Only ten girls are competing in the girl’s J17 singles at Sculler’s Head this year but
nonetheless it’s nice to be able to differentiate the younger juniors and see how they
stack up. The J18 event has a similar number of girls but is very competitive and will
almost definitely produce the fastest junior girl’s time. I have previewed each entry
in this event.
St. Paul’s Girl’s School
SPG is the only club with multiple entries into this event with four girls. The older
girls are not known for sculling, and especially not known for racing in singles, so it
will be interesting to see how they do. Last season they raced in many of the same
large boats but the main result to be looking at for this season is Pair’s Head. The
combo of Nicola Thomson and Lara Valt were ranked 5/25 there, leading me to
believe both of these girls are faster than teammates Helen Kirkpatrick and A Lewis,
who were ranked 15/23. For J17’s racing J18 at Pair’s Head, the 5th place should
indicate real potential speed from these girls. Lara Valt has also already posted a
7:47 ergo this season, which will be faster than average but perhaps not powerful
enough to win.
Emanuel School
Darcy Jennings is one to keep an eye on for this race. At the February assessments
last season she ranked 2nd place of all the J16s. This makes her the only girl here that
has truly proven herself over a long distance race in a single. She has some other
decent single results from last season, winning the B final on the J16 single at the
British Junior Rowing Championships. At nationals she did get a silver medal in the
J16G+, but wasn’t able to qualify her J17 single.
Thames RC
Chloe Knight doesn’t really have notable single results as a J16, but she has been
doing really well this season. With third place at pair’s head in the double and a the
fastest overall woman, J18, and J17 times at Weybridge Silver Sculls she is clearly
going to be fighting for a win at this race.
Putney High School
Pippa Savage has a lot of experience racing rowing and racing on the tideway. She
hasn’t really proven herself in the single yet but has good sculling experience and
results in the quad. I don’t see her going for the win, but given tricky conditions she
might be able to use her experience to row smartly and yield a good result.
King’s School Canterbury
J Hofman has gotten some good racing experience in the single this season but
hasn’t been given the opportunity to prove herself against a bigger field. She’s won
various J17 single events at Maidstone SBH, Rob Roy SBH and Burnway SBH. Most of
these results are aginst 2/3 other boats so it’s hard to extrapolate. It’s also worth
noting she is at a disadvantage as one of two scullers in this race who doesn’t train
on the tideway.
Rob Roy
Erin Curtis has the potential to place solidly at this race. She was knocked out in the
semis of nationals in the J16 single, showing good speed even if she might not take
the win. Her Pair’s Head result was slightly better than one of the St Paul’s Girl’s
doubles so she will probably be able to edge them out with her extra single
experience. This also relies on her keeping a good course on the unfamiliar tideway.
American School in London
Sarah Brunsberg had a good end to last season by ranking 4th place at nationals in
the J16 pair. In the single this season she placed 6/18 at Wallingford Long Distance
Sculls in the WJ17 category and was the faster junior girl at Star Head. Even if she is
above average, it is hard to see her taking the win.
Prediction
TRC-Knight for 1st
EMA-Jennings for 2nd
ASL-Brunsberg for 3rd
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