This race is a good opportunity for the girls who train on the tideway (9 of the entries) to race some outside crews (6 of the entries). Some of the J18 entries this year were planning to race Scullers Head in the J17 division last year. Since that race was cancelled, there are no results to look back at. Very few races are this long, so the results will favor aerobic fitness and potentially produce some interesting results.
Becket School-
Heap and Fielding are two Becket trialists this year and they may be looking to make an impression during this race. Heap got good results at Nationals last year, with 2nd in the Championship 8+ and 6th in the Championship 4x with Nottingham. The other Becket girls will probably trail her. Pepper is the only entry that also raced at Fours Head. None of the team raced Pairs Head. The lack of experience on the Tideway may be a serious disadvantage.
Thames-
Knight had a successful season as a trialist last year, and she also managed to set the world record for the junior lightweight girls 5k erg. She won the J17 single title at the Junior Sculling Regatta the day after Nationals. Her teammate, Munyard, should also be at a high standard as a trialist, but will probably be a bit slower. These two girls didn’t have the best Pairs Head, with a 7th place finish in the junior double, but nonetheless they should know the course and be able to rank strongly.
Godolphin-
Godolphin has put one entry in this event, their trialist Peterson. Godolphin has not always been the strongest team in the region, but they seem to be prioritizing this race for their top sculler and this should be a good chance for her to prove herself.
St Paul’s Girls-
Like Becket, SPGS has four entries in this race. These are the four girls that made up their National School’s Championship 4- that placed 3rd. Three of these girls were in the 4+ that placed 2nd at Fours Head. This is evidence that this team has recently been strong in sweep boats, but they have been shown to be less successful in sculling boats. At Pairs Head, the top double of Kirkpatrick/Lawless placed 11th. It’s hard to predict how well they will do as a result. They should still be capable of some solid results, and they have an advantage on the course.
American School-
The one ASL entry, Brunsberg, has had a strong season so far, placing 1st in the junior double at Pairs Head and 4th in the junior single at Head of the Charles. Like most of the entries, she trains on the course, and she should be capable of a top performance but may not be able to beat Knight.
Final ranking:
1st: Knight (Thames)
2nd: Brunsberg (American School)
3rd: Heap (Becket School)
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