With the rowing racing world starting to come back to life following a long year of hibernation, there is no better way to start the season than with the four and a half kilometres of pure adrenaline that Pairs Head offers. Five boats, made up of three Mortlake and Anglian crews, a Tideway Scullers School crew, and a Worcester Rowing Club crew, will battle it out down the course in the Women’s Championship Doubles to claim one of the first big wins of the season.
Tideway Scullers School
Starting off the racing for the Women’s Championship Doubles is Saskia Budgett from Tideway Scullers School (TSS), rowing with Georgie Brayshaw of Leander Club. Fresh from Tokyo where she acted as a spare at the 2020 Olympics, it can be assumed that Budgett’s racing will promise the high level of technical sculling and endurance needed to win the category. Whilst it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement that Budgett brings, her partner, Brayshaw, equally demands attention. Hailing from the World Class Start programme she has been knocking on the door to the GB squad for a couple of years and along with Budgett will be aiming to make it this season. This double will undoubtedly be favourites to take the win in this event.
Mortlake Anglian and Alpha BC
The TSS crew isn’t the only one looking to improve on the results of previous years, as the Mortlake Anglian and Alpha Boat Club (MAABC) double of Brooks and Webb springs to mind. Webb came thirty-first overall in Pairs Head 2020, securing a finishing placement of fifth in the Women’s Championship Doubles, only two places behind Polglase. With only two spots separating the two it’ll be interesting to see whether that remains the same this year or if Webb can close the gap. In addition to Webb, Brooks appears to be having a strong start to the 2021/22 season after finishing fifth in the Women’s Championship Single event at Scullers Head earlier this year. With a strong start to the season, let’s see how this crew fairs against the TSS crew.
Much like the other crew, Gowan and Keene, another of MAABC’s three crews entered, has also had a strong start to the season. Gowan finished fourth in the Women’s Senior Singles at Scullers Head this year and is seeking an improvement from the sixth place she achieved in the Women’s Championship Doubles at Pairs Head 2020.
Overall, I’m excited to see the results of this race with a superb quality of rowing promised all round. I think that the TSS crew will ultimately come out on top, as half the crew have had a summer of training in preparation for the Olympics. However, the race still evokes excitement as the question rises – who will claim second place?
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