The Junior Girls 16 eight category at National Schools’ has a very strong line-up this year. We will definitely be seeing the typical battle between Headington and Henley taking place next weekend, as well as some very competitive entries from other clubs across the country. It’s always difficult to decide who will take top spots but I have no doubt that this year’s entries will provide some impressive racing.
Headington
The Headington J16 eight have had a particularly strong season so far. In march we saw them take the win at the Schools’ Head of the River, ahead of Henley by eight seconds. After a difficult senior season to this point, that will have been some relief to the coaching team in Oxfordshire. Headington withdrew from Wallingford Regatta a few weeks ago so unfortunately it’s hard to compare their side by side results with other crews. Last year Evie Holt and Anna Mattocks competed in the J16 eight, which came third, and the J15 coxed quad, which won gold. Cici Hong was the cox of the victorious quad so I have no doubt she will have extremely valuable knowledge when it comes to lane racing at Dorney. Evie and Issie Magee have also competed at various GB trials throughout the year. Issie and Katie Jeans were part of the J14 coxed quad who won bronze last year at National schools’ alongside Cleo Shore, Eleanor Giles, Phoebe Horan and Anna Matveeva who all won silver in the J14 octuple scull event. With such a high level of experience from these young athletes I would definitely expect to see them in the top end of the medal table.
Henley Rowing Club
Henley have had a good start to their season with a win at Wallingford Regatta a few weeks ago. The J16 eight came second at Schools’ Head and did not compete at the women’s event hosted by Mens Head. Della Luke, Isabella Cotton and Georgina Pollard were all part of the J15 coxed quad who won silver at National Schools’ Regatta last year. Holly Thompson, Emilia Fulford-Dobson, Poppy Wilson and Darcey Smith placed second in the J15 coxed fours event. I have no doubt that this crew will perform extremely well next weekend and their expertise of side by side sweep racing will definitely serve as an advantage.
Marlow Rowing Club
The Marlow J16 eight recently competed at Wallingford Regatta where they placed second, 10 seconds behind Henley, the girls will definitely have used this as incentive to step on in the build up to National Schools’. Last year Molly Fennell, Molly Newman and Ella Corcoran were part of the quad that took home the bronze medal in J15 coxed quads. More recently, at The Junior Sculling Regatta, the eight was supposedly split into two quads, which placed second and fifth overall. These results show depth in the squad and I suspect that this year’s J16 eight is a very strong one.
Surbiton High School
Surbiton placed a commendable fourth at Schools’ Head back in March, they also competed at Wallingford Regatta where they placed fourth. It seems that the crew keep narrowly missing out on medals but coming in as the underdogs could be seen as a huge advantage. Sofia Lambert, Lucy Theobald, Olivia Lintott and Olivia Hubbard all competed in the B final of J15 coxed quads last year where they placed second. I’m excited to see what this crew can do.
It looks like it’s going to be a battle between Headington and Henley for the gold medal in this event, a match that the junior rowing scene knows all too well. I would expect to see Marlow and Surbiton not too far behind fighting over the remaining medal. However, as we all know the tables can easily turn at National Schools and it would be great to see an underdog take Dorney by storm. A few other crews to keep an eye on are: Sir Willian Perkin’s School, St Pauls Girls School and Great Marlow School.
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