgent to genuine heavyweight contender in a few short years. Their boy’s eight in 2021 shook up the established order at the National Schools’ Regatta before devolving into a coxed four and making it all the way to the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup. In 2022, they were bronze medalists in the Championship Girls Eight and 2023 has started well – two medals, including a gold in Championship Girls Coxless Fours – puts them in a really strong place approaching the Henley series. Their boys quad might benefit from an injection of pace from the pair who took bronze in the Championship category on Sunday but let’s see what Director of Rowing Bodo Schulenburg has up his sleeve.
Tideway Scullers School
Winners of the Fawley Challenge Cup in 2021, it is rare that a crew from TSS aren’t kicking around somewhere at the business end of junior rowing. They were seventh at the National Schools’ Regatta, a result that bettered their tenth-place finish at the Schools’ Head of the River in March. Now under the custody of Richard Hawes, formerly of Oxford Brookes fame, this crew can look forward to a Henley Royal Regatta campaign with none of the weight of expectation that has saddled previous TSS outfits. They’re a very good junior crew and I expect them to make the Friday of that competition – anything beyond that would be testament to superb work in the next few weeks. As for this weekend, the re-run may come a little too soon for any dramatic improvements but if they can close on Hinksey and Claires Court, they’ll consider that a job well done.
Leander Club (R Apatu)
Some might question my choice to select two Leander boats in the same preview but history and precedent should provide ample evidence as to why two crews from a fast-moving club should be referenced. Even ignoring the obvious all-Windsor final in the Fawley Challenge Cup last year, Leander ‘B’ have been going well all year. They were fifth in Junior Open Quads at the Schools’ Head of the River which followed a fourth-placed finish at the Fours Head back in November. They won Second Open Quads last weekend by a comfortable six seconds and training alongside their ‘A’ crew is only going to make them quicker.
Kingston Rowing Club
The last ‘A’ finalist from the Championship Open Quads roster at the National Schools’ Regatta and arguably the crew with the most to gain on Saturday. It will have escaped no-one’s attention that winds played a profound part in racing at Dorney last weekend and Kingston were out in Lane 8, which incidentally provided the least shelter from the wind. Their racing into that final was what qualified them into that lane, so they can be no complaints, but it’s worth reflecting that the margin between Windsor and Kingston probably is not 25 seconds over 2000m.
Predictions
I have a feeling Leander will come back really strong. I’m not sure they’ll have the horsepower to push past Windsor Boys yet but last Sunday will have stung and revenge will be on their mind, no matter how much coach Jonny Jackson councils otherwise. Marlow are not to be discounted but I think their time in the sun will be next season when all of their athletes reach the final year of their junior rowing careers. Windsor to win, Leander in second and Marlow in third.
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