The first major head race of the year, the Vesta Scullers Head is the largest by entry of all head races in the UK with 546 scullers on the draw for this edition, and the Championship Men’s Singles will be the first fifteen of them to be set off. Some of the best scullers on the domestic scene, these athletes will be faced with both a test of endurance as well as the race being a measure of who has the brought the most speed through the summer at this early point in the season.
Rory Harris (Leander Club)
In the absence of Xu of London Rowing Club, Rory Harris of Leander is the highest finisher of last year’s race on this year’s start order. For the third summer in a row, he picked up a little red box at Henley Royal Regatta and while it has been two years since his only Senior International vest at the third World Cup event in 2021, he is clearly among the top class of domestic scullers and will be looking to set up a strong season with aims to compete for selection for the Olympics or at least the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta.
Oliver Costley (Leander Club)
With a similar record to Harris is another Leander athlete in Oliver Costley. Three times a Henley Royal Regatta winner, he was also a member in this summer’s victorious Prince of Wales Quad, picking up a victory at Marlow Regatta in the runup. He did not compete at Scullers Head last year, and was only a few seconds behind Harris at both British Rowing Long Distance Trials, the Newcastle graduate will be wanting to overturn this gap to his clubmate in order to earn the Scullers headship.
Will Young (Cambridge ‘99 Rowing Club)
The class of the domestic single scullers last season was clearly Will Young the Cambridge ’99 sculler had a phenomenal set of results. Wins at Marlow Regatta and on Sunday at the Metropolitan Regatta secured the only pre-qualification spot at Henley Royal Regatta in the Diamond Challenge Sculls given to someone without an international vest. He would make the most of that berth making it all the way to the Semi Finals before falling to a Polish sculler. The Reading graduate only finished 7th at last year’s Scullers Head but with a trip to Boston for the Championship Single at the Head of the Charles in a few weeks’ time, I would expect Will Young to be much closer to the peak form he displayed at the start of the summer.
Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes University Boat Club)
There have been no stories more interesting in the last year than that of Jamie Copus. Having raced at all three levels of International Rowing for Great Britain over the previous decade, the Chicago-born but British-educated sculler appeared at the US trials for the Pan-American Games last November. He spent much of the season hopping back and forth across the Atlantic. He won the Lightweight Single at the Head of the Charles, raced in the US Rowing speed orders for Penn AC, won the Ladies Plate at Henley Royal Regatta with Oxford Brookes, before winning selection trials for the US Lightweight Quadruple Sculls, which he raced at the World Championships in Belgrade. Entries into the openweight single both here and at the Head of the Charles mean that it will be a long 2023 season without much time to sit and breathe for the old Abingdonian. How he can work this extended peak will be crucial in determining how he can hang with the Openweight athletes he will be racing here as to whether he can improve on his fourth place finish last year.
Daniel Jones (Leander Club)
Another lightweight racing the openweights is Dan Jones. He was one half of the lightweight double that raced at the Senior European Championships in the spring and while the result there was far from ideal, since British Rowing dropped the men’s lightweight program he has been showing his talents on the domestic circuit. A close second place at Marlow Regatta showed he had great speed but unfortunately, a mechanical issue at the qualifiers meant he did not race at Henley Royal Regatta. A travelling athlete, he has been affiliated with the Universities of Edinburgh and York as well as Leeds Rowing Club but will be wanting to make a good showing here at his first major race in Leander pink.
Jamie Gare (Leander Club) and Cedol Dafydd (Leander Club)
Two of the rising stars in British Rowing, Jamie Gare and Cedol Dafydd were the dominant double in the UK domestic scene last season. Products of Dan Harris’ GB Start Centre at Bath University, they won silver in Championship Double at BUCS before winning on Sunday at the Metropolitan Regatta, Sunday at Duisburg Wedau International Regatta, Marlow Regatta and both days at the Holland Beker. Racing top international competition in the Double Sculls Challenge Cup they made it to Friday at Henley Royal Regatta, capping off a season where they made their mark. For this season, moving down to Leander the pairing will be further developing and while they will be separate at the Scullers Head, I would expect to see them near each other, and the top of the timesheets.
Prediction
Given the competition here I think that Rory Harris will be able to upgrade his second placed finish twelve months ago to secure the Scullers Headship. I would expect that Costley, Copus and Young to be competing for the rest of the podium but since three cannot go into two, I think it will be Oliver Costley second and Will Young third with the volume of racing so far this summer catching up to the Oxford Brookes sculler.
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