As the one head race we can guarantee will not be affected by the seasonal British flooding, this Wednesday we take to the Olympic course in Dorney to round off the eventful but limited 2025 head racing season, and open the doors to warmer times and 2000m racing.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
Inarguably the most successful junior men’s sculling program in the UK and the rest of the world, the Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club, led by coach Mark Wilkinson, are running on hot form off the back of their performances so far this season at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston and the Heineken Roeivierkamp. They will be looking to add to this repertoire of wins that they have accumulated at this early stage of the season. The individual talent to have come out of the Windsor Boys’ School’s Junior 17 squad is well documented. With Joe Wellington and Rueben Taylor both representing Great Britain at the 2024 U19 World Rowing Championships, the boys in this boat are sure to be the rising stars of the squad, looking to follow in the footsteps of their older teammates.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Shiplake College Boat Club raced to a dominant win at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head 2024, and they are back this year to see if they can repeat their success and retain the number one spot for the second year running. The recent rise of the Shiplake boys’ sculling contingent has been a strong showing; not only did they win this event in 2024, but they then capped off the season with a storming Henley Royal Regatta campaign, where they made it to the semifinals of The Fawley Challenge Cup. With presumably a new batch of athletes coming through the program, making the step up in the standard of rowing between year 11 and year 12, the boys from Shiplake will be looking to lay down a marker for the rest of the country to follow on Wednesday.
Tideway Scullers School
In the junior sculling field, Tideway Scullers School are always in the mix, producing wins in both of the Junior sculling Henley Royal Regatta events in the last three years. The talent of previous athletes at the club cannot be disputed. This, however, is the new breed of scullers’ talent, looking to rise through the ranks and better the achievements of previous years. Starting this rise, as Junior 16s last year, they made the A-final at the National Schools’ Regatta 2024. I am confident that the time they have spent as a crew over the last eight to nine months will have solidified them as a crew and help them to push up the places on Wednesday.
Hinksey Sculling School
Reaching the final of the Fawley Challenge Cup in 2023, and winning a silver medal in the Junior 16 quads at the National Schools Regatta 2024, Hinksey Sculling School pose a clear and present danger to the top end field of this event. Whilst they are starting relatively low in the start order, their previous results indicate they could be a crew to come out of the ether in this event and have the potential to clinch some silverware.
Prediction
I think at this stage in junior sculling, it would be foolish to put my money on anyone other than the Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club for the win in this event. However, with that being said, I am confident that the rest of the field will not be far behind. Regardless, second and third place will be tight, but I think Hinksey Sculling School can take the silver medal if they can reproduce their form from last year. Following them will be Shiplake College Boat Club, taking the bronze, although it is unlikely that there will be a large margin between them and Tideway Scullers School in fourth.
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