In my humble opinion, there is no greater sight than a fast quad. Eight blades, in perfect harmony, scything through wind and water to propel four beautifully synchronised athletes to speeds that are unmatched by all but the eight.
I sound like a broken record but the standard of junior sculling has improved exponentially in the past few years. The winners of the Fawley Challenge Cup would fare well in the Prince of Wales, and junior crews are now not only competing in challenge events at major domestic regattas but winning them. This year’s Championship Quad category is stacked full of talent – power, aggression, technique and tenacity. There are crews bearing the heavy burden of expectation, crews buoyed by the quiet dignity of the underdog, crews with plenty to prove and crews determined to upset the form-book. A strong performance here can lay the groundwork for a pre-qualification spot at Henley Royal Regatta in six weeks time, an event that makes up the third section of the much-heralded Triple.
Maidenhead
You simply have to make these boys favourites. Their double win in March, seeing off the keen interests of The Windsor Boys School, Leander and Westminster School, was certainly impressive. Most of them were then selected to represent Great Britain at the Munich International Regatta, picking up a silver and a bronze for their efforts. They’ve been threatening to make good on their potential for several years now – they were dominant at J15 level and have been knocking on the door for a couple of seasons now. They’ve completed part one of the Triple, but multi-lane racing is a totally different animal – crews who lagged behind in the winter often gain unexpected speed as the summer rolls around. Their chief rivals were busy at Wallingford in their absence and I expect the National Schools’ Regatta to reflect that – there were only eight seconds to choose between Maidenhead and their closest rival at the Schools’ Head of the River. These boys take me pick for the win but they’ll have to pull a performance from the top locker.
Windsor Boys School BC
Defending their Champ Quads title here, Windsor Boys took both this event last year, as well as Champ 2x the following day. In terms of this season, Windsor Boys have 2 guys in the junior trialling system and as a crew had a reasonable winter season, placing 2nd at Schools Head and then the same result a day later at the Junior Sculling Head although some way off the winners of both those events Maidenhead. In terms of side by side racing, Windsor Boys had a strong showing at Ghent Spring Regatta winning J18 4x comfortably on the Saturday and Byrn Ellery taking 2nd in the J18 1x on the Sunday with that quad scratching from their event. Through not racing domestically since Head season, Windsor Boys have kept their cards close to their chest, but they will be up and around the medal podium on Saturday.
Leander Club
Leander have been doing a lot of racing this year, with a mainly settled crew, so really will be one of the favourites this year. This boat has 2 GB traillists on board in Joe Willis and Matt Peters and Tim Eliers recently raced at the German national team trial event. Leander’s winter campaign culminated in 3rd place finishes at both the Schools Head and the Junior Sculling Head, but have stepped on this summer. They had a training camp to Holland over the Easter break and this seems to have had an effect. In terms of regatta racing they raced a double header at both the Junior Sculling Regatta and Wallingford Regatta. At JSR, they secured a 1-2 in J18 4x, and the day after at Wallingford, with a slight crew change raced both Challenge and J18 4x. They placed 2nd in Challenge 4x and then 2nd again in J18 albeit in a much faster time than in Challenge. This Leander crew looks to be one of the best in recent years, and as such will be a major player on Saturday.
Westminster School
A crew returning to the roots that made them such a tour de force under Billy Mason. I competed as a junior in the shadow of profoundly excellent Westminster quads, battling to unseat a crew that was technically sound, powerfully built and impressively coached. This unit, who comprise the top four athletes from this year’s Westminster cohort, have been in fine form this season – they were fourth at the Schools’ Head of the River before announcing their intentions for regatta season by winning Challenge Quads at Wallingford. In the process, they beat crews from Leander, Hinksey Sculling School and Claires Court – it remains to be seen whether the Leander crew were from the junior squad. That was an important win for Josh Butler’s boys in setting the tone for the weeks ahead. They’ll be eyeing a podium finish but will need to see off some stern tests to get there – I’d always argue that the Championship Quad is the most competitive category in the entire regatta. I’m not sure they’re going to be winning the event outright but I expect to see some pink in the mixer.
Marlow RC
Back at the top end of the junior sculling it seems, Marlow have a very strong entry into this event this year. Coming off what was a year to forget for Marlow last year, with injury putting pay to their quad at this event last year, they will be looking to prove they are back on the biggest stage of all. Over the winter they produced a 5th place at Schools Head and then 8th in J18 and 2nd in J17 4x at the Junior Sculling Head. This suggests that this top crew will be a mix of J17s and J18s so it will be interesting to see how they compare in such a competitive event. As for the summer season they, like Leander raced at both the Junior Sculling Regatta and Wallingford Regatta placing 5th in the A final at both events. I feel as though this Marlow crew will definitely be targeting the A final, and with a good row, they could be a dark horse for a medal.
Claires Court
A crew who have fallen by the wayside a little this season. They’ve had a superb couple of seasons at the summit of junior rowing – including their first ever Henley Royal Regatta win in 2016 – but they’ve struggled to recreate that form in 2018. Tom Jost is running a tiny program there with limited resources, so it’s impressive that the school can turn out A-class crews consistently. They were fifth in the final of Challenge Quads at Wallingford, which was the first time we’d seen them race for a little while. That result won’t exactly have the front-runners quaking with fear but it’s a start after a tricky hangover. They’re always well drilled and fierce racers, but I’d be surprised if they manage a medal.
Hinksey Sculling School
One of the surprises of the season so far, Hinksey have a dangerous quad this year. They produced a credible 7th place finish at Schools Head, and they didn’t race at all at the Junior Sculling Head. They spent the Easter period in France on a training camp, and have stepped on as a result. This was demonstrated by a 4th place finish at the Junior Sculling Regatta, and then the day after at Wallingford they took a superb 4th place in Challenge 4x, however their time in this final would have had them last by some way in the J18 event at the same regatta. With all the big guns at this regatta, an A final placing would be a superb result for this crew, and one I feel they are well equipped to achieve.
Henley RC
Henley are a club more often associated with women’s rowing success, however the Junior men’s programme is also one of the leading Junior Sculling programmes as well with various members of the squad involved in the trials process this year. This years Henley squad has been strengthened with arrivals from Maidenhead RC. These guys were part of Maidenhead’s 2nd 4x last year so these guys know how to race at the top level. This year, this crews winter yielded a 4th place finish at the Junior Sculling Regatta. The interesting thing to note about this was that the first run from Henley was only a second shy of Leander. An Easter training camp to Wimbelball lake. There were no Henley quads in the J18 event at the Junior Sculling Regatta. The next day at Wallingford, the took a very tight win in the J18 4x event. This established Henley as one of the major threats to the event this year. I feel like the medals could be a possibility, this Henley crew could be an outside bet for the win.
Lea Rowing Club
This crew have emerged as a strong contender in the middle of the pack. They were third in junior quads at Wallingford, which isn’t a bad result when you consider that they beat crews from Marlow and Globe to do so. They’ve produced a couple of strong boats in the last few seasons, and have featured infrequently in the Fawley Challenge Cup. As a former high performance centre for GB Rowing, they’ve got the tools in place to produce athletes of a high calibre and their junior system has produced the likes of Maddy Badcott in the past few years. If they can secure a final berth, they’ll be delighted.
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