The Fawley Challenge Cup – Our Favourite Races

I’m sure I won’t be alone by saying it’s incredibly disappointing that we are missing the joys of Henley Royal Regatta. It always brings great outfits, some sun (if we’re lucky) and more importantly world-class racing. This list will not fill the gap that Henley Royal has left in the calendar – social and rowing – but hopefully it will remind everyone not only of the best races from the past years but also a fraction of the feeling of being at Henley and watching it or competing at it brings. May next year be even better and bring even more excitement and excellence. 

2013 – Sir William Borlase vs. Marlow Rowing Club ‘A’ – Final

In a year that gave us lots of interesting races, this final is a stand out example. Marlow had an extremely strong crew, in fact, they were the favourites going into the competition based on their performance at National Schools regatta, but SWB did not go down without a fight. They led the race consistently for about 2/3 of it, showing everyone the reason why they are such a staple in the junior rowing world. But Marlow came through in the final stages and snatched the win and the course record. 

2014 – Westminster School vs. Leander Club – Heats

Westminster don’t always have the best results at Henley but this year they managed to beat Leander to the line by a very tight half a length. As you can imagine the race was close the whole way down the course and the time they clocked was very strong, making this a very exciting and interesting race. Although Westminster came up against the eventual champions Sir William Borlase their very next  go down the course and lost by 5 lengths- this race was a clear example of what they are capable of and how your luck can change very quickly at Henley. 

2015 – Sir William Borlase vs. Glasgow Academy – Semi-Finals 

SWB went on to win this year, but not without an extremely tight race from Glasgow academy in the semi-finals. In the opening moments of this race, the SWB stroke caught a crab but managed to recover very well and there was some questionable steering from Glasgow- it was neck and neck from there. SWB were behind at Remenham and there were some more steering issues from Glasgow, pushing SWB right over to the booms. In the final stretch, Glasgow still had half a length but SWB were beginning to come back and took the rate up, giving one final push to the line. It paid off because SWB managed to come through and take the win. They won by a canvas and had to work very hard to get that canvas- taking it to a photo-finish. 

2016 – Claires Court School vs. The Windsor Boy’s School – Final 

This was a battle of the locals in 2016 and it did not disappoint. After some very strong performances in the earlier rounds, Claires Court went in as the favourites. Right off the start, these crews were stroke for stroke, with the lead being passed between them all the way up the course. There continued to be no obvious leader until a few 100m past Remenham when the Claires Court boys put in an excellent push for the line. They walked away with the win, coming through to take it by about a length and giving spectators an excellent race as well. 

2017 – The Windsor Boy’s School vs. Leander Club – Semi-final

This was a race of two crews that were very familiar with each other, Leander had come second to Windsor Boy’s at National Schools Regatta. At the opening moments of this race, Leander moved dangerously close to the booms, but this didn’t deter them and this crew took the early lead. The power from the Leander crew served them well in helping them take the lead all the way up to Remenham, though Windsor Boys were right there the whole time about a canvas down. The smooth and rhythmic rowing style from the Windsor boat kept them consistent and this paid off in the very final stages as they were able to put a last-minute push as they went past the Stewards enclosure. They ended up taking the win by just two feet and gave the crowds an incredible photo finish. 

2017 – Claires Court School vs. The Windsor Boy’s School – Final 

Yet again, in a repeat of 2016, we saw an exciting battle between these two schools. They both had a very impressive start, going off very well and with no major steering incidents. This race was one that didn’t really light up until after Remenham, Windsor Boys had a half-length lead all the way and were only a few seconds off record pace. However, the moment the Claires Court crew could hear the wall of noise from the banks and the tents it seemed they took the pace up. With the dodgy steering all smoothed out they started their sprint and it was enough to scare Windsor Boys who quickly retaliated. They just managed to keep a slight half-length lead by the finish line but it was a very tightly fought race, Windsor Boy’s just managed to stop Claire’s Court from keeping the title. 

2018 – Windsor Boys School vs. Maidenhead Rowing Club – Final

Another mention for Windsor Boy’s, but this one has to be on here because of several reasons. One, it was an incredibly powerful race from Windsor, they led from the outset, with an excellent start and they continued to build their lead up throughout the course. Two, Maidenhead were also a great crew this year and they had won at National Schools Regatta so were the ones to beat going into this competition and they were also rowing very well. But most notably, Windsor managed to shave 7 seconds off the record and in a year that saw over 10 records being set this was yet another example of excellent rowing and a crew that destroyed a record very convincingly. 

2019 – Leander Club ‘B’ vs Lea Rowing Club – Heats

This race is an excellent reminder of just how tight the field is in this competition and how the heats can also give us very exciting races. At the beginning of the race, both crews got off to a quick and clean start, with no steering issues coming off the island. By the time they hit the Fawley marker, Leander were half a length ahead but Lea was not letting Leander row away- despite hugging the booms very closely at this point. Lea began to chip away at Leander’s lead and they made an impressive move that caused a bit of concern in the Leander boat, as seen by the glances from the crew. Ultimately Lea couldn’t pull enough out of the bag in the latter stages to take the win but they put up an excellent fight. 

2019 – Leander Club ‘A’ vs. Henley Rowing Club ‘A’ – Final

This is another battle of the local clubs and these two boats had already raced each other at National Schools with Henley taking the win then, so this was a race to watch on finals day. It was a brilliant start but Leander started to take the lead early on and just managed to hold on to it. Henley had some slight steering issues, having to correct coming off the island which impacted their speed. Henley then managed to come back by the barriers, closing the lead to half a length, putting pressure on the Leander crew. They managed to stay in touch but Leander kept on pushing and stayed ahead. It was a convincing win, a length and a quarter, for Leander but both performances showed not only how strong both these clubs are but also how a lot can change in between National Schools and Henley.

SweepingSculler

This article was produced as part of our Phantom Racing series for the 2020 regatta season.

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Rosie Oates

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