Wallingford Head marks the last opportunity this side of the new year for Junior crews to secure a victory over their opposition, with athletes and coaches alike seeking the psychological advantage of a strong result going into the difficult winter training block. Combined with a difficult course which will challenge even the most experienced rowers and coxes, and spread across morning and afternoon divisions, the event will reward crews who can transfer their skill and stamina in smaller boats into the eight.
St Paul’s School
St Paul’s have had a strong start to the head racing season, recording wins at the Pairs Head of the River in the J18 2-, and at the Fours Head of the River in the Junior coxed four. With a number of returners from last year’s PE-winning crew, St Paul’s are fielding two eights in both the morning and afternoon divisions, creatively named ‘this’ ‘and that’. It will be exciting to see whether St Paul’s can show the depth of talent needed to put pressure on their competitors across both crews, certainly making them a crew to watch at Wallingford.
Radley College
Another crew which saw stronger results towards the end of the summer season, Radley will also be looking to lay down a strong marker of their performance going into the winter months. Offering up a win in the Junior coxless four at Fours head and strong performances across four other boats at the event, Radley will be looking to transfer their speed into two eights at Wallingford, split across different in the morning division. With an eye on a suite of strong results at the National Schools’ Regatta across several J16 events, Radley may be able to find some extra speed as their younger athletes progress into the top boats racing at Wallingford.
Eton College
Entering neither the Pairs nor Fours head, Eton have remained under the radar so far this season, so all eyes will be on Wallingford as an early indicator of their performance. With three eights in the morning division and two in the afternoon, Eton have set themselves a high bar to produce strong results throughout their senior squad. However, with these boats undoubtedly featuring some returners from the National Schools’ Regatta winning crew, Eton should be able to put together a strong performance at Wallingford.
St Edward’s School
Also entering two eights into the morning division, St Edward’s will be looking to build on some strong, although never quite perfect, results from the summer and head racing season. Finishing 3rd, 4th, and 10thacross the coxed and coxless fours at Fours Head suggests that more speed may be yet to come for the crews entered, although returners will be able to capitalise on strong results at last season’s Schools Head and National Schools’ Regatta. Wallingford may well become a crucial moment for St Edward’s if they are to set up a strong season going into the new year.
King’s College School
Despite a strong second-place finish at the Pairs Head and an ambitious visit to Boston for the Head of the Charles last month, KCS’s results from the Fours Head also showed the potential for some improvement, finishing behind St Paul’s, Radley, and St Edward’s in the coxed fours division. With three eights in the morning and two in the afternoon, it will be important to see whether KCS can challenge their competitors as convincingly as in the previous summer season.
Westminster School
Finally, after having focussed on sculling at the Fours Head, Westminster will also be boating 3 eights in the morning and 2 in the afternoon division at Wallingford. Finishing 9 seconds behind KCS at the Head of the Charles, Westminster have the bar set high for their performance at Wallingford, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to show strong boat speed over the challenging conditions of the course.
Other crews looking to build on their momentum from previous head races include Hampton, Latymer Upper, Reading Blue Coat, and Mossbourne.
Predictions
Whilst all of the crews mentioned are likely to produce strong results, one confounding factor in making predictions is the uncertainty over which schools are sending matched eights and which are sending ranked eights to the event. Despite this, St Paul’s, Radley, and Eton are positioned to produce standout performances, although care will still need to be taken in comparing and extrapolating the results from Wallingford to the rest of the season.
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