JRN are delighted to announce that Tideway Scullers School’s Junior Women’s Quad are our Underdog of the Year.
Before we acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of this boat, it is important to note that the athletes on-board are certainly not ‘underdogs’ in the traditional sense. This boat had two former junior internationals in the stern section. However, the curvature of their trajectory from seventh at the National Schools’ Regatta (admittedly with a slightly different crew) to winning by clear water at Henley Royal Regatta five weeks later was astonishing. Wycliffe were all but crowned as Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup winners pre-Regatta but the girls from TSS – coached by Rhona MacCallum – dispatched Gloucester Hartpury, US national champions from Oregon Unlimited, 2021 winners Shiplake College and, finally, UK national champions from Wycliffe in a thrilling campaign.
Rhona commented: “We were fortunate to have a very deep squad this year with a lot of talent, and the emphasis all season was on technical development. Nine girls in total have sat in the quad this season, giving opportunities for all to learn/contribute. This is good for the younger girls and I’m sure it steepened the trajectory of the older girls who later swept, going on to become world champions this year. Our quad wasn’t miles off the lead crews this season in any combination (third and sixth places at Fours Head & a bronze at the Schools’ Head of the River) but for the last couple of years, I’ve set the final lineup for our lead crews only after the National Schools’ Regatta to give everyone more time to develop. The winning crew was 50% of the line-up from the nationals five weeks prior. The crew was competitive at Metropolitan Regatta, on only its second outing, and making the final at HWR was great. A bit of work on our start and the 612m of extra track helped Alice, Orla, Amalka and Alice. The girls bought into the process and trusted me implicitly, in a year where that could’ve been a difficult ask. They were a pleasure to work with and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity. This really was a team effort from the whole club. The Tideway Scullers School committee and parents fund-raised for a new quad and Alan Campbell followed them in the launch to watch the win!”
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