On Friday, a flotilla of crews will take on the Thames in what is currently predicted to be a day where rain and shine are equally likely. With the irritating cancellation of Hammersmith Head on the 26th of February, crews haven’t had much opportunity when it comes to Tideway head racing since then, and so will be relying on sheer training (both in and out their boats) to be able to perform effectively in the eight. With the weather at anyone’s guess, maintaining composure come rain or shine should be a priority, since lapses of concentration, especially in poor conditions, can be very costly.
St Paul’s School
After missing out on a key race against King’s College School at Hammersmith Head, St Paul’s’ boat speed for this year is still yet to be tested to the max in such a competitive environment, aside from their firm victory at Quintin Head back in January. Since then though, things could easily have changed (for the better or worse) and I expect several crew alterations to have taken place based upon data collected in the time since then. If their results here, and at the previous School’s Head are anything to go by, I would place St Paul’s firmly in the top 3 and it wouldn’t feel risky to argue that they were going to take the win either.
Radley College
Another strong rowing school, Radley came second in the J15 2nd Eights at Hampton Head earlier this year, along with taking 2nd and 3rd place in the primary J15 Eights. Their boats were separated by just over a second showing consistency among the squad. This will provide a great advantage morally for the crews, with each athlete wanting to train harder to get into the ‘top’ boat, and each of them equally at a chance to get it. To further add to their case, Radley performed well at School’s Head last year, taking the silver medal, even if this was nearly 20 seconds behind the victors, you guessed it, St Pauls.
King’s College School
King’s College are certain to attend School’s Head with a vendetta after the failed match against St Paul’s at Hammersmith Head (which they won last year) and after their narrow loss (coming second) at Quintin Head too. Moreover, being set off closer together, the King’s College coxswain will be able to see if they are gaining, or indeed losing metres on St Paul’s, which is something beneficial and hugely motivational for an event of such prestige as the School’s Head. With two months since Quintin Head, it is fair to expect that significant training has taken place and that King’s will undoubtedly be putting forward their best attempt to foil the hubristic parade of St Paul’s and retake the crown of J15 schoolboy eights as the Head Season comes to an end.
Predictions
With School’s Head at the pinnacle of most schools’ (and not forgetting the clubs that also take part and are often brushed aside in favour of the bigger school names) head season race calendars, we can safely expect to see each entrant’s highest possible quality crew, as this is where the racing reaches its climax before the short, sharp Regatta Season that already seems to be within arm’s reach, being just a month away!
Saying this, I fully believe that this year’s racing could provide some extraordinary results, and potentially see the record of 17 minutes, 54.5 seconds broken if the stream and weather conditions allow. Nonetheless, St Paul’s School and King’s College School’s battle for the lead over each other will be exciting to watch, even if (by some astrological event) it was neither of those that take the fastest time for the category. As always, it would be foolish not to discount any other crews, that will equally be trying to show their performance ability to ‘get on the map’ in the run-up to the Regatta Season that will soon be with us. We’ll just have to wait until Friday to find out!
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