Quintin Head is an approximately 4600m race with the tide from Chiswick Bridge to Harrods Depository that will be taking place on the 27th of January. This event is one of the first head races of the year and so will be an opportunity for clubs to gain more competitive rowing experience in eights. There are eight crews entered into the WJ16 8+ category with the likes of Lady Eleanor Holles School, Marlow, Putney High School, St Pauls Girls’ School, Emanuel School and Barn Elms competing.
Lady Eleanor Holles
This club has entered two crews into this event so it will be interesting to see if both of these crews are strong entries. This rowing club has been building their experience in eights as they have achieved a 5th place at Wallingford Head only 2 seconds off Putney High School. This crew had some good experience with Harriet Taylor bringing some good rhythm to the boat after having stroked the J15 first 8+ last year at National Schools’ Regatta.
Marlow
Marlow have some strong athletes in the J16 squad that was proved in the summer season of last year where the J15 4x+ managed to achieve a 3rd place position with only 1.27 seconds off of first place at National Schools’ Regatta. However, there are few recent results to show promise in the eight so it’ll be interesting to see how they will do.
Putney High School
Putney High School have been able to reach closer to the top places than the other clubs in this category. The Putney High School eight that competed at Wallingford achieved a 4th place but was very closely followed by Lady Eleanor Holles. This performance is similar to the 5th place at National Schools’ Regatta last summer so it will be interesting to see whether these athletes continue to improve throughout the season.
Emanuel School
This age group at Emanuel School has not seen any noticeable achievements in place in the eights category. However, last year the J15 8+ came 1st in the C Final but this was equivalent to 3rd in the A final by time. This squad has seen some good development throughout the beginning of this new season with a 2nd place in the WJ16 1x at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls finishing 7 seconds off of the 1st place sculler. It will be interesting to see whether this sculling experience can be translated into boat speed in this WJ16 8+ category.
We expect to see the likes of Lady Eleanor Holles, Marlow, Putney High School and Emanuel School to be competing for the top places because of their previous rowing experience and results. However, their success will ultimately be dependent on their endurance, technical and the coxswain’s steering abilities.
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