With Women’s Head of the River Race and Head of the River Race right around the corner, the head race season is beginning to come to a close. Another year with several race cancellations leaves the later contests as the last chance for crews to get out and test their speed before the multi-lane racing commences. Crews in the Thames area region will inevitably be looking to gain some race experience, which leaves Reading University Head as a prime opportunity. The river is looking dubious, but with the event having been cancelled last year, we hope to see its return in 2025. The senior men’s eights represent the pinnacle of speed, with the top crews in the country entering this category. So, how does this year’s draw stack up?
London Rowing Club
With three crews racing both morning and afternoon, London are setting out to take a much-needed win. As the only Tideway crew racing, their experience in the stronger streams may prove pivotal with the expected conditions. Most recently, the top two eights raced against the Oxford University Blue and reserve boats. Their first crew lost the first piece by two lengths, then the second by a length and a half, which is respectable against an elite crew in their prime. At Quintin, the men’s squad also saw a commendable first, third, fifth and eighth-place collection. With some strong racing under their belt, there’s no doubt that London will be in it to win it.
Marlow Rowing Club
Coming off of a successful season which culminated in a win at Henley Royal Regatta, Marlow have been pushing forward with recruitment and has the squad to prove it. Quintin Head saw their first crew take sixth, which leaves them the space to make up ground and find the speed to be in with a chance of winning. With a 12-second gap between themselves and London, have Marlow done what it takes in the last month to get the speed?
St Edward’s School Boat Club
As one of the fastest schoolboy units in the country, and also a Henley Royal Regatta winner in 2023, St Edward’s often find themselves battling against the top crews in the UK. Coming in fifth in the Junior 18 category at Quintin, their competition will be present and there is work to be done to find themselves in the form they were in a couple of years ago. Teddies recently visited Dorney for a fixture with Radley and Shiplake, as well as a Tideway fixture against Imperial and a fixture on the Wallingford stretch against Oxford University. With lots of tough training and lessons learned, only time will tell if they have managed to turn all this into speed.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Shiplake have proven their speed so far this season, and shown their place as one of the top UK rowing schools, with a win in the Junior 18 category at Quintin and a third-place finish at Hammersmith Head last weekend. At the U19 GB trials, Isaac Dean took second overall in the men’s sweep division. With a record number of athletes at trials, it not only highlights their depth but the quality within.
Bedford School Boat Club
Finishing second in the Junior 18 category at Quintin, Bedford were an agonising 0.27 seconds behind Shiplake. The gap had stretched to nine seconds by Hammersmith Head, so expect Bedford to be keen to claw back the deficit. Other recent racing includes Bedford Head, where they won open eights, which will have given them the boost in experience and confidence that may prove pivotal.
Prediction
Strong competition will undoubtedly be present at this year’s Reading University Head, but I believe that London’s ‘A’ crew will be a step above the rest, with Marlow a few seconds behind. London’s ‘B’ crew will then take third, with Shiplake and then Bedford after. A small gap will then see St Edward’s just a second or two ahead of London ‘C’.
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