J16 is always a super competitive category with rowers making the step up from J15s and looking to challenge for places in senior crews next school year. This year’s Schools’ Head is going to be especially challenging thanks to the cancellation of numerous head races recently. Schools who would traditionally be giving their J16 crews more time on the water in head racing conditions haven’t been able to do that and, as we all know, training just isn’t racing. It’s also important to remember that these crews’ experience of Schools’ Head last year was only on the shortened course so will the non-tideway crews be able to challenge those who know this stretch of river well? We shall see.
KCS
This crew will be up amongst the bigger players so is definitely worth watching. A solid 2nd place at the recent Quintin Head has given this crew valuable race experience and a sense that they can pull out a strong performance when needed. Starting behind some of the big names in this category could give them the chance to chase down the boats ahead of them. KCS crews tend to make the jump from J15 to J16 level really well so they should be looking for a good finish.
Hampton School
 If a school could win a medal based on the quality of their Insta, Hampton would be surefire medallists. With a fairly standard set of results posted so far this season, Hampton are a bit of an unknown quantity on the water – have they been fielding parallel eights up to this point? Will their winter programme have paid dividends? Everything will become clear on Monday but it’s highly unlikely that Hampton will be, as has been suggested, a ‘laughing stock’.
Westminster College
As always, Westminster are serious contenders for the title. However, these guys didn’t make the A final for J15 Champ 8+ at NSR last year so it will be interesting to see just how much they’ve improved since then. Their tideway experience will be a point in their favour and it’s likely that they’ll want to pick up the pace from last year and this is the first real chance they’ll have to prove themselves.
Royal Shrewsbury School
Losing out to Shiplake in last year’s NSR final must have hurt the Shrewsbury crew and after scratching at Wycliffe, it’s hard to know just how the winter’s training has improved this crew. A bit of an unknown quantity, this boat could put in a surprising performance now it’s time to show their hand.
Radley College
The first of ‘the big three’ contenders, Radley maybe haven’t had the best lead up to School’s Head. A 2nd at Wycliffe Head and a 6th at Quintin Head leads us to think that they’ve not unleashed their top J16 8+ yet. Schools’ Head is sure to see the top Radley boat taking to the water and they’re bound to be strong.
St. Pauls School
The school of the moment in junior rowing, Pauls’ amazing performance in Champ 8+ events at NSR has led straight into another amazing year for the London boat club. Essentially this boat should be the winning crew from J15 Champ 8+ at last year’s NSR and with confidence at Pauls sure to be sky high at the moment, there’s no doubt that this boat will be looking to add more medals to the current Pauls haul. Starting first in J16, Pauls will no doubt be chasing down the 1st 8+ boats ahead of them.
Shiplake College
With their top boat leading off the entire race, the Shiplake J16s will be definitely looking to put in an equally noteworthy performance. There’s been one or two changes in the boat from the crew that posted the second quickest time for J15s at Schools’ Head last year and narrowly missed out on a medal at NSR. However, this year they’ve taken impressive wins at Wycliffe and Wallingford. Perhaps their lack of tideway experience could stop them taking the top spot but who knows?
Of course, Abingdon and Eton will be looking to get amongst the top placings but then, we’ve also got an unknown Italian crew in this category too and if Scotch College’s performance in the PE is anything to go by, travelling crews can cause big upsets! It’s set to be an interesting race for sure but I would say Shiplake, KCS and St Pauls will be fighting for the medals. My finishing order would be St Pauls, Shiplake and KCS.
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