It’s unfortunate to see a category that saw such vicious and intense competition last season being so depleted this season, with only seven crews entered. However, we should see a strong showing from some familiar and less familiar faces at this event, even if the outcome will likely mirror that of last season for these crews.
St Paul’s School
This is a crew that needs very little introduction, at least to anyone in their age group. They won the J15 Championship Eights title at Schools’ Head and the National Schools’ Regatta, and they didn’t give their competition a chance to catch up at Reading University Head, leading the nearest crew by 45 seconds. As one of the two crews in this category with the home water advantage, it doesn’t look like anyone else can really keep up with their pace this season. They’ve got some great variation in the crew in terms of the strengths of the athletes – they benefit from a very strong engine room in the middle of the boat, and some great technical oarsmen at the extremities. They’ve got a breadth of talent, and already some of their squad have begun to make a name for themselves on the GB scene – Alex Langstone-Bolt raced at Boston in the J16 trials, and despite his base in sweep-oar rowing, he managed a fine 6th. Frankly, I struggle to see anyone getting near St Paul’s at this point in the season.
Royal Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury have unfortunately not been seen racing this season, but their results from last season point towards a good result this year. The school has a history of putting competitive, Championship level crews on the water, and this year seems to be the strongest in a while, pulling out a third place in the category last season. It’s hard to gauge where they will stand over this season, but they will likely sit in the top placings behind Hampton and St Paul’s.
Hampton School
Similar to St Paul’s, Hampton’s J15 crew last season were a consistent unit, coming in at second place behind the dominant tideway-based crew in both of the major events. This season they have racked up a few wins to their name, most significantly winning the pennant at Hampton Head by quite a large margin over such a short course. The benefit of gaining Tideway racing experience began to show when they put 10 seconds into KCS at Hammersmith Head, having been beaten by a fraction of a second at Quintin. It’s business as usual at the top end of this category. Hampton will be desperate to not have a silver-medal season, and I have no doubt that they’ll throw everything they have at the St Paul’s crew. I don’t think it will be enough, however, particularly on St Paul’s home water. What is noticeable is the strong rhythm that Hampton have developed in their J16 Champ 8+; they’ve cultivated a nice style and I think it will serve them well in the School’s Head headwind.
King’s College Wimbledon
King’s College Wimbledon traditionally stand on the border between the Championship and First Eights standard, and in light of their results this season it seems fitting that they would commit to the former option. Their victory on the tideway at Quintin Head was a great achievement over a Hampton boat that was significantly faster than them the previous season. Although this was reversed at Reading University Head, this crew is still a force to be reckoned with, and they’ve been looking like a neat and powerful unit while paddling recently. They should be challenging Shrewsbury for a third place on Thursday.
Prediction
1. St Paul’s School
2. Hampton School
3. King’s College Wimbledon
4. Royal Shrewsbury School
About The Author
