“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more” – William Shakespeare (from King Henry V)
Following the gruelling Scullers’ Head, we return once more to the hellish Tideway. No longer alone, every athlete will have the support of another: to either reap the fruits of glory with, or sob into the arms of. Tideway head racing has a particular purity to it that regattas can’t quite capture. No consolatory silver or bronze medals. No beeping green lights. Just the humble stopwatch, and 14-or-so minutes of serious wattage. 24 sets of J18 doubles will challenge the championship course, and only one will take home that all-important win.
Tideway Scullers School
When it comes to Tideway Scullers School (affectionately: Scullers) the odds of an impressive set of results are well founded. The winners of this category from last year, Indy Regan and Thomas Patrick, return with another season’s worth of experience under their belts. Patrick approaches the weekend off the back of a very impressive performance at the Scullers’ Head, doing both himself and his club proud with a fifth-place finish. We didn’t get to see Regan at this event, but I’m sure the coaching staff of Hawkins and Williams will have him up to scratch. However, oddly enough, the partnership of Patrick and Regan is Scullers’ only entry into this event, despite the club consistently putting out far more high-quality junior men. Nevertheless, these two are the overwhelming favourites, and will certainly be looking to defend their title this Sunday.
Walton Rowing Club
The next club to discuss is Walton. Although it was by a notable margin, Walton Rowing Club placed second in this category last year, and have thus proved themselves to have a refined and robust programme. While the top Scullers‘ double is strong this year, Walton are sending six to the championship course this weekend. This shows a clear level of squad depth, and the interal competition drives each and every sculler to go as fast as they can. Another thing to consider is that the partnership of Hall and Daines are chasing the title defenders. This will give them a very clear target from the very start of the race, maybe giving them a slight edge in the competition. We’ll have to see if this will benefit them.
Westminster School Boat Club
Next up are the boys from Westminster who appear to be holding off their sweeping until later into the season. All of their returners from last year’s Henley 1st VIII will be making appearances in this boat class on Sunday. This includes European champion Timothy Gutsev and his partner Michael Tzitzikakis. I think it’ll be these two in particular who will be gunning for the podium. While Lewis-Ward/Buxo-Copp and Garman/Chen will surely bring high-quality sculling to the weekend, I think it’ll be Westminster’s top double that can cause disruptions to the start order.
Other Entries
In addition to those above, there are even more high quality crews threaded throughout the pack. For example, even though the top St Paul’s Boat Club crews are competing in the pairs’ category, one would be foolish to doubt the silk laid down from the likes of Evgenev and Spiers – National School’s medalists. Talent also lies in the Reading Rowing Club partnership of Snoxall and Snoxall. Reading are known for their talent in sculling, I just haven’t seen enough of these two to be sure of their speed yet. But their chemistry is guaranteed, and they start very near the top of the pack – I think they could turn some heads.
Predictions
Predictions are always a dangerous game, as there is no sport as unpredictable as rowing. But if I had to call it, I would back @scullerslittlemen (that’s Tideway Scullers to those not familiar with the humourous instagram account) to take the win. After this is where I am less confident. I think Westminster could be very strong contenders, but I don’t know their speed compared to the likes of Reading and Walton. Nonetheless, that’s my general idea of what the top four will look like.
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