With 35 entries, this should be a fairly exciting and competitive event. At National Schools Regatta this year, the quad will be the only event for J16 scullers. This probably means that the quad will be the focus boat for many teams and the standard will be very high this year.
Henley
It’s very difficult to see Henley losing this race. They had a boat with Jonsson win the J15G4x+1 category at Nationals last year by 20 seconds. At Pairs Head they also first and second place in the J16 double. Whatever lineup they have picked for their top boat should be ridiculously fast. Also, given that Henley won the J15G4x+2 category at Nationals last year and set a new course record, their B quad shouldn’t be slow either.
Headington
Headington is another fast crew to watch out for. They managed a bronze medal in the J15G4x+1 at nationals last year. Maidenhead, the silver medalists, aren’t racing this event. They also managed second place at Hampton Head, behind Nottingham. They have gotten a bit lucky with the entries for this race and will really be looking for second place.
Lady Eleanor Holles
LEH has interestingly decided to enter four quads in this race. Ever other team has entered 1-2 boats so perhaps this is a sign that LEH is feeling confident. At Nationals in the J15G4x+1 they earned a respectable 5th place in a large field. At Pairs Head they managed third place behind two Henley Boats. Even if they don’t beat the crews beginning with the letter “H” they have real potential to do well if they’ve chosen a good priority boat.
There are other crews that could perhaps establish themselves in this race but have chosen not to enter this event. These include Nottingham, Maidenhead, and Molesey. Hopefully lesser known crews will step forward and row to the occasion but it won’t be clear until after the results are out.
Tailwind
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