The Schools’ Head of the River is arguably the most anticipated Head of the year and will definitely promise some brilliantly competitive racing this weekend. A total of 19 Women’s J16 coxed fours will be tackling the Tideway championship course and looking to come out on top. Last year we saw the top three spots taken by Kingston, Stratford Upon Avon and Emanuel School, with both Kingston and Emanuel re-entering in the category this year it will definitely be interesting to see if their skill in Tideway racing has been passed down to their new J16’s. We also saw Latymer, Henley and Marlow take top three last year in the J15 girls eights category, no doubt some of the girls in those eights will once again be representing their clubs on the Tideway this weekend, possibly in J16 fours, and will make use of the valuable experienced they gained last year on the course.
Latymer Upper School
As already mentioned, the girls from latymer had a very strong season in Head racing last year, with both their J16’s and 15’s taking some of the top spots in their categories. They also had a very encouraging performance in the Girls J15 coxed quad, coming narrowly fourth in the A final, we would expect to see some of the girls from this quad taking part in the J16 four event this weekend. Latymer also had very recent success at Hammersmith Head where their top J16 coulees quad placed second, just behind the Tideway Scullers on their home water. I think Latymer will definitely be contenders for the win and will definitely be at an advantage with so much experience racing on the Tideway this season.
Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston’s J16 four last year had one stand out performance after the other and completely dominated the four event at most major regattas. The club sent their top four athletes to the Gb vs France match to race in the four following their phenomenal win at National Schools Regatta. They seem to have, once again, come out in full force this season with a very convincing win in the Junior Women’s championship fours category at Fours head of the river earlier this season. The club took the win last year in this event and will definitely be going for the same result again this year, but will they match the likes of Putney, TSS and Latymer?
Putney High School
Once again I find myself writing about the numerous victories the girls from Putney have had over the last season. At Pairs Head in October last year the school placed first and sixth in Championship pairs, along with gaining valuable experience of tideway racing. Putney additionally placed second at Fours Head, just behind kingston in the Junior Championship for category, fourth at Schools Head in the Junior Challenge Quad and first at Bedford Head earlier in the season. The girls in the G4+ took a very impressive win at Henley Women’s Regatta, two of their senior boats reached the A final of the G4+ at the National Schools Regatta last May and this season their J16 4x- placed fourth at Hammersmith Head. With such a high level of racing carried throughout the boat club in the fours category, Putney will definitely be one of the crews to keep an eye on.
Predictions
This weekend will certainly be a strong indication of the crews we will be expecting to perform well later on in the regatta season, those who are able to show grit and tackle the predicted weather forecast head on will definitely find themselves at an advantage. There are some incredibly competitive clubs entered into this category and I wouldn’t be surprised if the results are all extremely close nearer the top end. A few more clubs worth mentioning are Tideway Scullers School, Lady Eleanor Holles School and St Paul’s Girls school. However, it’s always nice to see one of the underdogs take the top spot so who knows what this weekend will bring!
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