The highly-anticipated National Schools’ Regatta is less than a week away, and the excitement is only building from here. An event that has been moved from the Saturday to the Friday is the Junior 15 Girls Eights which should prove to be highly competitive. With 14 entries it is a field rammed with national champions and established programs who will look to provide exceptional racing for the Dorney crowds.
Headington School
Looking to build on the title they claimed last year in the Junior 14 Girls Octuples, Headington will be out to win on Friday. With an extremely successful head season in this eight already, the girls will be looking to build on a robust winter. They won at Henley Fours and Eights Head and finished third at the Schools’ Head of the River, the ‘A’ crew have made themselves known on the racing circuit. They were fifth at Wallingford Regatta – let’s see if they can better that result this weekend.
Henley Rowing Club
With a win at the Schools’ Head of the River and medals at Henley Fours and Eights Head, this crew are a top contender for Friday’s showdown. They were fourth at Wallingford Regatta, seeing off Headington by 12 seconds but finishing four seconds back on winners Surbiton. After a rocky start to their head season and gradual improvement in times over the winter, the squad have now settled into sweep rowing and are looking to come home victorious.
Surbiton High School
Starting third is an undeniably strong contender for medals on Friday. Having largely played bridesmaid to the Headington/Henley duel through the later winter races, I would love to see Surbiton stepping up to claim their just rewards. Their last performance – second at Wallingford Regatta but crucially ahead of both Henley and Headington – demonstrates that they’re very capable of upsetting the established order. Surbiton were a strong competitor during the first half of the head season, picking up wins at Quintin and Hampton Head and staying undefeated through the first races. With a strong octuple at J14 level, I believe this is a crew that has raced together for a long time which should play in their favour at the weekend.
Wimbledon High School
Never far behind Surbiton, Wimbledon High School have been battling it out with their neighbours all season, stoking the flames of deep-seated rivalry. They were two seconds behind Quintin Head and just over a second off at Hampton, finishing second both times. They were then fifth at the Schools’ Head of the River, 12 seconds back on Surbiton and 15 seconds back on winners Henley.
St Pauls Girls School
Third on home water at Quintin Head but nearly 25 seconds back on Wimbledon High, St Paul’s Girls School will be hoping to secure an ‘A’ final berth. They did not race at Wallingford Regata so it will be interesting to see how far these girls have stepped on.
Lady Eleanor Holles
After an up and down head season, Lady Eleanor Holles battled it out at the recent Wallingford Regatta to claim victory over many of the aforementioned crews. After a relatively unremarkable winter, the increase in speed over the Easter break is profound and sets LEH up perfectly for an assault on the summit. With the Wallingford win under their collective belts, I think this crew has the confidence and skill to battle it out for the top spots on Friday.
Other entries
Latymer Upper School is a very competitive school who will be battling it out for one of those final spots in the A final – they were fourth at the Schools’ Head of the River and sixth at Wallingford Regatta. The highly competitive Shrewsbury School are also entered with one eight starting last hoping to work its way up the levels. I believe this is their first year of competing on the national circuit and they could be a top contender in a B final. Don’t discount Godolphin & Latymer School either, who finished third at Wallingford Regatta.
Prediction
I think the win will be tightly contested between Henley, Headington and Surbiton, with the former stealing it by milliseconds. The big question is whether Lady Eleanor Holles’ win was a one-off or if this crew is one to be taken seriously – it’s boom or bust for these girls as I can envisage them either not medalling or winning the event outright. Joining these crews in the A final will be a combination of Wimbledon, St Paul’s and Godolphin & Latymer, who will all just pip Shrewsbury by a matter of seconds.
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