This Sunday is the season’s first opportunity for most club rowers to hit the water against their national competition. For this reason, it’s nigh-on-impossible to call who will win this event. A competitive category, this year’s club coxless fours category is no exception with 44 entries.
London Rowing Club
London RC are a squad that seems to be going from strength to strength. Recruiting well, LRC seems to have very good squad depth and a calibre of athletes that can compete on all fronts this season. Being somewhat favourites for this event, they will be trying to maintain their impressive streak from last season, where they won the Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta and regularly clocked the fastest Wyfold-eligible times on the domestic regatta scene. This is the opportunity for LRC to assert dominance over their Tideway rivals from the outset and set a positive tone for the rest of the season. With two boats entered, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top and whether London have the squad to challenge at the business end of club sweep in 2024. Harry Dorrance-King won the Masters Novice pennant at Scullers Head a few weeks ago.
Thames Rowing Club
Powerhouses of the club rowing scene, Thames RC will be looking to get their hands on another piece of silverware, going up against their nearest and dearest neighbours. Raising the stakes is the fact that they are the reigning champions in this category, winning last year’s Fours Head with fourteen seconds on Vesta RC. Undoubtedly one of the largest rowing and most successful rowing programmes in the country, Thames has a strength and depth that allows them to challenge each and every race they enter.
Upper Thames Rowing Club
The Henley outfit will be looking to compete at the top end of the table this year. Having had some excellent results in this boat class last year, Upper Thames Rowing Club are another club that is, at each and every opportunity, challenging their Tideway-based opposition. Having beaten both LRC and Thames RC at the Marlow International Regatta, it would be a mistake to overlook them. As a much smaller club, the opportunity to cause an upset must be relished by those within the club.
Royal Chester Rowing Club
Having made the A-final at both the Metropolitan Regatta and Marlow International Regatta, Royal Chester RC will be looking for similar success this weekend. Asserting themselves at the top table of British Rowing is a resounding success for a provincial club and they are undoubtedly excelling wherever possible, having qualified 24 athletes for last year’s Henley Royal Regatta. Finishing amongst the other clubs listed here should be considered a success for the Cheshire outfit of both an A and a B crew.
Agecroft Rowing Club
An outsider for this event, similar to Royal Chester, Agecroft RC continued to fly the flag for the provincial clubs on the national stage. Having opted to enter two eights at the end of the last season, Agecroft will be looking to build upon last year’s Fours Head performance that saw them achieve a top-ten finish. With the experience that’s in this boat, a finish equal or below of this is unforeseeable.
Prediction
Both London RC and Thames RC are strong contenders for the top spot. We’re reliably informed that London ‘E’ are the front-runners from their end of the Putney Embankment (a combination of not-as-yet retirees and former scullers means their points total is lesser than their clubmates in the ‘F’ boat). I foresee that these clubs will dominate throughout the season across a range of boat classes. Though the other clubs listed above represent a challenge to the Tideway-based clubs, competing on their home waters may well be a step too far for the up-and-coming programmes. London ‘E’ to take the pennant.
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