Rowing is a tough sport; an inch on race day is gained by a hundred grueling miles in training. To even have a chance at doing well requires signing your life over to a training programme which holds no guarantees of success but plenty of possibilities for failure. No matter how committed, motivated or downright zealous an athlete is, every rower reaches a point in their season when the task ahead simply becomes too much – cracks begin to form in once unshakeable convictions and we begin to question why. It’s in these darkest of moments when we as rowers must look deep inside and find the answer. The answer to a hard question is a simple one which becomes evident in the summer months – the thrill of racing stroke for stroke with your competition, the satisfying burning of your legs and lungs knowing you have given it your all and the promise of victory which lasts long into the history books. The National Schools Regatta is the perfect stage on which to provide meaning to a year of training. On Saturday, 11 crews will compete to take home the Polizter Trophy for 2nd 4x.
The Windsor Boys School
The favorites for Champ 4x are the favorites (and current holders) of 2nd 4x. The depth in WBSBC means that this appears to be the club’s 3rd boat with the actual 2nd boat racing in a variety of championship events. Despite this crew being a 3rd boat they’ve proved their mettle a variety of times this season already with their results placing them amongst most clubs first crews including a fourth-place finish at the Junior Sculling Head and sixth-place at Wallingford Regatta.
Beyond TWBS there’s a distinct lack of information for the other crews entered. Many clubs have chosen to only race one quad at the major events of the year so far, meaning the standard of their second boats is yet to be determined. That means all we can go off is the past performance of the clubs themselves. Marlow and Sir William Borlase are the two clubs with the most past success in junior sculling so (perhaps somewhat biasedly) they are the most likely to challenge TWBS for the win.
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