Far away from the world of stormy southern racing, the Head of the Nene Junior 18 double sculls is looking to be a close race – although it’s a small field, with only five crews from four clubs entered, the Peterborough-based event is shaping up to be a vicious fight for the ten scullers entered.
Oundle School
Hailing from the town of Oundle are two doubles – Neale’s double and Sullivan Porteus’ double. Although not rowing on the same section of the course, they’re not far from the river and will likely be quite strong in navigating any twists and turns. Their Junior 16 quad won the second band of the short course quads at the event last year, and they also had two Junior 18 singles who placed tenth and 12th in their races last year. Their best two scullers are racing in the singles, so these doubles aren’t their top entries, and they’re also boating a Junior 18 quad in the division before which will likely contain many of the same athletes, so they may not be at their freshest for the doubles, but they should still be able to put up a fight.
King’s School Ely
King’s School Ely, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, have only one double entered. Last year they placed fifth in the Junior 16 double sculls, demonstrating a strong knowledge of the course, and also had three Junior 18 singles placing eighth, ninth, and 13th. They have various Junior 16 boats entered, but this double was the only Junior 18 boat that was entered, therefore, it’s fair to assume that this is their top boat. At the National Schools’ Regatta in May, they placed 29th in the Junior 18 quadruple sculls, which was the only men’s event they entered.
Bedford Rowing Club
Rowing on the River Great Ouse, they also only have one double entered. Last year, they were able to take third place in the Junior 16 doubles, finishing the course almost a minute faster than their competitors from King’s School Ely last year. They have a wide range of boats entered into the race with Junior 18 Eights, Junior 18 Fours, both coxed and coxless, on top of their doubles. However, these are all in different divisions, so there may be some doubling up between the divisions. They’re a relatively unknown club, but I’m sure they’re going to do their best to make themselves stand out from the field.
Bedford Modern School
Rounding out the draw is Bedford Modern School – they have historically had success in this event across a wide range of categories, winning the Open Eights long course last year, along with a Junior 16 double and single which placed sixth and third respectively. They have Junior 18 and Junior 16 quads entered and therefore, like Oundle, may not be fully recovered by the time of their race. They don’t appear in many races so it’s quite difficult to judge their capabilities, but I’m sure they’ll be looking to show us what they can do.
Prediction
Although the rowing scene north of London isn’t as active as those on the Thames, these four boat clubs should be able to put on an exciting race and show off their progress in their first races of the year. Rowing isn’t a main sport at either King’s School Ely or Oundle, but it’s encouraging to see them boating their crews despite this. I think that this race could easily go to anyone – it’s especially difficult to make judgements given the lack of crew lists. However, I think that Bedford Modern School has a strong chance of being able to win the event due to the success they’ve shown in the past.
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