At long last, the moment has finally arrived. As May Bank Holiday looms so does the ever-exciting National Schools’ Regatta. The pinnacle of any junior rower’s season and a prized jewel in the coveted ‘triple crown’, National Schools’ has showcased the talent of young crews across the UK since 1947. With over 30 crews entered in the Sheriff Cup, it is sure to make for some thrilling racing across the draw.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow has firmly asserted itself as a club to watch in schoolgirl sculling. Once a boat class dominated by the likes of Henley and Headington, consistency and hard work has clearly paid off, putting Marlow right at the front of the pack. This crew in in particular are stacked with international talent, from the stroke Mia Lawrence – winner of both the J18 GB trials and more recently Munich International Regatta in the GB quad – to three seat Katie Breeze, who took home bronze at Coupe de la Jeunesse last year. They arrive at Dorney in red-hot form, having won the Junior Sculling Regatta (without Lawrence). They’ll be looking to close the gap on Wycliffe, who beat them by over 30 seconds in March at the Schools’ Head of the River.
Wycliffe Rowing Club
The defending champions of the Sheriff Cup, Wycliffe will have a lot to prove going into this year’s National Schools’ Regatta. Although only Martin remains from the victorious crew last year, they have clearly maintained a strong form, finishing second at the Junior Sculling Regatta despite missing three crew members including Eloise Etherington and Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank. They were comfortable winners at both the Schools’ Head of the River and Oarsport Junior Sculling and with the return of two junior internationals to the crew, I think Wycliffe are the crew to beat.
Lea Rowing Club
Another strong contender for this category is the formidable Lea Rowing Club. Going off second in the time trials, Lea will want to push off Putney High School to gain a strong lane for the semi-finals, particularly if there is a prevalent wind at play. Though they are fielding a younger crew with two J17s, they are not lacking experience with Evelyn Pakule an accomplished GB costal rower, acting as a powerhouse in the two-seat. Lea were silver medalists at the Junior Sculling Regatta, which was a marked improvement on their tenth-placed finish at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in March. They also won Hampton Head in February.
Tideway Scullers School
Having finished seventh in this category last year, Tideway Scullers will have their sights set on bettering this result. Interestingly enough, it appears that Tideway Scullers School have opted to split up their top quad in order to maximise testing and combinations. With the likes of Amalka Delevante (current holder of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup) racing in championship doubles, and Georgia Allen (winner of the Junior Sculling Regatta in the single) racing in the corresponding event at the National Schools’ Regatta, it appears that Head Coach Rhona MacCallum has chosen to use National Schools’ to see how her crews perform in side-by-side racing in the run up to Henley. They were fourth at the Junior Sculling Regatta – with only one returner from that crew here – and finished third in March at the Schools’ Head of the River.
Molesey Boat Club
It’s hard to ignore a boat featuring junior world bronze medalist Liv Cheesmur, who features in this Molesey quad which also contains Maia Bentley, who raced at the 2023 Coupe de la Jeunesse and won gold in the eight. If this crew can become more than the sum of their parts, it’s fair to say they’ll be fast. Under the tutelage of Helen Taylor – who delivered a couple of gold medals at this event in 2023 – this boat have already finished fourth at the Schools’ Head of the River in March.
Maidenhead Rowing Club
Winners at Wallingford Regatta – in an admittedly weakened field – Maidenhead were also sixth at the Schools’ Head of the River in March. They’ve performed consistently throughout the season, featuring prominently at events including Hampton and Hammersmith Heads. A final placing would represent a great innings in a pretty congested field.
Putney High School Boat Club
Winners of the women’s junior 17 quad category at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, Putney are a crew who are developing with 2025 in mind. They were engaged in a continual tussle with Henley Rowing Club throughout 2023, which featured the latter getting the better of them at the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta before Putney secured the seats for the GB-France Match. This season, their results have been a sign of steady progress; second at Wallingford Regatta was followed by sixth at the Junior Sculling Regatta.
Predictions
I am anticipating a tussle for the win between Wycliffe and Marlow with Lea following behind. Both crews are clearly very accomplished, and it will be interesting to see how the GB teammates face off against each other. Though TSS has the backing of an extremely strong program, I believe that they are prioritising other boat classes, making them likely to finish outside of the medal positions.
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