Head racing season is well and truly underway, with crews taking to the Tideway last week for Quintin Head, and events such Hammersmith Head and Schools’ Head of the River looming on the horizon. This week however, junior crews will be charging down the course at Peterborough for the Head of the Nene, looking to establish a speed order as they approach some of the most prestigious races of the year.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
Starting this list of ones to watch, all eyes will be on St Paul’s School Boat Club this weekend as clear favourites to win this event. Following a dominant 23/24 season, in which the first VIII took impressive victories at Henley Royal Regatta, Head of the Charles, National Schools’ Regatta and Schools’ Head of the River, to name a few, Bobby Thatcher’s boys are showing no signs of stopping this season either. They won the youth eights category at Head of the Charles in October and finished second overall at Quintin Head last Saturday, just 1.1 seconds off the overall winners, London Rowing Club. Their strength is in abundance and such is their speed that they can hold their own against crews older and more experienced. Racing in open eights, they’ll be looking to take the headship.
Hampton School Boat Club
While perhaps lacking some of the accolades and medals accumulated by other crews in recent years, Hampton School Boat Club should be by no means disregarded as, in my opinion, one of the strongest schoolboy crews to watch this year. The 23/24 season led them to an eighth-placed finish for the first VIII at National Schools’ Regatta and a plucky fourth-place finish for their Junior 16 first VIII. The boys in yellow will almost certainly be looking to build on last year’s performance by placing themselves on the medal podium for any race they can this year. With multiple returning athletes who represented GB over the summer, such as George Buckingham (who won three medals at the Coupe de la Jeunesse), as well as Harry Oliver (the bow seat of the victorious eight at the U19 World Rowing Championships), Hampton School have no lack of experience heading into this season
Kingston Grammar School Boat Club
Arguably the underdog on this list, Kingston Grammar School Boat Club have nonetheless performed impressively in the last few years, especially during their 23/24 season. While more focused on smaller boat classes than the other crews on this list – fours rather than eights – Kingston Grammar enjoyed a fantastic season last year in their coxless four, taking a win at Poplar Regatta and the National Schools’ Regatta. It will be interesting to see how members of the crew adapt to rowing the eight instead of the four, as the challenges inherent in each are obvious.
Conclusion
It should be no surprise that St Paul’s School Boat Club takes my vote for the predicted winners of the Head of the Nene this Saturday – in a fairly small draw, the ‘kings’ of schoolboy rowing (at least in recent year) stick out like a sore thumb, given their past performances. However, anything can happen out on the water, so Hampton School Boat Club shouldn’t be discounted just yet.
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