For many, this will be the first race of the new year marking the beginning of the 2023 races for these crews. A 4400m race along the tideway couldn’t be a better place to start gaining this experience. It will be a tough test of winter training and teamwork will be vital in pushing the crews to their limits and beyond.
Surbiton High School
An already defined competitor in the women’s junior 15 categories, Surbiton’s A, B and C crews will all be looking to put down a challenge in the strong field. Taking an outstanding second-place finish in the first octo’s and a 1-2 in the second octo’s at National Schools’ Regatta last year, suggests the dedicated and hardworking athletes that make up these crews inevitably with the goal to be taking home top spot this Sunday. with goals to take home the top spots on Sunday.
Wimbledon High School
Finishing just 0.3 seconds behind Surbiton High at the National Schools’ Regatta, this crew will be hungry for revenge. Starting off first, this crew will be able to see Surbiton hot on their heels at all times during this race and acting as a benchmark to push off from. Wimbledon will be looking to maintain their lead and add more medals to their growing collections.
Emanuel School
Another competing crew making a comeback from the National Schools’ Regatta, is Emanuel School who made the B final with their second octos. I predict Emanuel to be bringing up the middle of the pack, arguably where most of the tight timings will be. I definitely will be watching this crew to see if all the winter miles and racing on their home stretch will pay off and hopefully see this crew will fighting amongst the rest of the pack.
Barn Elms
Having only raced quads last summer, Barn Elms should not be overlooked so easily. This crew are fiercely competitive and will go all out this weekend. Although stamina has not always proved to be Barn Elm’s strong point, with the crew losing two places in the last five hundred meters at the National Schools’ Regatta last year, winter training regimes should be kicking in now and will a home advantage for these underdogs prove useful on the challenging course ahead?
Other notable entries include: St George’s College, Kew House School, St Paul’s Girls’ School and Godolphin and Latymer School.
Prediction
I think the battle for first place will be a thrilling one to watch with both Surbiton High School and Wimbledon High School being separated by milliseconds. Then I can only see the third and fourth place results going to Surbiton B and C respectively, with an interesting fight we move towards the middle of the pack. With steering vital to this course, there will be lots of pressure on these young coxes with their steering acting as a huge contributor to Sunday’s result.
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