It has finally come. The first of the events that a crew must win to claim the illustrious triple crown is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the winter head racing season so far has collapsed in tatters, with more event cancellations, and sadly, more clubs flooded out than in recent memory. Schools’ Head, thankfully, appears to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Although every single non-tidal stretch of the Thames is currently on red boards, conditions appear to be improving across the country, with river levels hopefully dropping within the next few days, allowing Schools’ Head and Head of the River to go ahead. However, the effects of this winter’s flooding could play a major role in Wednesday’s results; with clubs that have been unable to get much water time severely disadvantaged. Although always a vital indicator of speed going into the summer season- Schools’ Head could be more important than ever this year. With the effects of Covid-19 on the rowing calendar and the country as a whole being effectively guesswork- who knows whether major events in the summer will go ahead, potentially making the stakes much higher at events like this. Either way, this year the 6.8 km race is likely to be an absolute humdinger- with no really dominant crew having yet asserted themselves on the junior scene, leaving everything up for grabs.
Eton College
After an absolutely stellar season last year, culminating in a dominant 1 ¼ length win over Scotch College in the final of the PE, Eton have remained relatively quiet thus far. However, they have been away on two training camps- in Edinburgh and Arnoia, Spain- helping to tune up their speed heading into events like this. Perhaps most importantly, due to Eton’s frankly outrageously good choice of facilities- be it Dorney or the Thames, they will have hardly been affected by the flooding and bad weather of the previous few months. This should place them at a serious advantage compared to their counterparts who have been forced off sections of the Thames for weeks at a time. Although barely racing this season at all, the few results that Eton’s 1st Eight have produced look promising. Back in January they easily came out on top of their invitational BASHER Head, beating Radley, Abingdon and Hampton in the process. More recently, they produced a hard won victory against Westminster at their annual fixture on the Tideway- leaving them in a strong position going into Wednesday’s race.
Shiplake College
Shiplake seem only to have been getting better and better in recent years- with Hugh Mackworth-Praed and Dave Currie driving the club onwards and upwards. This season they have already asserted themselves (at the few races that haven’t been cancelled), as one of the top eights on the field. At Quintin Head back in late January, they produced a dominant performance in the J18 Eights category, seeing off second place by almost ten seconds- although interestingly putting down the same time as KCS, who were racing up in the Champ Eights category. A couple of weeks back, at Wycliffe Head, they managed a close second and then a strong first in two separate divisions amongst an extremely strong field. They look fast this season, but will we finally see Shiplake come out as the fastest crew on the circuit, and challenge the traditional powerhouses?
St Paul’s School
After their surprising win at National Schools’ last year, many wondered if they could pull off a similar feat this year, keeping a fairly low profile and then appearing at the last moment as an extremely quick crew. It seems once again that Bobby Thatcher’s coaching is working pretty well despite the loss of several star athletes at the end of last season. St Paul’s first eight produced an impressive result across the pond in October, placing second in Youth Eights at the Head of the Charles, as well as their top four winning the pennant at Fours’ Head in November. Since then, however, their speed appears to have slumped a little- with their result at Quintin Head placing them 6 seconds behind KCS and Shiplake. However, a margin like that over a long course is virtually nothing- and I wouldn’t be surprised to see St Paul’s once again jostling for the win on Wednesday.
Royal Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury are a club whose boathouse has somewhat lacked in silverware in recent years- and this season, like several others aforementioned, they have rarely raced at major events. Sadly, for them and many other clubs along the Severn, their boathouse was flooded for a large part of February- with the river almost reaching record levels, and preventing them from training on home water for several weeks. This is likely to have had a significant impact on their preparations in the lead up to Schools’ Head, probably putting them at a serious disadvantage. Having said that, before floodwaters occupied their boat bays, the first eight put down a quick time at Wycliffe Head, beating Shiplake in the first division by 8 seconds, and placing third in the second division. Although this appeared promising- their result on Wednesday will largely depend on how badly their speed was affected by the flooding, and how much water time they’ve had since.
St Edward’s School
The boys from Teddies have rarely been seen to grace a podium over the last few seasons. However, their results thus far show them to be a potential stand out crew- although they have been known to tail off slightly heading into the regatta season. Their eight produced an impressive 2nd at Quintin Head, with a very similar time to Westminster. At Wycliffe they once again came out of nowhere with a 1st place in the first division, and a 2nd in the second division. If they haven’t been too badly affected by the flooding, and have managed to carry their speed through to this point, they could be a serious contender.
Radley College
Radley are a boat club that often tend to peak later in the summer than many others, but that does not stop them producing some cracking results at this point in the year. Unfortunately for them, high river levels and flow rates on the upper Thames have also put them off their stretch for several periods since Christmas, hampering some of their preparations for Schools’ Head. However, their results before the flooding appeared fairly strong- although not perhaps as fast as they might like, lagging behind some of their competitors. Their first eight managed a fourth place at Quintin Head, but at Wycliffe appeared slightly off the pace of the likes of Teddies, Shiplake and Shrewsbury. Having said that, everything is to play for, and perhaps that extra time off the water and on the ergo will aid their endurance efforts over the long course.
King’s College School
KCS are not often a boat club that I would consider having a realistic chance at medalling or even winning a category like Boys Championship Eights. However, clearly something is going right for them this season, with their crew having put down some absolutely storming times, challenging the biggest schools on the junior rowing scene. Most surprising was Quintin Head- where on home water, and amongst the best crews racing in Men’s Champ Eights, they managed to equal Shiplake’s time (within a few milliseconds), beating many university eights in the process. This was repeated at Hampton Head, with their eight easily placing first, making KCS a bit of a dark horse- with the potential for an impressive result. Their maiden race in their shiny new carbon Empacher has the potential to turn some heads.
Westminster School
After several years of uncertainty at Westminster, in which the quad was sometimes prioritised over the eight, they appear to now have an extremely competitive squad. Unfortunately, the athletes at Westminster appear to have only had one major race outing in the eight so far, coming third at Quintin Head, about 8 seconds back on Shiplake and KCS, making a prediction of their speed nigh on impossible. However, with two successful training camps this season, and the advantages of racing at their home event, I think they’re likely to put down a good marker- although perhaps not quite reach the podium.
Other Crews
As I write, the draw for SHORR has not been released- leaving the possibility of highly competitive entries from foreign crews, although traditionally foreign entries have not fared particularly well. Outside of this, other entries are expected from the domestic scene, with Abingdon, Latymer, King’s Chester and Bedford potentially racing in Champ Eights amongst a few others. Hampton will also put in an entry, but other than an average result at Quintin, I think it unlikely that they will be able to compete with the top crews.
Predictions
Partly due to the highly disrupted season, and due to the lack of one stand out crew- this category is going to be extremely close. I truly believe that everything is to play for at this point; and am expecting some surprising and narrow results. However, if I had to predict a result I would say Shiplake to win, followed by Eton, with St Paul’s in third. But, crews from KCS and Teddies could represent a major upset to traditional podiums, if they have a stormer of a race.
MarginalGainz
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