On Friday the 20th of March, 57 sets of J15 coxed quad crews will be congregating at Dorney Lake to participate in the prestigious Junior Sculling Head. Here, the rowers will race a full circulation of the course, covering 1800m in each direction, with an untimed spinning of boats in the middle. This distinct racing structure is unique to the Junior Sculling Head. After months of missed racing due to the red-boards that have been disrupting the water all over the UK, accompanied by the Junior Sculling Head marking the end of the head racing seasons, rowers will have even greater incentive to push their limits; using the race as an opportunity to display the training they have been completing during the compromised training period.
Windsor Boys School Boat Club
Starting the division off we surprisingly have Windsor Boys. Last year at the Junior Sculling Head, this year’s group of Windsor boys came 14th, which whilst not being a poor result, does not leave them in a position where winning will seem an easy task. That being said, we haven’t seen the Windsor J15 boys race this season, leaving the crew with the perfect opportunity to take their competition by surprise, pushing away from Henley – the second draw in the division – to win their race. On that note, Windsor Boys produced first and fifth-place finishes at the Charles Head of the River Race, further suggesting the possibility of Windsor having been training hard instead of racing, and that they may be able to shock us all.
Walbrook Rowing Club
Walbrook are a crew to look out for. Last year, the Walbrook crew of Otto De Jong, Will Manley, Huxley Gould, Marlo Forlin and Yassin Ibrahim dominated at the National Schools’ Regatta, winning both the time trial and their final by over eight seconds. On top of this, the same crew won inter-regionals, bringing new levels to their success. That being said, last year they came 10th at the Junior Sculling Head, and much like Windsor, they haven’t been around much this season. For this reason, it is difficult to establish whether the Walbrook crew will dominate as they did last season.
Wallingford Rowing Club
Wallingford is not an unfamiliar name when it comes to discussing potential winners. Being the fourth crew to boat, surrounded by top crews like Henley, Hereford and Westminster, Wallingford is granted the possibility to both chase and push away from fast boats as a racing strategy. At the start of the year, they came first at their local race, Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, second at the Junior Sculling Head, and then third at both National Schools’ and British Championships. Not only does this prove this Wallingford crew is one to keep a keen eye on, but it also proves they are consistent in their results and likely to do well on Friday.
Westminster School Boat Club
With Westminster being a top-class boat club, it is unsurprising that their crew is expected to do well. That being said, as a schoolboy crew, we can expect that their top rowers will be taking part in the J15 8+. Taking home a respectable eighth place at the Junior Sculling Head last year as J14s and then earlier this year, Westminster beat over 25 other crews to take home the win in the J15 quad event at Hampton Head, beating crews such as Mossbourne, Maidenhead and Henley. This leads me to believe that Westminster quad are a crew to look out for, and have the potential to place well. Being fifth to the boat this crew will have to chase down the boats separating them from the start of the division.
Henley Rowing Club
Henley Rowing Club will be coming away from a fifth-place finish at Hampton head, putting them behind competitors such as Westminster, Norwich, Maidenhead and Wolton. Whilst not promising, we know that Henley came third during last year’s J14 sculling heat, showing that these boys have potential. At the National Schools Regatta, we witnessed a crew of Maxim Lutsenko, Diego Petrossillo, Oliver White and Charlie Green, coxed by Rares Visinoiu come seventh in their time trial, and eighth in their final.
Hereford Cathedral School Boat Club
Third, off the start, we have the Hereford Cathedral School Boat Club. Situated by the River Wye, these rowers haven’t faced crews like Henley, Westminster or Walbrook yet. Hereford could take their competitors by surprise, attacking the course with unexpected speed. On the flip side, however, the crew’s lack of interaction with their competition could lead to a shock during the races when they simply can’t keep up. This seems unlikely, given that this Hereford crew placed third last year, behind Henley and Wallingford who were in joint second place, by just 1.1 seconds. Hereford is therefore undoubtedly a crew to look out for, with the experience to support the suggestion that they could place in the top three on Friday.
Predictions
The Sculling Head serves as a great opportunity to recognise what needs to be worked on within crews in preparation for the National Schools’ Regatta, as well as establishing competition crews would have otherwise been unexposed to due to location. In regards to predicted outcomes, I believe it will be a tough battle between Walllbrook, Westminster and Hereford Cathedral for the top spot, all three crews having displayed exemplary talent during both the head racing season as well as regatta season. That being said, crews such as Windsor Boys and Wallingford also have the potential to win the top spot, however require a greater step on than the three mentioned before.
My predicted top 5 are as follows
- Wallbrook
- Westminster
- Hereford Cathedral
- Henley
- Wallingford
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