The beginning of the end of the 2023 Head season. Junior Sculling Head arrives at the height of an escalation of head races, following on from WEHORR and School’s Head only a few days before, possibly meaning that not all of the top competing crews will enter. With a whopping 35 crews in this category, there will be tough competition and close finish times, however with notable absences from some of the major clubs such as Surbiton and Marlow. Crews will take on the mighty Dorney lake where they will race two timed 1,800m runs.
Wycliffe College Boat Club
Setting off first is Wycliffe who will certainly be looking to uphold their slim win of 0.1s from last year. The boat club is seemingly doing exceptionally well in recent years and hopefully they maintain this new found lead and begin to disrupt the placement of the stereotypical regular winning crews. Sculling seems to be their main focus as they regularly enter qualifying crews into the Diamond Jubilee Cup and this event will definitely be a great indicator of their speed and technique as a crew.
Henley Rowing Club
A crew definitely not to be missed. Not much can be said about Henley other than their consistently outstanding performances. Having entered quite a few heads this year in this boat class, such as Henley and Hamptom fours and eights, they have regularly returned with silverware demonstrating their notable successes. However, it is possible that the Junior Sculling Regatta will take a toll on the athletes as they endure a tough race at Dorney following Schools Head only a few days before where their strength and stamina will be tested.
Tideway Scullers School
The Tideway Scullers usually sit comfortably within podium ranks each year and I believe this year will be no different. By being based on the Tideway they will be used to the twists and bends of the river whereas the straight course of Dorney will provide a good change for the crew as they begin to fathom their pure speed without steering and the abominable conditions of the Thames! Notable mention goes to Allegra O’Sullivan who performed astoundingly well last year at the Junior Sculling Regatta as she raced in a single and won the event. I’m sure that the rest of her crew will be just as formidable, elevating their chances for a successful result next week!
Headington School
Since their glorious win at Henley 2021, the club has continued to grow in depth year after year. Their successes are most notably found in the sweeping region of rowing and not much evidence can be found of their performance in the quad this season as I believe their main focus lies within their 1st Eight. Their quad who competed last year at Henley Royal Regatta was a relatively young crew consisting of one J15s and two J16s, possibly highlighting the potential for experienced sculling at Dorney next week as they advance and train with the senior squad.
Other Entries:
Other notable crews include Molesey BC, St Edward’s Boat Club and Kingston Grammar School who are starting unusually high but are stealthily climbing the ranks in the past few years.
Prediction:I don’t think that results will be as predictable as they usually are due to the busy few racing weeks and with this Head being a tight turnaround from School’s Head. However, I think that Henley will definitely be aiming for 1st place, with Wycliffe and Tideway close in battle behind. Kingston Grammar School and Sir William Perkins could act as potential underdog contenders but we will have to see!
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