Each year, hundreds of junior women edge towards the precipice of greatness; what dictates who achieves immortality in the rowing hall of fame is little more than two kilometres and a leap of faith.
Eleven Championship crews will make such a leap this year, and whilst some are firm favourites are coming into the event, the beauty of side-by-side racing means nothing can be guaranteed – besides the fiercest of competition.
Notable Absences
Both Tideway Scullers and Headington have withdrawn their crews ahead of the event – with both clubs seemingly lifting their top athletes out into the quad. It’s a bold strategy and means we won’t enjoy seeing the entire field face-off ahead of HWR and HRR, but it’s a play that worked for Headington last year. Could the same plan pay off for them again?
Henley Rowing Club
The Easy Favourites.
Henley has been on an impressive trajectory over recent years but has often not quite had the horsepower to execute at the highest level of sweep rowing and outplay other established competitors. I’ll put my money on the table now: this is the year that changes. The well-oiled Henley machine chomped its way through head season, culminating in an impressive win at Schools’ Head, where their next closest competitor at NSR – Surbiton – finished almost 12 seconds behind; not by any means an insurmountable gap, but a substantial chasm nonetheless. When the crew switched gears to tackle 2k racing, the progress showed no signs of slowing, with an easy win at Wallingford Regatta demonstrating a profoundly effective race plan that sees the crew walk away from the competition during the middle thousand. Henley has sometimes fallen foul of upsets in their summer season plans – look no further than the Diamond Jubilee for their rap sheet. However, this year, there is a tangible sense of change – both from the inside and outside. It would take a meteoric performance from another of these crews to dethrone Henley.
Hinksey Sculling School:
The Revolutionists.
Yet another programme on the rise, Hinksey shot to fame last summer as a result of their junior men’s Henley campaign in 2021, securing a place in the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup. The ensuing hype has propelled all the squads at Hinksey forward, and none more so than their junior women. A second-place finish at Wallingford improved on a still respectable 6th place at SHORR but indicates a natural lean towards 2K racing. With less prestige than some of their competition, they are in some ways an unknown, but if recent results are anything to go by, Hinksey will be battling for a medal.
Surbiton High School:
The Dark Horses
In one of the largest rowing programmes in the country, talent is never in short supply – nor is speed. Having swung at the queen last summer, Surbiton return to satisfy unfinished business in the eight. They rounded out the top three at Schools’ Head, filing in behind Henley and Headington – a result replicated a few weeks ago at Wallingford. With Headington out of the picture, Surbiton – in theory – have a clear path to silver; whether another of the crews listed in this preview throws a spanner in the works or if Surbiton risk it all for gold is yet to be seen.
Lady Eleanor Holles School
The Defenders
Holders of the Aylings Trophy from 2019-2021, LEH crashed out of Regatta season last year after a defeat at Henley Women’s and the Royal a few weeks later, despite leading the pack at NSR. Unfortunately, this year LEH are a little off the pace the leading crews are demanding, finishing 10th at SHORR, 45 seconds behind the winners. This seems, at first glance, to be a little too much to make up over the course of a few months, but dismissing LEH is always a fool’s errand, so whilst I can’t see them taking a medal, a strong A-final finish is far from out of the question.
St Edward’s School:
The Newbies
Teddies were another squad that capitalised on the chaos of the pandemic and came out a more potent force. Their Diamond Jubilee Quad blew most commentator’s expectations out of the water – quite literally – as did the rest of the club’s crews. This is clearly a programme on a positive trajectory, and recent results for this crew suggest that the gradient is only getting steeper. A fourth-place finish at Schools’ Head puts them firmly in the running for a medal next weekend, especially with Headington’s absence at NSR making Teddies’ fifth place at Wallingford all the more promising.
Notable Mentions:
Latymer is always a crew to keep an eye on and may well fight tooth and nail for a place in the A-final, but a medal based on current form looks unlikely. Both Kings Canterbury and Kings Worcester are also entered, though having raced the 1st eight category so far this season, a rapid rise to the top of the rankings looks unlikely.
Predictions:
Gold – Henley Rowing Club
Silver – Surbiton High School
Bronze – Hinksey Sculling School
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