The Oarsport Junior Sculling Head (OJSH) will be raced at the 2012 Olympic Lake at Eton Dorney and combines the time of two 1.8k pieces, one up and one down the lake. This year, the WJ17 quads have a total of 29 entries from 27 different clubs. OJSH will be particularly exciting this year as it will be our first real opportunity to see the speeds of our top crews.
Henley Rowing Club
One of the most established rowing programs in junior women’s rowing had a quad place second in both the WJ16 and WJ17 events last year. Henley produced a second-placed finish at Reading Small Boats Head in the quads and have displayed the strength and versatility of their squad with a win at Quintin and a fifth-placed position at Women’s Eights Head of the River (WEHORR). I would expect a strong result from Henley in this event that should secure them a top-three finish.
Putney High School
Having finished their WJ16 season on a high by qualifying as the British representation at the GB-France match, Putney will be looking to use those experiences to their advantage going into this event. They came third at Hampton Head to Lea RC and Molesey but seem to perform best when it is needed the most. They have beaten Henley Rowing Club before but the question remains as to whether they can do it again.
Molesey Boat Club
A bastion of rowing in the UK, Molesey are incredibly well set-up for success and have a program that has produced strong results for a generation. With a top-ten finish from their senior women at WEHORR and a second-placed finish for the juniors at Hampton Head I am certain their crew will draw on the success of Molesey as a whole to drive them on towards.
Wallingford Rowing Club
Wallingford started off the year strong at Reading Small Boats Head by dominating the WJ17 single sculls. One of their scullers (Collins) won the category, finishing five seconds clear of all other competitors. They also took home a second-placed finish in the double sculls at the event. Throw into the mix that they were the dominant force in women’s J16 sweep rowing last season and you can start to see why they’re a force to be reckoned with. Can they transfer this finesse to the quads and use the momentum from the earlier section of the season to secure a strong placing heading into the summer season?
Notable Mentions
Other entries of note include Shiplake College, Marlow Rowing Club, Headington Rowing Club, Surbiton Rowing Club and Sir William’s Perkins School. All these clubs are well-established and consistently appear in the upper echelons of domestic racing. As a result, I am sure they will be putting out strong crews and hoping for even stronger results.
Predictions
I believe that Henley will come out on top, especially considering the lack of an entry from Wycliffe in this category. Following Henley will likely be Molesey plus Putney High School, who will battle it out for second and third. With their obvious class, Wallingford could potentially push themselves into the top three, however will face some fierce competition from the aforementioned.
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