After being cancelled last year on account of adverse weather conditions, and 2020 seeing a strict limitation on entry numbers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pairs Head is back in its entirety, celebrating its 50th race down the 4.5 kilometre Tideway stretch. The iconic course is a notoriously rigorous test on an athlete’s boat handling ability, with a keen familiarity of the steering line constituting an even greater advantage than it would perhaps be on other stretches of river. As such, we can expect to see some interesting racing among the Women’s Championship Doubles, an event made up of seven strong entries, none of which are native to the Tideway or its unique technical challenges.
Leander Club & Birmingham University BC
One of the most well-known names in the rowing community, Leander rarely disappoints in its provision of top-quality, competitive athletes, and this year’s entry into the Women’s Championship Doubles is set to be no different. Comprised of Leander’s Imogen Magner and Katie Mole representing Birmingham University, this crew boasts an impressive set of individual achievements, with both athletes giving a notably strong performance at GB trials last November.
Aside from their own accomplishments, this pairing has experience racing together, qualifying as a double for HRR and narrowly missing out on a win at HWR earlier this year. These recent results prove that these athletes are nothing if not a cohesive unit, and they have certainly established themselves as the crew to beat this Sunday.
Marlow RC
The entry from Marlow has the all-important advantage of prior racing experience on the Tideway, with both Philomena Burrows and Emma Boddy in the top women’s club quad at Fours Head last year. With both athletes demonstrating their sculling skills in the quad, it will be interesting to see how they perform together in the double.
Reading University BC
This year, Reading University has entered three boats into the Women’s Championship Doubles event, and while not as much is known about all the athletes in this cohort, standout names include Leah Atkinson, Flora Robertson, and Alex Grocock, all of whom were in the quad that qualified for the Princess Grace Challenge Cup at HRR and made it to the Championship A final at the Met Regatta earlier this year. Having dominated the entries in this event, they are likely to offer some fierce competition this weekend.
Sudbury RC
Although certainly a smaller club than some of the other names we have seen in this event, this double from Sudbury should by no means be overlooked. Amelia Moule and Martha Bullen have plenty of experience racing together, with both coming from the SRC junior programme, where they competed together several times. More recently, they won the Women’s Doubles event at Henley Sculls Head last November and reached the HWR semi-finals of the aspirational doubles. In light of this experience, it will be exciting to see what this crew brings to the race.
Warwick BC
As another crew that seems to have a significant amount of experience racing together, the entry from Warwick is certainly one to keep an eye on. In this crew is Olivia Joyce-Trevellyan, who won a silver medal at the World Rowing Indoor Championships during lockdown in 2021. With a strong set of performances at smaller regattas over the summer, this double seems to have prepared themselves well for the incoming head season.
Prediction
With the strong selection of athletes that have entered the event this year, it is hard to predict a definitive ranking before the race. Given their recent standout performances at some of the most competitive events on the rowing calendar, I would be hard-pressed to predict any other winner than the Leander crew. If pushed, I would say there is a decent chance of one of the Reading doubles snatching up second place, but as all the crews look to establish themselves on the competitive radar at the start of the season, it certainly is all to play for.
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