So, here is my brief preview of the racing to come this weekend…
J184x
Admittedly, not a huge nor particularly formidable field to chose from as the most notable clubs attending i.e. Star and St Neots have decided not to enter any boats bigger than a double. However, I’m going to call Bedford School, the 1st boat out of Division 1, to take this. Pete Mulkerrins will no doubt have been working these boys hard and I’m sure they’ll produce something pretty strong albeit nothing to challenge in the latter stages of the season. However, watch out for Norwich, who came in 4th at the British Rowing Championships in J164x. These boys will, I’m sure, be a quick crew.
J182x
A fairly talented field for this one. Any double with Fergus Mitchell [St Neots] in will go fast and if he is partnered with Josh Davies, a talented sculler in his own right, then this double will certainly be up there. They won gold in the J162x at the British Championships in a blisteringly fast time of 6:49, 0.4 seconds faster than the winning time for OJ2x! They also raced together at the JIRR, coming in 2nd behind a Marlow crew. Josh Davies also came in 5th in J161x at NSR. More significantly perhaps, they beat a Star double, whom they face a number of at the weekend, in the final of IM32x at Bedford Sprint Regatta last July. However, the mercurial abilities of Will White are being utilized in a double for Star this weekend. White has nearly always beaten both Josh and Fergus in a single and, depending on who he races with, I am going to give him [Star] the slight favourite tag for this event. Don’t discount the Williams double, who won bronze at Brit Champs 2012 in J162x and qualified for the semi-finals at NSR in Ch2x.
J181x
A large field with some pretty strong scullers. I make Parsonage from Norwich my overall favourite. He’s cropped up in a few searches, most notably coming 4th in a semi final of Championship Pairs at NSR. Admittedly, that doesn’t make him a good sculler but he’s won a few local events too in a single. Morgan is arguably the stand out from Star Club, along with a lot of other representation. He rowed in their Henley Quad and raced a CH2x at NSR, placing 5th in the semi’s. More relevantly, he won J181x at Bedford Small Boats Head in April and also won Nov1xby a comfortable margin at St Neots Regatta. Also, watch out for Sonsino and Colbert from Star Club. Additionally, the local interest will be placed on the shoulders of Adam Williams. He trialled for GB last year, placing 87th. He is well placed to excel this weekend along with Nick Shorten, who rowed in the St Neots quad that placed 2nd in the B final of OJ4x at Brit Champs, incidentally behind the Star boat. Should be an interesting race!
J171x
Can’t see this going to anyone else but White from Star Club. He has a long list of accolades but, most notably, he has beaten the main rivals, Davies and Mitchell from St Neots, every time he has raced them, as far as I can trace. It will be tight but he should be too strong for anyone else, presuming he has retained his form from last year, which saw him beat Davies at Bedford Sprint by a convincing margin.
WJ182x
I will most definitely be staking my bet on Osborne Walker from Bedford Girls School. She’s a very talented sculler and, under the stewardship of St Neots alumni Jacqui Round, she has flourished, notching up a number of impressive results. She placed 9th in WJ161x at NSR and has regularly won at local events. Can’t see anyone getting too close to her, regardless of who she is partnered with.
P.S If it is Lottie Bruce, former GB under 16 sculler, then they will be unassailable.
So, there it is. My not so brief preview of the first race of the year that tickled my fancy. I won’t be racing but I’ll be keeping an eye on results and will have a third eye or two down there, to update me on proceedings! Good luck to all competitors!
P.P.S I’ll be writing my Pairs Head preview when the draw comes out!
This photo was taken from: http://www.stneotsrc.co.uk/snrc/wp-content/gallery/upload/regatta-2013-2271.jpg
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