The double scull is a boat class too often laid aside in favour of the fast, intense racing that the Eights and Quads provide; but this oversight means that those who peer into the world of rowing are never privy to one of the most dramatic boats on the water. The double combines the perfectionist elegance of the quads, with the personal search for power and efficiency in the single sculls. The result of this? Dramatic racing and legacies that are built on waters from the Tideway to the international circuit.
The Junior 16 Doubles at National Schools’ Regatta this year is the largest entry for this age category by far, with over 70 scullers expected to lock in their blades and line up on the start line for their race of the year. Crews will converge in Dorney from far and wide where they will compete to be one of a select few that will be able to lay claim to a gold medal at the premier junior rowing event of 2019.
Wycliffe Junior Rowing Club:
Wycliffe have become a club synonymous with excellence in small boats, especially in the Midlands where their crews dominate most of the regional Regattas. The crew they have entered for National Schools is composed of Singles specialist Danny Mulligan at Bow, complimented at stroke by his teammate Max van der Linden. This combination dominated at Pairs’ Head where they took the Headship by a margin of 3 seconds ahead of St. Pauls their closest competitor. Earlier in the Season Mulligan proved his worth, taking the win in the single on the hallowed waters of Henley, where he and a fellow Wycliffe Sculler took a 1-2 in the Long Distance Sculls. Later in the Season, these two oarsmen were likely in the Wycliffe Quad that was forced to settle for a somewhat disappointing fourth-place finish at the Junior Sculling Head.
As Regatta Season rolled around van der Linden and mulligan once again found themselves in the Wycliffe quad, where they missed out on a position on the podium when they crossed the line in fifth place. The true power of these two scullers seems to be unleashed when alone in a narrower, nimbler boat, as demonstrated when they won the J16 event at the Ball Cup in Eton earlier this month. Wycliffe are clearly one of the primary contenders for a medal at NSR this year, but in a field as tight as this they will have to row their best race if they want to realise their potential, and live out their dreams.
Tideway Scullers School:
Often only recognisable on the open water as a blur of yellow and red, the crews of Tideway Scullers School are equipped with enviable speed and technical perfection which they have put to use in record-breaking ways over the last few years – their J16 cohort this year is no exception. Despite having very little presence in the doubles throughout the Head Season, their J16 quad containing the Nat Schools’ stroke-man Will Grimwood finished on top form at the Junior Sculling Head where they beat their closest competitors by a definitive margin of 8 seconds. A similar quad also containing Will Grimwood then raced again at the Junior Sculling Regatta at the start of the new season, bringing home gold that puts them at a strong advantage coming up to Nationals.
Having spent many hours on the waters at Eton Dorney this crew know the course well, Grimwood racing in the Tideway J15 coxed quad at NSR last year, but only progressing to the B final. It will be this mix of tangible frustration at last years race combining with the confidence this pairing have gained from Head Season that will act as fuel for a threatening Tideway engine their coaches have engineered within these young scullers.
Exeter Rowing Club:
One of the most exciting crews to watch from the start of this Season has been Ed Fuller and Oliver Wickham from one of the South’s most successful rowing clubs: Exeter. Their 250 mile round trip to Nottingham at the end of April to compete in the Junior Sculling Regatta was not put to waste when they came away having dominated their category, finding consistent speed and winning in a competitive field. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this is simply the new boy wonder crew of this season. Ed Fuller, the stroke of this formidable pairing began winning national medals back in 2017 when he won the sprint event at the British Indoor Championships, despite battling haemophilia throughout his life. This combination will be a formidable team this weekend, and any club underestimating their abilities may well pay the price….
Lea Rowing Club:
One of the rising stars in both junior and senior rowing, Lea rowing club continue to produce athletes of the highest calibre and quality. The scullers at Lea enjoyed a quiet winter Season with very few rowers battling over the longer, colder Head Races, and although it would have been easy for them to slip out of practice; it seems the more intense training such a regime has allowed for, is paying dividends. At JSR the combination of Sam O’Connor and Marlow DePeza-Purvis produced a respectable result when they placed second, only being beaten by the Southern Scullers of Exeter Rowing Club. As previously mentioned, this is a crew that has sculled in the shadows this Season, is it possible they could rise from the murky waters at of Tottenham and be crowned victors in the blue waters of Dorney? Yes, though that is a question that cannot be answered in full confidence until the gold is hung around two shoulders later this week.
In conclusion
The beauty of the sport that we devote our lives to is that it is simultaneously simple and modestly intricate in a way no other sport can be. Crews change from year to year, and in many cases from day-to-day, this is a reality all too pressing for these boys. This may well be the last time they race together in these boats and these combinations, before moving on the bright lights of Championship rowing, that brings both glory and bureaucracy in a partnership almost as technically complex as the sport itself.
This weekend will bring glory for the few, and despair for the masses, but one variable is fixed and unchanging. By the time any of these boys – whether previewed above or not – cross the finish line they will have broken boundaries, both physical and mental, that will propel them into the boats that constitute some of the most exciting racing next season.
Good Luck!
OneScull
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