Sometimes, we have to accept we were wrong.
I know – imagine the scenes. The mighty JRN, infallible and never-before proven wrong on any prediction related to junior rowing, acknowledging the reality that they might, just might, have erred in their write-up of what was to come. That somewhere along the line between precedent, past performance and performative prose, wires got twisted and our crystal ball lost in the ongoing national postal strikes.
As I watched on from the commentary car, a perch that is becoming my habitual venue for the climax of the National Schools’ Regatta, I would be lying if I said I was not a little pleased that some of our highest-profile predictions came crashing down in spectacular fashion. Rowing needs drama like a man adrift in the desert needs water. Sport requires heroes and insurgents to re-write the book of perceived rules and so many did exactly that in a spectacular weekend of racing at Eton Dorney. As the sun sank below the rim of the horizon and Olympic waters glistened blue, my mind began to turn towards the proverbial page and how I was going to turn three days of competition into a review fit for national kings and queens…
Championship Open Eights
This was Teddies’ time. From first stroke to last, their compulsion to win, their sheer bloody-mindedness and belief that the Queen Mother Cup was theirs by right, became the fixation upon which this race score was composed. After placing Teddies a lowly sixth in our pre-event prediction, it is time for JRN – amongst others – to eat humble pie. Teddies are deserved national champions after a performance that their opponents simply could not live with. Much was made of Shiplake’s 13-second margin at the Schools’ Head of the River and how, even after several years of summer decline, this was to be the season they stepped on and claimed a long-overdue Championship title on Dorney waters. The wait goes on after a campaign which started well but again fell away at the crucial moment. St Paul’s were right there in the thick of it once again and will be bang up for a Henley campaign that promises to be nothing short of epic. After a blockbuster second semi-final – where only 0.25 seconds separated the leading contingent of Teddies, Shiplake and Radley – the latter failed to make an impression after a second-placed berth in March. Eton will be disappointed to have not made it three-in-a-row in this category, finishing with a bittersweet bronze on home water. Much had been made of the testy crosswind that rose throughout the weekend, to the point where the organising committee switched the fastest crews before side-by-side racing into the lanes which provided maximum shelter from the breeze. It would be grossly unfair to suggest that this did not have some impact on proceedings but take nothing away from Teddies – this was a victory born and bred in spirit and determination.
Championship Girls Eights
This was nothing short of stunning from Ryan Demaine’s charges. They scalped the field early doors, taking clear water by the 1000m mark and never looking close to relinquishing a lead that grew as the race evolved. What will be particularly scary for Headington’s closest challengers is that they never really got out of fourth gear in a showing that rubber-stamped their complete dominance over this category. They drew further and further away from Surbiton and Henley at each timing marker, finishing nearly 11 seconds clear. Surbiton held off a late, dramatic surge from the girls in blue and white to secure a silver whilst the latter will be left licking their wounds after they lost the title they blitzed in 2022. The obvious elephant in the room is which boats the likes of Headington, Henley and others choose to prioritise approaching the Henley series. The quad was arguably the deeper of the two premier categories on show at Dorney (with both gold and silver from the Schools’ Head of the River deciding to place their four fastest athletes in that event) and as such it will be interesting to see if Headington choose to stick or twist. Again, you can only beat what is put in front of you and the Oxfordshire-based school did that in emphatic style.
Championship Open Quads
It’s official – Mark Wilkinson has no chill. This guy leads us all to believe that Windsor are dead and buried – a no-show at the Fours Head and Junior Sculling Head is followed up by a pretty unremarkable 17th-place at the Schools’ Head of the River. Murmurings of a Windsor resurgence are quashed somewhat by a previously unchallenged Leander outfit at Wallingford Regatta before arriving at the gates of Eton Dorney for the National Schools’ Regatta. Genius is a word bandied about by too many folk these days but in the context of Mark Wilkinson and schoolboy sculling, it does not feel inauthentic. Windsor emerged victorious again in the Open Championship Quads, displacing both Marlow and Leander at the top of the tree and rolling off the water as one of very few victors from outside of Lane 1. Leander + Marlow will be back (alongside a whole host of domestic and international interest) for the Fawley Challenge Cup but make no mistake – Windsor are threatening to build an unassailable dynasty at the summit of junior boys sculling.
Championship Girls Quads
The race I was most excited about beforehand and the contest I felt least secure about predicting beforehand. So much talent on show, evidenced by the fact that crews #1 and #2 from the 2022 edition of the Sherriff Cup were relegated to #2 and #5 respectively in 2023. Wycliffe made good on the warning signs they had been laying down to everyone during heats and semi-finals, emerging as relatively comfortable winners in a time just shy of seven minutes. Marlow were their closest challengers and will be back for more hand-to-hand combat come Henley Women’s and Royal Regatta. Henley had a brilliant final 500m to sneak into bronze ahead of a Kingston Grammar School crew who had led them throughout. Shiplake, darlings of this category over the past two seasons, slipped into fifth but will return ready for a shot at Henley glory.
Notable Mentions
Guess who’s back? Helen Taylor is repping Molesey colours again and her charges certainly caught the eye, coming away with two wins (including a ridiculously dominant display in Championship Open Coxless Fours) alongside two silvers and a bronze. Hard to argue with a haul like that and now attention will surely turn to Henley Royal Regatta and whether the boys four can repeat the feats of yesteryear and deliver a junior Molesey crew to the club weekend. Wycliffe also deserve a separate mention – they won three events across the weekend and also secured a bronze. Whatever Greg Flower is laying down, those girls are picking up – the target will now be to win big at the Henley events and crown what has been a sensational season. Windsor Boys also get more airtime after delivering five wins across the age-groups. Their dominance at J16 level (a quad final they won by nine seconds) is pretty ominous for everyone else and they’re not exactly slacking with J14s or J15s either – they won the quad and second quad event for the latter and secured silver in the octuple. Radley were pretty effective at all possible junctures once again, securing four wins and a silver + bronze. Their wins in the J15 First Eights and Second + Third Eights will have tasted particularly sweet. Briony Wood of Glasgow Academy also deserves a special mention – she was plying her trade in the stroke seat of a boys junior 14 coxed quad for Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club last year (placing fifth overall). She’s just won Championship Girls Singles at the 2023 event. What a ridiculous achievement – all eyes on this special talent moving into 2024 and beyond.
As always, the sheer scale of the regatta makes it almost impossible to capture every moment. Instead, I have tried to distill the essence of racing I did witness firsthand and applaud those who put on brave performances to sketch their names into the immortal chapters of our national junior regatta. 2023 was blessed with blue skies and balmy temperatures and hopefully that is an omen of good racing and blessed experiences over the coming weeks. For some athletes, this is the culmination of nine months hard work and clutching their handle in exhaustion over the finish line, body coursing with elation or desperation, will have signed off on their competitive appearances this season. For others, this is only the beginning.
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