The long-awaited return to racing has finally arrived and for many competitors, this weekend will be a chance to finally practice some of their competing skills. There are 10 crews this year entered into the girl’s Championship Pair event which should make for some exciting racing. Not much is known about some of these crews so it will be exciting to see what they bring to the NSR track.
King’s School Worcester
Both athletes racing in the Championship Pair for King’s School Worcester have prior racing experience at this event. Alice Baker raced in the J15 Coxed quad in 2019 and Georgina Thorp raced in the J16 double. After racing previously in sculling, it will be exciting to see if their skills are transferable into their sweep technique after not having much water time to prepare over the past year.
Yarm School BC
After not having much time on the water over the last year this crew may benefit from their prior racing experience together. Lily Brown and Anastasia Legge competed in the J16 quad at National Schools Regatta 2019. Moving from a quad into the pair may be a big step with both balancing the development of sweep and small boat skills in play. However, if this has been done successfully these athletes will be able to put out an exciting race.
Headington School Oxford BC
Entered as the only sweep boat representing the school, the championship pair of Charlotte Forkun and Angelina Hong will be showing their small boat skills this Sunday. Both crew members have experience racing at National Schools Regatta with Charlotte Forkun racing in the Championship 2nd eight category in 2019 and Angelina in the J15 eight. With Charlotte having raced in a championship event before she will have some understanding of the calibre of athletes involved which may be pivotal for the crew in the race.
Westminster School BC
This Westminster crew will be going into this weekend’s racing never having represented the same club together at a National Schools Regatta. Despite this, both athletes will be able to bring their prior experience at NSR together with Sophie Covington having raced for her previous club in the J16 quad and Fenya Tillery raced in the J16 four both in 2019 which may give them the sweep racing experience vital in this race. It will be exciting to see this crew dynamic in action during the race.
Marlow RC
One of the only non-school crews competing in this event, Marlow RC’s pair is made up of Sabriel Achong and Amelie Hamilton. These girls have performed strongly in the past as they were both part of a crew that placed 3rd in 2019 in the J15 eight. It will be on race day where we find out if they can transfer their success from the eight into the smaller pair and deliver a competitive performance.
Emanuel Schools BC
Arguably one of the favourites to take the title this weekend, Emanuel School BC has put out a strong pair with a successful history in sweep. Maddy Kitchen raced in the J15 eight and her crewmate Lauren McAuliffe came 4th in the non-championship quad. Lauren McAuliffe will also be bringing her impressive experience into the race after representing England in the Junior Home internationals as a J16 where she achieved 2 golds in the eight and four.
Aberdeen Schools RA
The championship pair representing Aberdeen Schools RA is comprised of Masie Aspinall and Zoe Beeson. Although neither of these athletes have raced at national schools before, the club has put in notable performances in this event previously. in 2019 Aberdeen Schools RA had a pair place 5th- if this is anything to go by it suggests that the level of athletes it produces will have this crew set to have a strong performance on race day.
Radnor House School RC
This crew made up of Hannah Lloyd and Imogen Parker-Elms will be bringing in some racing experience to this event. They have managed to make the most of what was limited racing last year by competing in the J17 2x at Weybridge Sculls earlier this year. It will be exciting to see whether they have been able to make a successful transition of their sculling skills transferable into the pair’s sweep technique.
Ardingly RC
Not much is known about this crew made up of Emma Quglieri and Eva Ellicock however Ardingly RC appeared to have made as much of what was limited water time so hopefully it will pay off for the girls on race day. With it being such an unusual year being so long since any crew last competed it could be down to anyone to win on the day.
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