A fair number of the school crews entered into this category have the Tideway as their home water, and therefore will be looking for an indication of their speed compared to other clubs before Schools’ Head. Other clubs, especially with newly established coxes in their senior squads, will be looking to become familiar with the perfect racing line on the Tideway before stepping up and competing at Schools’ Head, which is one of the key events in junior rowing, and only a matter of weeks away.
St Paul’s School
St Paul’s have two eights entered into this category, which will most likely be their second and third eights, as they have an eight entered into Open Championship eights, which will likely be their top combination and is looking to compete against the likes of Molesey, Thames and Imperial College. This is a clear indication that St Paul’s are looking to dominate the junior rowing scene once again this year off the back of their incredible success last year. Can they repeat last years results? A huge win in Junior Champ 4s at Four’s Head before Christmas makes it look promising that Pauls are going to have another formidable season, however there will definitely be closer margins between all of the challengers this year, which will make for much more competitive and exciting racing.
I would call Westminster School the underdogs, both for this category at Quintin this coming weekend, however also for this entire season. Westminster have produced some incredible results in the past, however have been seemingly off their game the last couple of years. Their decision to put out a top quad last season didn’t pay off, as the quad didn’t perform to the standard expected, whilst the eight also suffered at National Schools’, finishing in the C final. Whilst it is unknown what Westminster’s tactics are coming into this season, it is likely Westminster will have full focus on the eight and will be looking to step up their game. If they get this right, they could post a solid time at Quintin this weekend and could be challenging for a finish in the top 5 at Schools’ Head in a few weeks time.
Kings College School
KCS recently stepping up to championship eights made a big impact last season, and proved that they are really looking to step up their game and compete with the “big dogs”. KCS will be pleased with last year’s results in the championship category, however will be really looking to step it on this season, so that they can make the A final at National Schools’ Regatta. The road to success for KCS starts this weekend, at Quintin Head, where they will be looking to challenge with the likes of Shiplake College, who typically have a strong eight entered into this category. If KCS can post a quick time this weekend, this will boost their confidence coming into the most competitive part of the head season, which could lead to them achieving better results at the important Schools’ Head.
Abingdon School
Abingdon School’s results have been slightly off the top level over the last couple of years, with a B final finish in Championship eights last season. However, they will be receiving a large intake of athletes from last year’s J16 squad, who managed to place 3rd in J16 championship eights at National Schools’ Regatta last summer. Similarly to Westminster, Abingdon are one of the underdogs coming into this season, and a strong performance at Quintin this weekend would really show that they are going to be in contention for challenging for the top spot this season.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Shiplake have two eights entered into this category, and these are likely to be matched eights, however with one eight being slightly stronger than the other, which is what they appeared to do at Wallingford back in November. However, this tactic didn’t pay off at Wallingford as their two matched eights placed a way off St Paul’s two matched eights and there was an even larger margin between Radley, who entered a top eight into Wallingford Head. However, Shiplake are known to pick up speed throughout the season, so whilst their results at Quintin this weekend may not end up being particularly impressive, they will definitely be challenging St Paul’s and Radley for the top spot coming into Schools’ Head in a few weeks time.
Reading Blue Coat School
With recent acquisition of the Oxford Brookes women’s squad coach, Reading Bluecoat will be looking to step up their game. The transition of a new coach and a new program isn’t a quick one, and normally an improvement in performance of a squad is evidenced over a number of years. Therefore, I wouldn’t expect Reading Blue Coat’s result to be particularly impressive at Quintin Head this coming weekend, however as the season goes on, and moving into future seasons, I would expect Bluecoat’s results to improve exponentially due to new coaching techniques and what is looking like it is going to be a much more successful training program.
Radley College Boat Club are missing from this event, and it is clear they are keeping their cards close to their chest. A 2nd place finish at National Schools’ and a Henley semi-final position last season sets Radley up to be challenging for the top spot this year, so it will be interesting to see what they can bring in a few weeks time at Schools’ Head.
It is also worth noting Emanuel School, St George’s College and Norwich School are entered into this category, and whilst I don’t think they will be in contention for the win this coming weekend, they will most certainly be looking to gain valuable experience for the upcoming Schools’ Head.
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