As the frost starts to set in and the days begin to darken, Pairs Head offers crews a chance to stick their foot in the door amidst a slew of cancelled races and get some solid experience before the full onset of winter training. This year, in the Senior Women’s category, a massive total of 34 crews will battle it out down the Tideway for the pennant, but more pressingly to prove that they have cultivated the most important relationship in a rower’s life: the pair partnership.
Nottingham Rowing Club – Beaumont & Beaumont, Varley & Thorp, Bowman & Boddy
Making up three out of the ten entries in the Championship category, Nottingham RC seem confident in their abilities to impress out on the Tideway this year and are sure to put up a good challenge to the other senior women in this race. Notably, the crew of Beaumont & Beaumont are one of the two crews who competed in the same Senior Championships category last year placing 8th in the event. With a relationship that evidently runs more than skin deep, and the president set at the Olympics this year, it is up to these women to channel some Sinković-esque magic and prove that blood truly is thicker than water.
Cambridge University Boat Club – Armstrong & Graf
Coming into the 2024 season with an impressive record in the mid-ships of the light blue eight, the Cambridge crew of Armstrong and Graf have come to prove their small boat skills. Having been victorious in The Boat Race and putting in a strong Henley campaign reaching the semi-finals, it is hard to look past these women for a win in this year’s Championship pairs.
London Rowing Club – Bawn & Seredenko, Cottrell & Arthur
Coming in strong with two out of their three Senior Women’s crews in the Championship category, London RC have put their money where their mouth is as they continue to grow the impressive strength of their women’s team. Out of the two pairs, Cottrell & Arthur seem the ones to beat, as Elizabeth Cottrell, the former Captain of the London RC team, made up part of their stunning Henley campaign in their Wargrave ‘A’ boat which eventually fell only to Thames Rowing Club in the finals. On their home stretch of water, I wouldn’t bet against these women to give the other crews a good run for their money
Other Entries
With so many entries this year, it is impossible to narrow down the field to just the three clubs mentioned above. Other entries of note include the Worcester Rowing Club crew of Robinson and Johnston who make up the other crew returning in full from last year, and the Thames Rowing Club crew of Strange and Mlynek who take up the challenge on their home waters.
Prediction
Personally, I find it hard to look past the calibre of the Cambridge crew for the win to open this season with Nottingham RC and London RC not far behind. That being said, with Pairs Head being the first race of the 2024/25 season for many, the title could be anyone’s game. Furthermore, as most of us know, the only thing predictable about the Tideway is its tumultuous unpredictability, leaving the field wide open, or at the very least, around 300m open across the width of the river!
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