The National Schools’ Regatta is finally upon us. For junior competitors and rowing fans in Great Britain and beyond alike, it is one of the most significant races of the entire season. Competitors will race over 2000m on the stunning London 2012 Olympic lake, pushing their aerobic capacity and power exertion to the brink, but keeping control of their mind will, as it always is in this wonderful sport, be key to the success of any crew. The J16 doubles event will consist of a grand total of 34 crews this Sunday, all vying for glory and a spot on the podium. Who is likely to come out on top?
Bewl Bridge Rowing Club
Benjamin Ribbens stroked the winning double in this category at last year alongside his brother Jack Ribbens. This year, Benjamin will race again at stroke, ahead of Harry Tyrrell-Clark at bow. Last year, Benjamin Ribbens’s double won by two and a half seconds. There is no doubt that after another year of training, Bewl Bridge Rowing Club will likely execute another fantastic performance on race-day in this category. The only blotch on their copybook is that they were beaten into second place by a full ten seconds at the Junior Sculling Regatta.
Windsor Boys School
Last year, the Windsor Boys School reached the glory of the podium with a bronze medal, only four seconds behind Bewl Bridge in the final. Windsor Boys, right from J14 level, are famed across England for having an excellent sculling program. With two crews entering this year (neither of which raced last year), they will definitely have an important impact on the race on Sunday.
Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club
Winners at the Junior Sculling Regatta just a couple of weeks ago, there is no better indication of a crew’s speed than recent silverware in an identical category. Based on the Isle of Wight, Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club are rapidly developing into strong contenders on the national stage and this double – featuring Louis Sheasby and Carter Horrix – will have high hopes of taking home some silverware here.
American School in London
With an impressive fourth-placed finish last year, the American School will be certainly attempting a podium place on Sunday which they just missed out on last year. They have entered two crews in a similar fashion to Windsor Boys and certainly show their prowess hoping to medal in this year’s instalment of National Schools.
Northampton Rowing Club
Another crew who placed well at the Junior Sculling Regatta – coming home fourth overall – Northampton are not always that prominent at the business end of junior rowing. Tom Bryan and Cameron McKenzie are looking to buck that trend though and will have their sights set on a podium placement.
Prediction
Although most of the boys in this race will rowing this event at the National Schools’ Regatta for the first time, there is one notable exception to this trend: Benjamin Ribbens, winner of the Marlow Cup last year. As such, you would imagine that Bewl Bridge Rowing Club will be victorious. However, they were beaten into second place at the Junior Sculling Regatta by Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club so we should be in for a thrilling contest. I’m pitching for a win for the boys from the Isle of Wight.
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