As the J15s move from sculling to sweeping, it’s a matter of who will have the ability to pick up the technique and still make the boat move fast. It’s also the step up from training as a J14 to a J15, with higher intensity pieces on the water and endurance on the ergo, it’ll be exciting to see which clubs winter training has been most effective. Quintin Head is sure to be a tough race, with a stretch of just over 4600m of water, it’ll be interesting to see which crew can go above and beyond the expected, to win. With seven eights entered to race and a few familiar names, it will be a close one to call.
Henley
Last year for Henley was certainly a big one for them, with their WJ15 8+, WJ16 8+ and Champ 8+ winning all of their races at National Schools’ Regatta (NSR). More recently, Henley are proving that they should stay at the top with their J15’s topping up first at Wallingford Head in the 8+. It’ll be interesting to see what Henley will bring to this race so early on in the season.
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School had results frequently near the top end throughout last season. Their J14 octo’s placed 1st and 6th in the A final of the 8x+2 respectively at NSR, which shows they have the power to compete over a 1k stretch, but is it enough to compete just over 4.5k? Latymer’s J15 8+ came 1st in the A final at NSR, proving that Latymer do have the lead when it the time comes to switch from sculling to sweeping.
Lady Eleanor Holles School
Last year Lady Eleanor Holles school entered two J14 octuple sculls which were 2nd and 3rd in the B final at NSR respectively, while their senior 8+’s seemed to fall just short of Henley, so it’ll be interesting to see if the J15s are a real contender against Henley or not.
Marlow
Marlow has had varying success over the years, mainly with their senior boats, which has been more noticeable in past year with the Champ 8+ and J15 8+ coming in 3rd at NSR. The J14 Octo came in 4th in the C final at NSR respectively, so there’s a good chance they’ll step it up to compete in the 8+. Since it’s only the start of the year, Marlow will have plenty of time to improve, however it’ll be fascinating to see what stage they’re at now.
Putney High School and St George’s College have also entered the race, both of whom have a good chance of getting a high result, however with so little evidence I wouldn’t be able to accurately predict the ending result.
Predictions
I think Henley and Marlow will both do very well, given last year’s results. Therefore, it’ll be interesting to see how the future generation of these clubs deals with these kind of races, knowing they could be racing the same people for the rest of their junior rowing years.
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