Girls Championship quads are without doubt one of the most highly anticipated events at the National Schools’ Regatta. This event is often a good indicator for clubs to see if any necessary changes are needed before the prestigious Diamond Jubilee event at Henley Royal Regatta later on this season. The coxless quad is unfortunately the only boat class available to junior women at Henley and, much like any other event, allows only the top crews to qualify. Well constructed crew formations will be vital leading into the few regattas left this season and the crew’s ability to not panic and shorten up when suddenly placed between five other boats will be a key factor of success in this event. Last year we saw the likes of Henley, Latymer Upper School and Marlow finish on the podium and after tasting victory in 2018, these crews will be hungry for more.
Headington School
Headington have two quads entered into the championship event this year. Alice Van Onselen is a returner from last year’s quad and the boat club’s current captain. Alice represented Great Britain at the Coupe last summer in the coxless four and eight, winning gold in both. Victoria Gothard is a new addition to Headington School and has done well throughout the GB trialing system this year. After transferring from Maidenhead at the start of this academic year, Victoria has gained selection for the Champ eight as well as the Champ Quad. Trudie Marks competed at the GB France match last summer in the double and raced at february trials as a J16 this year. Claudia Rossington is another strong J16 GB trialist from the Headington Boat and achieved bronze alongside Trudie in the J16 quad last year as well as winning Schools Head earlier this year in the J16 eight. I would expect a strong performance from these girls due to the depth of their experience in this boat class.
Henley Rowing Club
Henley are on a roll. They achieved first and third at the National Sculling Head to complement their silverware from the Schools’ Head three days prior. Sophia Hahn is a returner in this boat and last summer raced at Worlds as the US national team reserve single. After winning gold in this event last year I’m sure she will be after nothing less this year. Daisy Bellamy is a new addition to Henley Rowing Club, recently transferring from Marlow. She had a very successful year last year, racing at Coupe in the coxless quad and eight, reaching the final of Henley Royal Regatta and coming third in champ quads at the National Schools’ Regatta. Daisy also competed in the coxless quad at GB France in 2017. Georgia Brown and Hannah Hills both won gold in the J16 Quad and J16 Eight last year.
Tideway Sculling School
Tideway Scullers have had a good start to their season with a gold at Wallingford regatta a few weeks ago. Jessie Goodall was the England captain last year at the Home International Regatta and competed in the coxed four and eight, winning gold in both events. Issy Lack has been one of the most successful juniors throughout the GB trialing system over the past two years. She raced at Munich Regatta last year and Coupe last summer in the coxless quad. Ruby O’Keeffe recently competed at the Sydney International Regatta and won gold in both the J18 single and J18 double. Evelyna Davies represented Wales last year at the Home International Regatta in the double and quad. With so much experience with international racing, I would definitely expect this quad to perform particularly well.
Latymer Upper School
The Latymer champ quad have traditionally had great success at the National Schools’ Regatta, coming away with a silver medal in 2018. They also reached the Saturday of Henley Royal Regatta but were knocked out by the winners. Mia Anderson is a returner from last years quad and competed in the coxless four at the Junior World Championships last summer; her expertise in regatta style racing will be a strong advantage to the crew. Darla Matthews, Maddie Lloyd and Mia Anderson all gained selection for the GB France match in 2017 and raced in the coxless quad. It seems these girls have spent a lot of time in the quad together unlike several crews who have new additions to their programmes.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow have had a successful season in quads so far, with gold and bronze to boast of from the Junior Sculling Regatta and bronze at Wallingford Regatta in the junior/schools quad event. Tara Brogan, Eve Lombardo and Emma Dabinett came fourth in the J16 girls quads at this event
last year so will no doubt be chasing a medal in 2019. Those three girls also competed at the GB France match in the coxless quad, gaining valuable experience of side by side racing. Last year’s Championship Quad reached the final of Henley Royal Regatta but were defeated by the indomitable Y Quad Cities US outfit. Marlow definitely seem to step on during the summer, but question marks linger over whether they will be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat and upset the odds next weekend.
A few more crews who are definitely worth keeping an eye on next weekend are: Surbiton High School, Gloucester Hartpury, Lea Rowing Club and Sir William Borlase. Good luck to everyone racing!
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