Schools’ Head of the River is finally here! The big national head of the season and one for all domestic constituents to see if their winter plan has worked and how well prepared they are for the upcoming regatta season. With the easing of COVID and relatively row-able weather, the J15 squads have the opportunity to take part in a range of head races this year and the crews mentioned below have had a strong set of results. I am anticipating a wealth of competition for Monday, setting up the scene for a wild upcoming summer season.
Latymer Upper School
A club which has a strong reputation of placing at School’s Head especially in their J15-16 years, I don’t doubt that this squad will do their best to uphold this legacy. They won at Wallingford Head and placed third at Hammersmith Head, already proving to be well honed with their endurance and skill set, which will prepare them for the lengthy course. With a boat club situated just over the halfway marker, I’m sure the crew will be strengthened even further with the advantage of a home stretch and I predict that they will place within the top three for this category.
LEHBC
Another crew to look out for on race day. Placing third at Quintin Head and then second a few weeks later at Hammersmith Head, they have shown a promising start for a high performance race. By having a noticeable improvement between the two head races they’ve competed in, will they climb the ranks to grab top space? They certainly have the potential to and will need to execute their race plan perfectly in order to hopefully show improvement to end off the head season!
Surbiton High School BC
Surbiton has been somewhat out of the picture this season when racing along the Tideway, aside from a second place at Quintin Head, but are well-drilled in the art of generating a top performance on race day. With a win at the Henley Fours and Eights Head under their belt, they have laid early claim and will definitely achieve a speedy time. Hopefully they will be able to translate their triumphs so far onto the long course to keep up their success streak!
Henley BC
Placing second at Henley Fours and Eights Head, behind Surbiton, Henley are another worthy shout for medal candidacy. They did not participate in Hammersmith Head so it is not yet known how their race will go on the unforeseeable Tideway, but I predict that they will definitely be fighting it out with Surbiton. The crew may benefit from not competing at Hammersmith Head and their freshness could possibly counteract their lack of experience this year on the Tideway.
Other crews competing include The King’s School Chester BC and Marlow BC who will help bolster the ranks and have the potential to steal the limelight. I predict a toss-up between Latymer, Surbiton and LEH fighting for top spot, followed closely by Henley. Good luck to all racing!
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