The Pairs Head will see the championship stretch of the tideway in action once again, following on from the recent Scullers’ Head. The potential for rough tideway conditions combined with small boats will test athletes’ boat handling ability, and those looking to be successful will need to demonstrate not just physical fitness but a high level of technicality. The Women’s Championship Pair category is made up of just six crews, all highly experienced, so there is no doubt that we can expect some fierce racing.
Thames Rowing Club
Thames has long retained a name for itself as one of the best rowing clubs in the country, and more specifically the tideway. Carlotti sat in the five seat of the Thames eight that narrowly lost out to a strong Leander crew in the final of the inaugural Wargrave Challenge Cup at this year’s Henley Royal Regatta, and it is likely that her pairs partner featured in the crew. Following on from last season’s success, and slim loss, these athletes will no doubt return fighting for a victory and look well placed to do just that on Saturday.
Kingston Rowing Club
Not much is known about the crew from KRC, however being placed into the championship category, they will likely carry lots of PRI points, alluding to a wealth of racing experience and some high place finishes.
Tideway Scullers School
TSS have two boats entered into this category, following their success at last year’s race which saw them take the top three spots. The crew entered under Terry will be a very strong contender for the top spot, with Terry winning this category at last year’s race. The Tideway based club has an impressive repertoire of results so it would be expected that both of the boats will have the ability to perform very well.
Vesta Rowing Club
While VRC’s women’s squad did not race at Henley Royal Regatta 2021, crew member, Lidlow, raced in their aspirational club four that reached the semi-finals of Henley Women’s Regatta, narrowly losing to a strong crew from London Rowing Club. This result suggests that this crew will put up a good race, however, it will be interesting to see how competitive they can be as they move up into the championship category.
Lea Rowing Club
A notable recent result for Lea RC’s women’s squad is from Henley Women’s Regatta where they successfully qualified a four for the aspirational club event. It is not known if any of the members of that crew are racing in this boat but will be interesting to see how the club can perform in smaller boats.
Prediction
Whilst all of the aforementioned crews will be of an extremely high calibre, I would expect the pennant to be taken by the Thames Rowing Club crew, with the two Tideway Scullers’ boats taking the rest of the podium places. Their prolific racing experience, as well as knowledge of all that the tideway can throw at you, will be advantageous in knocking off precious seconds in an event that will produce some very close results.
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