On Saturday morning, almost a thousand rowers, young and old, will be found in hundreds of layers of clothing, lining the banks of the tideway preparing to race the infamous Pairs Head course – 4.5K of pure pain and suffering. For those racing in the Women’s Championship J16 2X, this will most likely be their first time taking on the currents and traffic of the Capital’s River; so what can we expect from the Tideway’s latest victims?
Maidenhead
A strong contender coming into this year’s race is the double from Maidenhead; crew from this boat have proven themselves last season with a 4th place in the A final, and a 3rd place in the B final at the National Championships in the WJ154x+ and WJ152x respectively, Sellers also placed 3rd in the B final at NSR in the double last year. This is clearly a crew that has a proven track record of top performances on the National Stage, and one we should expect a top performance from this weekend.
Tideway Scullers School
Tideway have become synonymous with high-level achievement across the board, and their junior squad is no exception; with a win in the equivalent event last year, Tideway should be looking to hold their title, and it looks as if they have the perfect crew to make that a reality. Members of this years crew placed 6th in the coxed quad at NSR last year, and 5th in the same event at National Championships, and with the clubs that beat them being absent from Pairs Head, the doors are wide open for Tideway to take the win.
Kingston
Not to be confused with the capital of Jamaica, Kingston Rowing Club is another name often heard at the top end of the sport and will be looking to make a (hopefully metaphorical) splash in the WJ16 doubles this year. Some of the crew placed well in the Coxed Quad at NSR last year, coming in 7th overall, thus meaning they go into this event as one of the more successful crews. However only time will tell if this is enough to match the might of Maidenhead and Tideway.
Wycliffe
Entering two crews this year, Wycliffe are looking to gain experience, and with any luck a good rank at pairs head. The two crews appear to be a split of their coxed quad that came 7th at the National Championships last year, meaning we are presented with two crews that should be pushing the other doubles down the course.
Predictions
This year Maidenhead and Tideway are the two crews that we expect to be jostling for the top spot, but we must bear in mind the unpredictability of races on the Tideway. As a result, it would be foolish to discount the crews from Wycliffe and Kingston.
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