Tyne Long Distance Sculls and Tyne Small Boats Head 2024 Preview

These two sister events are part of the Northern Regional Rowing Council’s autumnal Long Distance Sculls Series, comprising “six Saturdays of racing spread out over six consecutive weeks”. The day of racing at Tyne is the third such event and one of four for sweep rowing and sculling. Tyne Long Distance Sculls starts briskly at 1030, while Tyne Small Boats Head is set to go at 1430. They both race over the same stretch of the river: 4500 metres from Scotswood to Newburn. With gusts up to 36 miles per hour, temperatures as low as five degrees, and a spell of rain scheduled at 1400, the competitors face each other and the elements as we move into a cold, cold winter.

Tyne Small Boats Head 2024

Women’s Junior 18 Quads Preview

This category sees six crews take to the River Tyne, with multiple crews racing for the same club, creating friendly competition for these crews who undoubtedly train together. In Band One, Hexham Rowing Club has two crews in the battle for first, neither of which have raced together before. Meanwhile, in Band Two, for St Peter’s School Boat Club, Fashola and Fahey will race for gold. With so much interclub competition, the racing will surely be exciting for competitors and spectators alike. 

Open Junior 18 Doubles Preview

St Peter’s School Boat Club will make up half of the competition in this race, tripling their chances of winning. Green from St Peters raced at Tees Small Boats Head last weekend in a single and double, narrowly missing out on first in each. Will his recent near miss drive Green and his partner to gold on the Tyne? 

Women’s Junior 17 Singles Preview

Both of the athletes in this race will be well aware of the other’s skill in the boat as Cain from Durham School Boat Club and Flood from Tyne Amateur Rowing Club raced together in the Women’s Junior 15 coxed quad that won silver at the British Rowing Junior Championships in 2023. The racing will be close as these outstanding athletes have many wins under their belts. Will Cain’s recent win at Tees Long Distance Sculls spur her on to her second gold of the season?

Open Junior 16 Singles Preview

Wrack from Durham School Boat Club will lead this race of nine athletes. Wrack is an impressive competitor who medalled at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta 2024 and more recently came second at Tees Small Boats Head earlier this month. He will challenge Maughan from Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club, who won the Tyne Single Scullers Head. This matchup will surely be one to watch this weekend, as both athletes have already had strong starts to their seasons. 

Open Coxed Fours Preview

This race of 11 competing crews over three bands is headed up by two boats from Durham University Boat Club, who will undoubtedly race fiercely for victory. As these two crews train together daily, it will be interesting to see which crew has the fastest time. In Band Two, Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club will be racing up after Berwick Head, where they were the fastest crew on the water. Will this younger crew rise to the challenge faster than some older, more experienced crews? 

Women’s Pairs Preview  

The competitors in this category already have an impressive season of races behind them, as members of both crews raced at some of this year’s most prestigious events. The Durham University Boat Club crew was part of the Durham eight that competed at Henley Royal Regatta this year. Furthermore, one of the rowers in the Lambton Rowing Club crew competed at Henley Women’s Regatta over the summer. The high calibre of these athletes means that this could be one of the most exhilarating races of the day.

Open Masters C/D Quads Preview  

In 2023, Benson from Tees Rowing Club was one of the fastest Masters’ crews at Tees Head when they won the OpMasE/F/G quad. However, this year, they could have some new competition from Sunderland City’s Harrison, who came second at South Hylton Long Distance Sculls last season. Will moving into a faster category cause the crew from Tees to lose the top spot, or can their speed lead them to once again be the fastest? 

Tyne Long Distance Sculls 2024

Open Junior 18 Quads Preview

This race certainly hosts some of the fastest crews of the north, with Hexham-McGowan having placed second overall at Tees Small Boats Head, only being six seconds off the fastest crew of the event. A seemingly new crew to this category, it is expected for these boys to take those top positions of the day – no doubt keenly comparing their times with Durham University Boat Club.

Open Junior 16 Quads Preview

The Junior 16 quad has few entries, with just two Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club crews racing. This shows the depth of this squad’s ability to produce eight athletes willing to undergo the training and effort to run over the longer distance of Tyne Long Distance Sculls. Are the quads an even split for close, exciting racing, or do we get a more traditional A and B quad of Jones and Bezant, respectively?

