Five athletes will be taking to the water at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham this weekend, and will be going head to head in a straight final to see which of them will emerge victorious in the contest for fastest Junior sculler of the day. As is routine in Nottingham, conditions will play a big part in the outcome of the race, and therefore the athlete who can stay composed throughout the 2km regatta could well be the one who comes out on top in rough water.
Here’s a brief look at the five athletes racing this weekend:
Cantabrigian – ALMQVIST
Robert Almqvist stroked Cantabrigian’s J16 championship eight last year to a C final finish at National Schools’ Regatta. However, this time he will be representing his club racing in a single. The difference of speed from an athlete in a sweep boat compared to a single can be quite considerable, and therefore it will be interesting to see how he gets on this weekend racing on his own, with the outcome of the race completely down to his own actions. The jump from J16 to championship singles can be quite a large one, however, and therefore it’s possible Almqvist could struggle racing some older athletes this weekend.
Newark – BOWES
Whilst I have not heard of this sculler before, Newark is an established rowing club who produce some decent scullers, and last year managed to secure a place in the D final of Championship Quads at National Schools’ Regatta, against a host of tough competition who didn’t even make it past the time trial. Therefore, there is potential for Bowes to be a strong sculler, and he may well be able to prove himself and get a good result this weekend.
Nottingham – PRESTON
This sculler is unknown to me, however he will be competing on home water this weekend and therefore as he will have trained at the National Water Sports centre numerous times, he will definitely have a home advantage against some of the other competitors. It will be interesting to see how Preston gets on and whether he can establish his name more prominently on the junior rowing scene.
Norwich A – BAKER
Baker is a J16 athlete and will therefore still be working to develop and improve upon his power and technical skills. Last year, Baker stroked the Norwich J15 eight to a 3rd place finish in the B final of J15 championship 8s at National Schools’ Regatta. Stroking this 8 indicates that Baker will have a good understanding of how to set up a strong rhythm down a 2km course, however as he may be slightly undeveloped compared to other athletes entered into this category, I am unsure if he will take a medal position.
Norwich B – ALDOUS
As mentioned before, Norwich are an established rowing school and advancing to the Thursday of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge cup last season at Henley Royal Regatta indicates their squad usually has a good amount of strength and depth within it. I have not heard of this name before, and therefore he have just started rowing with Norwich, however it will be interesting to see how Norwich performs this weekend and whether they can dominate this category as winning is definitely the result Norwich will be aiming for this coming weekend.
Overall, we could be looking at a very close race this weekend in the singles, especially between the two Norwich scullers, however the outcome of this race is pretty much impossible to predict. Preston will definitely looking to dominate on home turf, while the two Norwich scullers will be looking to establish some dominance against the rest of the field and take the win. We could be looking at some incredibly competitive racing with an unpredictable outcome as we could have one or two underdogs entered within this field of scullers.
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