Quintin Head will be the first major head race of the New Year and offers many crews the perfect opportunity to practice racing on the Tideway in preparation for the fast-approaching Schools’ Head. The race will take place between Chiswick Bridge and Harrods Depository over 4,600m with the tide. There are eleven strong women’s crews entered in this category so it will definitely be interesting to see how coxes and rowers manage to battle it out with the often harsh conditions of the Tideway.
Lady Eleanor Holles School
Last summer we saw LEH take silver in the J16 Girls Eights category at The National Schools’ Regatta as well as fourth when competing for the Ayling’s Challenge cup in the Championship Eight. This season LEH achieved third at Wallingford Head in November in the J18 4+ with an additional second and third in the J18 8+, a very strong start to the season which puts them as a top contender for the upcoming Quintin Head.
Putney High school
After a very successful year in fours last year, it will be interesting to see if the girls from putney will be able to stay at the top this year. Two boats, Putney high school A and B, reached the final of school G4+ at National Schools Regatta in May. The first boat claimed gold, an astonishing ten second ahead of the rest of the field. The second finished in seventh place, demonstrating the squads depth in fours. Some of Putney’s more recent achievements include first and sixth in the WJ18 Championship 2- and second in WJ18 club 2x at Pairs head of the river earlier in October, Putney will have gained valuable experience on the Tideway at Pair Head so the pressure is on to see if they can perform just as well this Sunday. Additionally Putney High school A beat Henley in Junior fours in the Henley women’s regatta final.
Marlow Rowing Club
Earlier on this season we saw Marlow take second place at Fours Head of the river, demonstrating their strength in Sweep boats. Last summer Marlow took bronze in the Championship Girls Eight at National Schools’ Regatta and had a very strong performance in the School Girls coxed four coming fourth, less than a second behind third. Marlow’s J16 quad and four were both very impressive last year, reaching the finals of their categories at Henley Women’s Regatta. Marlow also reached the final of Henley Royal regatta in the summer but were beaten by Y Quad Cities who took first place. I would expect to see a very encouraging performance from Marlow this weekend as I’m sure they will be aiming for another medal in the eight this year at National Schools’ Regatta.
Tideway Scullers School
The girls from Tideway Scullers school are definitely at an advantage this weekend, racing on their home stretch of water I’m sure they will have done many practice pieces to prepare. Last year TSS definitely showed their strength in sculling boats when they came fourth at National Schools’ Regatta in the Championship Quad. At Henley Royal Regatta, Tideway Scullers qualified but were beaten in their heat by Marlow RC who went on to reach the final.
I have no doubt that this Sunday will be an exciting day of racing with some extremely close times within the Women’s Junior 18 category. There are eleven very strong crews entered this year so it will definitely be a challenge to come out on top. Quintin Head will be a fantastic chance for coaches to finalise selections for Schools’ Head and Women’s Head which are only weeks away. My predictions for who will take the top three spots are:
- Marlow RC
- Lady Eleanor Holles
- Putney High school
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