There was a point during the COVID-19 pandemic when rowing had never seemed further away. I remember walking along the Putney Embankment, in blazing sunshine on a gorgeous 2020 May afternoon, and the entire strip was bare. Not a boat nor blazer in sight; London rendered empty and soulless by a virus that had swept all before it in its quest for world domination. Rowing, a sport that thrives on community and cooperation, was a throwback, a relic of a bygone age when we could socialise, compete, interact without fear of viral retribution. It all seemed so distant, so forgotten, so unimaginable.
And yet, here we are. After months of struggle, and the strange calendar of summer racing that earmarked our transition from perennial lockdown to some sort of normality last year, we’re back to rowing and regattas in their full glory. The National Schools’ Regatta, undoubtedly this country’s premier junior event, actually took place in 2021 but my own time at Dorney Lake felt strange; the management committee had (quite rightly) enacted social distancing measures and safety protocols which disabused anyone of the notion that COVID-19 was over. 2022 promises so much more; a full roster of racing, the return of spectators and the chance for winners to once again be crowned after an unpunctuated season of rowing.
The Championship Boys Eight category is the blue riband event for men; the chance for the powerhouse schools and insurgent upstarts to pit their wits in a surge of power and poise down the 2000m Dorney stretch. Although I’ve always preferred the motion of a quad, there is no disputing that this final will draw the largest crowds, the loudest noise and the longest chapter in the pages of junior rowing history. Let’s begin…
Shiplake College
Ever the bridesmaids, will this finally be the year when Shiplake College make good on their winter racing form? They ran out convincing winners in this category at the Schools’ Head of the River in March; watching from Hammersmith Bridge, it is clear they are exceptionally well-coached and row with a style that is reminiscent of previous junior canonical greats. My question mark remains though – do they have the horsepower to punch out a winning 2000m against the likes of Eton and St Paul’s? They lost out in the repechage of Wallingford Regatta Challenge Eights to St Edward’s and KCS, which will do one of two things – demoralise or create demand for further improvement. Something strange seems to happen to Shiplake when we hit May – they put on a clinic for head racing aficionados but seem to struggle with the transition into the summer months. Dave Currie and first eight coach Hugh Mackworth-Praed will absolutely be aware of that trend and his work to date will surely have focused on reversing it. His work with a school that used to frequent the Child Beale category is noted as extraordinary and it speaks volumes that my musings here are underpinned by doubt – that is the level he’s raised his boys to meet. Can they take that final step up the podium steps?
Eton College
Holders of both this title and the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, we all know that Eton will take some beating on home water. When they finished second at the Schools’ Head of the River in March, I have to concede that I was worried for the rest of the roster – Eton tend to gain significant speed through the Easter break to come out swinging by the time we arrive at Dorney in late May. With that said, they will probably have been slightly underwhelmed by their performance at Wallingford Regatta – they failed to make the ‘A’ final of Challenge Eights after coming home last in a stacked repechage containing the likes of Teddies, KCS, Shiplake and Radley. Although there were only five seconds separating first from sixth, Eton will not have enjoyed coming out on the wrong side of that result. Are the 2022 crop of baby blue-blooded talent up to the task of toppling their heavyweight contemporaries?
St Edward’s School
It feels good to see Teddies back at the summit of schoolboy rowing. Their last real tilt at glory came in the first half of last decade, when the likes of Oli Knight, Callum Jones and Sam Gillingham were plying their trade under Jonny Singfield. In those halcyon days, they made two successive Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup finals and took a silver medal in the 2013 edition of The Queen Mother’s Cup. The 2022 contingent are potentially even quicker; a bronze medal at the Schools’ Head of the River was followed up by an ‘A’ final berth in Challenge Eights at Wallingford Regatta. They won the repechage ahead of KCS, who then beat them in the final (although Teddies led them to the 1000m marker). Perhaps they ran out of steam or perhaps KCS have a smarter finishing routine. Either way, their tussle for a podium place with the likes of Shiplake, KCS, Radley and Eton should be fascinating to watch.
King’s College Wimbledon
I feel a little sorry for KCS. After finishing second at the National Schools’ Regatta last year, they drew eventual winners Eton on the Friday of Henley Royal Regatta and ran them closer than anyone else managed throughout the entire week. In 2020, the rumour was that they had a blisteringly quick eight only for the season to be scuppered by COVID-19. 2022 began with a fourth-placed finish at the Schools’ Head of the River as they finished half a second away from a medal over a four mile course. Can they make good on their obvious potential to claim the ultimate prize in schoolboy rowing? Only time – and a cluster of 2000m races next Saturday – will tell but you’d be brave to bet against them. They’re the sticky upstart in this category; they were competing at Child Beale level ten years ago and their transition to going punch-for-punch with the stalwarts of championship racing has taken time. If they win gold next weekend, it will have been time well spent.
St Paul’s School
You can’t in all good faith create a snapshot of the Championship Boys Eight roster without including Bobby Thatcher’s boys. It’s fair to say that this season has been quieter for his troops – they were 11 seconds off the pace at the Schools’ Head of the River and other head racing performances were not especially remarkable either. Junior rowing tends to operate in a cyclical motion and we may be transitioning out of an era of domination for St Paul’s, whose 2018 cohort need no introduction as arguably the greatest British junior eight of all time. Curiously, they choose to race at Wallingford Regatta in the junior eights category – they made light work of their opposition to win the event by seven seconds but it begs the question as to how they’d have fared in the Challenge table (where Teddies, KCS, Shiplake and Radley all hung out). I’d be surprised – bordering on astonished – if St Paul’s came away with the win next weekend but if anyone knows how to turn it on at the National Schools’ Regatta (three straight wins from 2017 to 2019 ring any bells???) then it’s Bobby Thatcher.
Radley College
Ever-present at this stage of proceedings – which in itself is a glowing testament to the strength of the program – Radley flatter to deceive in the winter months only to then come on really strong in the summer. They didn’t even make the ‘A’ final of Championship Boys Eights at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2021 and were sixth in the ‘B’ final – a result which will not have pleased anybody at the club. 2022 looks to be a stronger year; they were fifth in the repechage of Challenge Eights at Wallingford Regatta in amongst a crop that included Teddies, KCS, Shiplake and Eton. A Radley crew also finished second in junior eights in the evening’s racing. I am not personally sure they’re in line to win next weekend but it’s always pretty hard to judge Radley from the outside.
Predictions
To be honest, this is the closest Championship Boys Eight to call in quite a few years. Last season was a write-off in terms of predictions, St Paul’s ran riot for the three years preceding that and even before then there was a certain inevitability that Eton or Westminster would take the top spot. Now, we’re faced with a genuine question mark around who will rise to the top. Early regatta form hasn’t evidenced any runaway contenders but has certainly shaken up the established order that we thought was prevalent existing March. I’m going to go with my gut here – I think that St Edward’s School are slight favourites approaching the event, but you’ll be able to throw a sheet over the top three or four contenders (who will likely also comprise KCS, Eton and Shiplake). Don’t write off St Paul’s School, who always come out faster for the summer season.
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