And so the season finally gets underway with the first of the major head races: Quintin Head 2023. With close to 30 J18 crews travelling to the tideway to race from Chiswick Bridge to Fulham Reach Pontoon over the 4400m course(slightly shorter than last year), it will make it the first marker of speed for schoolboy eights of the season. Exciting things await no doubt!
Radley College
Radley will kick things off in the J18 category racing off first. Naturally, they will be looking to put down a marker that they can carry on from their performance in the Henley finals last year and more recently at both at Wallingford and Fours Head. Stroked by German they will need his experience and technical ability to set and maintain a strong rhythm. With what looks to be the absence of St Pauls First Eight in this category, they are arguably the favourites.
Eton College
Another schoolboy crew that will be fast and is always fast is that of which comes from Eton. With no racing at Fours Head, it is difficult to gauge exactly how fast they will be. Alongside the entry of only one eight, (seemingly their First Eight) it will be testing to see how they compare to their opposition.and if they are looking to challenge for a win.
King’s College School
With their best-ever Henley attempt reaching the Saturday last year, King’s College will be looking to take that a step further this year hopefully. With what is a new crew for the most part this year and with some good results from 4’s Head, it will be interesting to see how they fare moving in to the eight.
St Edward’s School
Having placed 3rd and 4th in the school coxed 4 division at 4’s Head, St Edward’s will have confidence going into this race. With 2 crews entered of what likely is a First and Second eight, they will want to race hard and show they are racing to win on a more regular basis, carrying on their momentum from last year.
St Paul’s
Quite simply the home favourites. St Paul’s will know the fastest racing line like the back of their hands. Arguably these boys would be clear favourites if there wasn’t already a crew entered in the Championship division. In this division, it seems that their second eight will lead followed by a third eight entry indicating clear depth in the squad. But don’t let this make you complacent, they will race fast and hard to use their home advantage to potentially fight off their first eight’s competition.
Other notable mentions
Shiplake does notoriously well in this part of the season (arguably peaking around now) and they will be looking to win and they have the squad depth for fast eights. Westminster and Latymer could also provide shocks on Sunday’s results but we will have to wait and see.
Prediction
It’s gonna be a nail-biter to guess who’s going to win this one, especially based on the unpredictability of last year. But, for this category, I think Radley will have it with Shiplake, Eton and St Edward’s closely following behind.
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