This Pairs Head race will start at the finish post of The Boat Race, downstream of Chiswick Bridge, and will continue downstream approximately 4.5km to the finish at the Harrods Wall. There are seven different crews entered into the W J18 2- club event with the likes of Emanuel, Maidstone Invicta, Putney High School, Walton and Barn Elms to be competing.
Emanuel
Emanuel School Boat Club have competed in some major events in this category, for example National Schools Regatta. Last year Emmanuel at National Schools their championship coxless pair had Izzy Thomas in the bow seat, providing some valuable sweep experience. However, in this championship coxless pair event this crew only achieved first in the D final, so it will be interesting to see how these athletes have progressed over the past year.
Maidstone Invicta
This club has seen little experience in some of the larger events, such as National Schools Regatta and Wallingford Regatta, with only coxless pairs entries in the men’s categories. However, Maidstone Invicta have raced this course before and so will be familiar with the steering of the course which can make a large impact upon your time.
Putney High School
This club has shown experience in the coxless pairs category over the past year with three crews entered into the W J18 2- category at National Schools Regatta last year with the A crew coming third in the B final. This club also raced this specific course and category last year. All of this experience should be translated into this year’s racing to give a strong performance.
Walton
This Walton crew has Amelia Grimshaw who competed in the J16 coxless pairs at National Schools regatta last year and came third in the C final whilst rowing in the stroke seat and so she has some good experience in finding a good rhythm to race down the track with. However, she is moving into the bow seat for this event and so steering will be key for their success.
Barn Elms
In this event last year, Barn Elms had two crews entered into this category and this rowing club will be entering one crew this year. Barn Elms boat club is situated not far from the finish of the Pairs Head race; therefore, these athletes will be confident in rowing in the often-rough conditions of the river Thames and should have good steering abilities that will aid them in this 4.5km race.
We expect to see the likes of Maidstone Invicta, Barn Elms and Putney High school competing for the top places as their experience on this course will give them the necessary experience to reach the higher rankings.
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