At the start of regatta season, with training camps completed, comes National Schools Regatta. After the cancellation of most races at SHORR this year, it will be interesting to see how new emerging crews will cope, since this is the first time to properly measure their talent. This year, there is a strong presence from Scottish athletes and crews.
Many crews from Scotland travel down for the event to put themselves up against some of the best crews in the UK. This year especially, there is a lot of potential in the Scottish crews. This will be a good way to prepare, for some crews, for their Fawley and Princess Elizabeth campaigns at Henley.
Girls Champ 1x
Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association – Megan Hewison
This promising young talent proved her worth with a top 10 finish at trials this year, proving herself a strong force in the single. She is also coming off the back of a win at Munich International Regatta in the GB junior 4-, alongside her clubmate Abigail Topp. It will be interesting to see how she can convert this into her sculling. I believe she has the potential to make the A final and potentially medal.
Glasgow Academy Rowing Club – Anna Buchanan
Last year at Home International Regatta, Anna represented Scotland in the WJ 1x as a j16, proving her potential in the older age groups. She also competed in the W 4x at Henley last year for her club and school, Glasgow Academy. She has shown promising talent so far this year and I believe she has the potential to do very well at this year’s National Schools Regatta.
George Watson’s College Boat Club – Isobel Clements
Isobel is a WJ15, however regularly competes in higher age categories while still consistently racing to a high standard. She finished off last season with a 2nd place in the WJ15 2x at the British Junior Rowing Championships 2018 with her partner Honey Hughes. She definitely has potential to place well in this coming season, including National School Regatta. If Izzy races to her full ability, she is definitely in with a chance of making the A/B semi finals this weekend, a very impressive feat for a young J15.
Champ 4x
Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club
The Clydesdale quad; made up of Matthew Fielding, Adam Robertson, James Morrison and Ewan Pringle; has dominated the junior quads this year, including wins at many head races and regattas in Scotland and the rest of Britain. Last year they made an impressive impact in the j16 4x, including qualifying for the A-final of British Junior Rowing Championships, in a composite with Peter Demyanov of George Watson’s College, which they unfortunately had to pull out of. They also achieved 4th in the j16 4x at NSR last year. Despite being a j17 crew, I confidently believe they have the ability to make the A-final and maybe improve on their finish last year and medal.
Champ 1x
Leander Club – Alex Milne
A former Glasgow Academy sculler, he is now training full time with Leander club. He has performed extremely well in the junior quad so far this season, including a win in the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head at Eton Dorney. Alex made the B final last year in the championship single at NSR, whilst still sculling at Glasgow Academy BC. Since then, he has been training intensively with Leander Club juniors, and off the back of their Easter training camp in the Netherlands, I believe he has the potential and talent to win the Champ 1x at this year’s National Schools Regatta.
Non-Champ 4+
Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association
This strong 4+: formed of Seth Turner, Christos Bardas, Alexander Beeson, Jakub Zbikowski and coxed by Skye Ballance; have been dominating the j18 4- scene in Scotland and the rest of the UK at the races they have attended this year. This same four took home the win in the j16 4+ at last year’s NSR, so, despite them being a year younger than most of the rest of the field, they come into this race with a good chance. I believe that they have the potential to make the A/B semi and also possibly the A-final if they row with the form and class which they have been displaying recently.
J15 4+
Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association
This young ASRA four of Alex Fowler, Will Cooper, Joe Ritchie, Jayros James, coxed by Skye Ballance; have shown great potential in the first half of this season. It is hard to gauge how they weigh up against the competition since they have gone unrivalled in the Scottish head season; they have, however, given some impressive performances in older categories, given their age and level of experience. I think it will be interesting to see how they fare in an extremely tough and competitive field. I believe that they have it in them to make the A/B semifinal, but are unlikely to medal.
By Angus Millar
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