For some youngsters, this will be the pinnacle of head season, as they fight to try and race on a national scale, for the first time in their junior careers. For others, this will be an opportunity to assert their dominance among the best in the north and, perhaps, post a time before full JIRR training kicks in. The juniors are set to trial on the river Wansbeck, over just 1000m, after the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta has been moved to the shortened course in Peterborough. Here is my preview on Saturday’s racing:
J16 1x
There are seven boys entered into this category; coming from four different clubs, however, I think that it will come down to two main contenders. The first being Queen Elizabeth High School ‘Jones’– who has shown a lot of promise, although he came third at Durham SBH; to Talkin Tarn and George Watson’s College, he also stroked the J18 quad from QEH– who posted a quick time. The second is the Talkin Tarn ‘Norman’ entry- who has collected many wins this year in his single- including Tyne LDS, Durham LDS, Durham SBH and a 21st place finish at the GB trials February assessment. Talkin Tarn will be very hard to beat.
J16 2x
This category sees boys from Chester-Le-Street, City of Sunderland and Durham School take each other on, for a spot on the team. On the opening weekend in February, Sunderland were 44 seconds behind the Dunelmians– who are clearly very well coached; having been nothing short of dominant in the latest sculling series. The duo from CLS have not been up alongside this competition in a long time, meaning they could still potentially take a surprise win over Durham School.
J16 4x-
Durham School consistently beat J18 quads throughout the Long Distance Sculls, suggesting they are ones to watch for the next few seasons. However, the DUS boat that raced Durham SBH were beaten considerably by Durham ARC– who could have an upset in their sights. The CLS/QEH composit should also be in contention although they were an entire minute and seven seconds behind Durham School at Rutherford Head. Should the Dunelmians qualify, their school’s training camp in Rotterdam is perfectly positioned for the run up to JIRR.
J16 4+
The St Leonard’s School boys have raced in this boat for a long time now, including a significant victory at Rutherford Head in December. Although at their first meeting in 2019, the Talkin Tarn/Durham School composit had the upper hand, as they led SLS by 24 seconds- having recently spent a training day at Yarm School accompanied by Durham ARC too. With the course this time round being just 1000m, it could all still be to play for.
WJ16 1x
Chester-Le-Street have a strong contender here, in the form of ‘Wilkinson’, as she has recently featured in their top WJ18 quad, who also looked very strong at Rutherford Head. Similarly, Tyne ARC ‘Helme’ also has a number of wins under her belt in larger boats. Not to be overlooked is the Talkin Tarn Rowntree entry, who was the fastest female sculler at Durham SBH, by six seconds.
WJ16 2x
There are five girls crews entered here, the Tyne United boats appear to have a lot of competence in this classification, including the ‘Hardy’ boat who ran out winners at Tyne Head, as well as the Chester-Le-Street duo- who have all raced well in the past. Yet, it would be very difficult for anyone to take this win away from Cambois. These girls seem to be a level above the rest, particularly when they race in the quad, though they did also beat Tyne United by 15 seconds, in the double, on the Wear, over a month ago.
WJ16 4x-
This event is a straight race between Queen Elizabeth HS and Durham ARC. It looks like the girls from DARC could have peaked at the perfect moment, posting a rapid time at Durham SBH, on home water, and beating their QEH counterparts by 39 seconds. It would be great to see QEH challenge these girls this weekend though, after an extra couple of weeks to prepare themselves for these trials.
J15 1x
A huge field of 13 boys will be battling it out for a chance to represent their region however, going off the events of last week, Tyne ARC Stewart looks to be in a strong position, despite being down as Tyne’s ‘B’ entry. I would not over look any of these entrants though, where the likes of CLS, Hexham, DARC or SLS could easily come out with an excellent 1km time.
J15 2x
Another 10 entries here but it was St Leonard’s School that were the fastest Northern region boat at Durham SBH, which should boost their confidence. However, Tyne were just 2 seconds behind, with Hexham not too far away either- potentially making this one of the closest match-ups of the coming weekend.
J15 4x+
Hexham look likely to be the boys making the trip down to Peterborough having won this category at Durham SBH, ahead of DARC, Tyne, DUS and QEH. Although the composit entered by CLS/DUS/TEE is of unknown speed. Again, the nature of trials being a short 1km, means anyone could have a shock win.