Women’s Quads Preview

With plenty of university and collegiate crews in action, we should be able to see some fast times clocked during this race. Setting off first is Durham Amateur Rowing Club, a club that seems to have excelled this last year in the women’s quads in most age groups, so I’m anticipating this crew will be hoping to get their hands on some silverware again. Two Durham University Boat Club crews of Feistner and Pantelides follow them down the course. These crews have some international talent, a few of whom are comprised of athletes who have completed many seasons at the NCAA Division I in the US, including helping Gonzaga University Bulldogs take the win three years running at the West Coast Conference Championship. The other university crew is Collingwood College, with their women’s captain and vice-captain part of the crew, suggesting good experience and commitment. This crew will be reminiscing about their win over Durham University Boat Club in the coxless quad at Durham Regatta and hoping to recreate that glory.

Women’s Junior 18 Doubles Preview

With four crews competing in the junior women’s double, we would always expect some close times. However, this weekend, I’m sure the times will be even tighter than usual, with half the crews being from Hexham Rowing Club and the other half being from St Peter’s School Boat Club, meaning the athletes are probably evenly matched. All these doubles seemed to have competed last weekend at Tees head, so they will already be used to the long racing this early in the season. The Hexham Rowing Club crews seem to boast athletes who have collected many national medals, so it will be exciting to see how the results end up.

Women’s Doubles Preview

This category almost seems to have been used for seat racing for Durham University Boat Club, as they boast five crews over their home stretch of river. This club uses the 24km stretch of water, as well as its world-class facilities, to consistently deliver competitive performances at university, national, and international events. The question is, are these their new cohorts of freshers racing in purple for the first time, or more experienced club members who are used to the hard work of university-level club racing?

Open Doubles Preview

This is yet another race featuring Durham University Boat Club. This category hosts two crews -Gibson & Hanks. These athletes will undoubtedly ensure aggressive and fast racing against competitors from Tees Rowing Club. They must be their best this weekend to get a long-distance sculling series medal.

Open Junior 17 Doubles Preview

Five crews are racing across these two age categories, with three Junior 16 doubles and the remaining Junior 17s. The Johnson crew from Durham School Boat Club set off first: since they are the only rowing club fully integrated with the school, those extra training opportunities will surely give them the advantage over the opposition. There are also two Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club crews racing across both age groups, and looking at past results, the Junior 16 crew seems to have beaten their older counterparts previously, so it will be exciting to see if the Junior 17 double can take the lead on the Tyne.

Open Junior 18 Singles Preview

After Tyne’s Single Scullers Head, two of the competitors in this race are back to see if their speed will be upheld along the five-kilometre course. Macdonald from Sunderland City had already had a highly successful season when he won the Tyne Single Scullers Head and narrowly came second at Tees Long Distance Sculls. Similarly, Cantwell from Hexham Rowing Club has had an outstanding start to his season. This is seen in his gold in the Junior 17 single at Tyne Single Scullers Head and another close second place in Tees Small Boats Head. We will hold our breaths in suspense as these athletes take to the Tyne this weekend. 

Women’s Singles Preview

Seven of the eight competing crews hail from Durham University Rowing Club, almost guaranteeing the club a gold medal. First to race is Grace, who appears to have had an incredibly successful rowing career. Along with Kennedy and Jackson, she won gold in the women’s coxed quad at British University and Colleges Sport, more affectionately known as BUCS and gold in a pair at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships. With so many outstanding competitors, racing will undoubtedly be tight and thrilling to watch.

With 130 crews racing, I’m sure the event organisers, Tyne Amateur Rowing Club, Tyne United Rowing Club, and Newcastle Rowing Club, will have their fingers crossed for the next twelve hours to avoid a cancellation like we had last year. Head races around the UK, but especially as we move further north, are at the mercy of the heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding our little island receives at this time of year. In rowing’s take on a Formula One-style series, the Autumn Long Distance Sculls events provide a lovely way for smaller boats to get some practice on winding courses before coming down for the infamous Tideway races a few months later in the season.

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