National schools Regatta is the race that all the clubs and schools aim for, commonly seen as the warm up race for Henley Royal Regatta, it is one of the biggest races on the calendar, with hundreds of crews competing over 2 days to try and get in a position to pre-qualify for Henley, or finish their season on a high, held on the Iconic Dorney Lake, it is a hellish race for all, and with the introduction of semi finals this year, it will also be a test of intelligence and planning. For this category specifically there have been an interesting selection of entries, mostly from crews that we have seen little/ none of in the circuit beforehand.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
Stroked by the younger brother of European Champion Marcus Chute, this quad secured a silver medal at The Scullery a few weeks ago and did one better at Wallingford and The Junior Sculling Head. Windsor Boys’ have a long history of excellence in the quad, and a reputation for peaking at just the right moment, so despite coming seconds to Marlow at The Scullery, it would be a surprise if they didn’t walk away from NSR this weekend with a gold medal.
Marlow Rowing Club
The challenger to Windsor Boys’, Marlow walked away with gold at the scullery with a convincing margin of almost 10 seconds. The crew remains identical to the one that raced at Dorney, though with a slight game of switcharoo between the two and three seats – though it’s possible this is a uniquely administrative difference. Regardless, I’d expect Marlow to be scrapping for gold alongside Windsor – and if the stars align, that shiny gold medal might just be theirs.
Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Boat Club
Borlase rounded off the podium at The Scullery and will be hungry for a repeat performance, if not better. Finished 18 seconds behind the gold medalists means they’re unlikely to take the crown, but they’re likely to be in the mix alongside Marlow, Windsor, and Henley.
Team Keane Sculling School
Team Keane Sculling School is a rowing club that has seen it come leaps and bounds from its inception as a small Sculling club back in 2013, and this year is set to be a reasonably big year for the club, and this year they will want to make a massive dent in the school and establishment clubs, having placed 29th in the scullery, they will want to put a massive dent into the other cubs and prove they should be on everyone’s short list, from what I have heard inside the club, this is a crew that should put this small time club on the map.
Emanuel School Boat Club
Emanuel School Boat Club is another Club on the rise and want to replicate what Shiplake have done over the past 3 years, they are producing some reasonably strong crews at j18 level and will want to replicate the same thing in the younger years, with the aim of trying to get a crew to Henley within 2-3 years, this crew will have a lot of pressure on it to do well and should place highly.
Tideway’s Scullers School
Tideway Sculling school is one of the oldest sculling clubs in the country and for juniors, this is one of the premier clubs. This season they have had an absolute rocker, with a quad placing 3rd and 7th this season, showing that they are at the tip of the spear when it comes to the J16 4x category, they appear to almost be untouchable. This is surely a crew to watch and seems to be an amalgamation of the two best crews, lots is to be expected from this crew and will place very highly at this regatta
Other Crews:
There are some other significant crews such as Shiplake College Boat Club A – (SHP Houghton) – (563), who are sure to place in the top 3, with being such and up and coming boat club will surely put up a big fight. Henley Rowing Club O – (HEN Len) – (577), who is another prestigious club who will want to place highly within this regatta. Marlow Rowing Club D – (MAR Murphy) – (581), who’s crew won the Scullery, and should be seen as a top favourite for the win.
My Predictions are:
- The Windsor Boys’ School
- Marlow Rowing Club
- Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
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