The Oarsport junior sculling head is one of the largest and most competitive junior events in the country, and for many crews will be the highlight of the head season. With a incredibly strong field of 41 crews, the WJ16 quads is going to be a very tight and exciting race. I have previewed the boats I believe will be the most competitive across the A and B divisions.
Henley RC A
Henley are known for their strength in junior women’s rowing, and in particular have a strong tradition in sculling. This crew have plently of experience racing in quads, and seem to be building on last year’s performances of silver in the WJ15 4x+ at both National Schools and Brit champs. This season they have already shown their strengths winning Wallingford LDS and more notably Hampton Head in this boat class, where they recorded an impressive 11 second victory over a strong field. Leading the field, Henley will have the advantage of seeing all their competitors race and will definatley be among the favourites for the win.
Latymer Upper School A
Latymer have an incredibly strong squad for this age group, which has been reflected by their dominance in the eights, where they remain unbeaten since having first raced as WJ15s. While they may be considered stronger in rowing, Latymer have also shown their strength and depth by notable sculling performances. A third place finish at Hampton will be encouraging for this quad, especially considering they were just 2 seconds away from Headington. Latymer will have their eyes firmly set on gold this weekend and will be looking to repeat their dominance shown in the eight.
Headington School A
Another club with a strong junior squad, Headington seem to have upped their game from last season and this crew have shown promising improvements. While they must have been disappointed with second place at Hampton, this boat have picked up several wins in the quad recently and will be ready to turn the tables on Friday.
Tideway Scullers
While Tideway Scullers aren’t known for their junior crew boats, this year seems to be an exception and this boat have proved themselves as contenders for this race. It will be interesting to see if this boat contains the winner of the GB J16 trials, Izzy Lack, and if so she will definitely add some speed to this crew.
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