Regardless of the changes to this year’s racing format, the Championship Girl’s Doubles event is always an exciting showcase of talent from clubs and schools across the UK, more significantly for smaller boat clubs, which ordinarily may be shrouded by larger, established rivals. With 43 crews entered, the Beryl Crockford Bowl will be the 2nd biggest category at this year’s regatta, and with an even mix of colleges, clubs and schools, I am excited to see the result of what will assuredly be a close match.
Although it is hard to grasp a good picture of the competing crews, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we can suggest the success of some clubs based on well-known past performance. However, this does not deny the chances of their lesser-known opponents who may rightfully prove triumphant on the day.
Upon reading the draw, my eyes were first drawn to the Gloucester Hartpury crew as a hot contender. We know Hartpury to have a rich history in the sculling events at NSR, and one that is undoubtedly paved with gold, as demonstrated in 2019, when Hartpury secured the victory in the Championship Girls Doubles, in a record time of 7:26.8. Further, we know this to be the top women’s crew from Gloucester this year, so with acknowledgement to the centre’s identity as a GB start programme, we know this will be an extremely competitive crew.
Another club with a marked history in elite junior rowing performance is Maidenhead Rowing Club. The Thames-based club usually brings an armada of competition to National Schools’ Regatta; however, all is not the same this year. The crew of Thompson and Jones are the only crew from the revered club attending – so we know this is something special. Although little is known about the athletes, we are aware they are WJ17s and based on social media appearance, the crew looks polished and ready for a strong day of racing.
Small boat events always give a platform for club representation; Peterborough is an excellent example of this. The crew of Drake-Lee and Bolton have shown consistent performance throughout this year’s rocky season in the GB trailing process, as well as the Virtual British Indoor Rowing Championships, where they placed 3rd and 8th respectively in a field of 39, both with impressive sub 7:25 times. Additionally, both girls have merited a position on the GB start programme. Therefore we know they will be powerful athletes who will undoubtedly fly the Peterborough flag with uncompromising intention.
Although there are significantly fewer school crews entered in the Championship Girls Doubles than larger crew events, this did not deter Great Marlow School from entering their only sculling crew of the competition. Great Marlow School is a programme on the rise in recent years, fuelled by alumni such as Sir Steve Redgrave, the club has seen at least one national medal every year since 2011, an impressive result as one of only seven comprehensive school rowing programmes in the UK. Athletes Andrews and Jones helped GMS to 6th place at Virtual BRIC this year; as powerful girls, there is no doubt this crew will aid to GMS’ victory streak.
Other clubs I feel will bring string competition include Marlow Rowing Club and Mossbourne Rowing Academy. The former, Marlow, has enormous depth within their squads, so we cannot discount their efforts due to an entered crew in the Girls Championship Quads (which tend to be treated as the more prestigious event). Mossbourne is making a name for themselves on the Thames, and I hope the club can perform as a testament to their hard work with charity London Youth Rowing.
Similarly, schools such as Westminster College Boat Club and Sir William Perkins Boat Club will show characteristic strength in the event.
The wait is finally over for the racing crews; after nearly two years of preparation and training, I am confident the field of the Girls Championship Doubles will be shockingly close and some of the most exciting racing of National Schools’ Regatta.
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