WJ15 1x
This event will definitely be worth watching from the banks of the river Wansbeck, as nine girls all make their bid to qualify. Tyne have entered ‘Temple’ again, after having won trials last year and brought home a bronze medal for the north. However, last weekend St Leonard’s School ‘Shaw’ was just one second behind and so over 1km, this is set to be a very tight race. The Hexham and Tyne United girls haven’t been too far behind either.
WJ15 2x
Ten boats go head to head in this event, St Leonard’s have been consistently strong in this category since finishing 6th out of over 60 entries at the Junior British Championships in the summer and more recently, running out winners at Durham SBH. However, Durham ARC were very close behind, with Tyne United and Tyne within touching distance. Every stroke will be vital for these girls as the smallest of margins will see any of the fore-mentioned entries win.
WJ15 4x+
This time last year the Hexham quartet seemed unbeatable in this region, as they often posted times faster the WJ16s in coxless quads. Yet it appears that Durham ARC have bridged this gap as over 1.8km, Durham beat them by three seconds. QEH and City of Sunderland were a long way off the pace, as QEH appear to be focussed more on sweep at the minute. Tyne could be in with a chance though, if these girls have a very strong race, having taken the win at Tyne Head a fortnight ago.
WJ15 4+
Being WJ15, none of these crews have a huge amount of racing experience in sweep boats; making it more difficult to predict. However, at their first sweep-racing encounter, St Leonard’s School beat both their opposition; Queen Elizabeth HS by a convincing 15 seconds and Durham ARC by a far closer 2 seconds. As with all of the WJ15 events, this should be a very close finish, meaning the girls must execute their race plans perfectly to guarantee themselves a spot on the team.
J14 1x
Trialling for the first time, these boys are bound to want to show off their sculling ability. St Leonard’s School ‘Parkinson’ has had a multitude of success in the single, even finishing third in the J15 1x at Durham SBH. He and the Chester Le Street ‘Hall’ boat have had a number of encounters in recent ergo competitions- where ‘Parkinson’ was victorious however, it will be interesting to see how they perform against each other on the water. Tyne and Durham School look like they have less experience- which can be pivotal in the single scull.
J14 2x
This category could be a big chance for City of Sunderland, who unfortunately failed to have any representation at JIRR last year. The combination of ‘Beech’ and ‘Dryden’ won this doubles category at Durham SBH, leading St Leonard’s School by 19 seconds and so they pose a huge threat to their other competition, from Durham School. It will be good to see how these boys respond to racing over just 1000m and whether or not a surprise victory is in sight.
J14 4x+
Again, City of Sunderland appear to have a strong squad of J14s, as they won the quad in Durham, beating Durham School by just 3 seconds and Queen Elizabeth High School by, a large margin of, nearly 3 minutes. The QEH crews often struggle to be competitive in this age category, having only been rowing for a matter of months, while up against crews that have been formed for a year and the CLS/DUS composit is also lacking in experience (together as a crew) and so this could be a win for Sunderland.
WJ14 1x
All WJ14 results are hard to predict, given their lack of racing and so this could go to anyone. None of the entrants have had much notable success in the single- despite victories from the likes of Durham ARC, in the quad. Chester-Le-Street have recently been home to many good single scullers and I doubt these girls will be any different. Tyne United, Tyne and Sunderland make up the rest of the field and also could pull off a win.
WJ14 2x
The fastest double seems to come from Tyne’s ‘Wearmouth’ entry, although recently they only beat Durham ARC by a small margin of 2.5 seconds. A bit further off the pace were City Of Sunderland– although they stand in a better position than Tyne United and Chester-Le-Street, who have not raced this category for many months.
WJ14 4x+
Queen Elizabeth High School have a huge entry here of three quads- all racing to try and earn their burgundy t-shirts. Yet, Durham ARC ‘Morris’ appear to be the ones to watch- at Durham SBH they beat Tyne by 30 seconds. St Leonard’s School did beat one QEH crew, and a Tyne boat in Durham- however anyone looking to challenge DARC will need a big performance.
The J16 8+ will automatically be the Durham ARC/Durham School composit and the WJ16 8+ is yet to be decided following no entries. Similarly, Queen Elizabeth HS boys will race the J15 4+ and the QEHS/CLS composit WJ16 4- take automatic qualification too.
This year, the northern region will look to build from last year’s 4 medals won and overall 7th place finish- with the long process to success beginning this Saturday.
TheNortherner
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