After racing down the Tideway at Fours Head just last Saturday, this weekend sees the competition moving out of London for Wallingford Head. Situated on the stretch where both Brookes and the Oxford University crews train, this race course should be relatively easier to steer than everyone’s favourite tidal river, and as such it will prove more of a test on the rowers’ strength and endurance over their handling of the boat.
Challenge Eights
Only four crews have entered into the senior women’s challenge eights, with three being from Leander and one from Brookes, we should certainly see some interesting racing between two of the most well-known clubs in rowing.
Leander Club
Leander have had an undeniably fantastic start to the 2022/23 season so far. To kick things off in October, they proved themselves on the international stage, winning the Women’s Championship Eights category at the Head of the Charles in Boston. Barely two weeks later, they sent a large, very successful cohort to the first stage of GB trials, with nine of their rowers finishing in the top twenty after the 5km time trial, which works out at an impressive ratio.
They consolidated this streak of success last week at Fours Head, where they won all the championship events on both the men’s and women’s sides, and set course records in their Women’s Championship Quad and Coxless Four. With three eights entered into Wallingford Head, I am sure that they will carry the momentum of these past few weeks into their rowing this weekend.
Oxford Brookes University BC
Brookes has also had a strong start to this season, coming second in the Women’s Championship Coxed Fours and third in the Coxless Fours at Fours Head last weekend. Renowned as one of the leading university rowing programmes, and harbouring the homestretch advantage, they will no doubt offer up some strong competition for this weekend.
Prediction
Given their recent performances and how they have dominated the entries into the Challenge Eights, I anticipate one of the Leander crews taking the win in their category.
Band 1 Eights
The Women’s Band 1 Eights consists of five crews, two more from Brookes, an OUWBC crew, one from Marlow RC, and one from Lea RC. Much like those from Brookes, the Oxford University women will also be racing on their homestretch, and will no doubt be using this advantage to its full extent. They also have some good results from this season, having won the Women’s Coxless Fours event at Upper Thames Autumn Head, and coming away with fourth in the same championship event at Fours Head. Marlow is another crew to look out for, having come third in the Women’s Club Coxless Fours last weekend.
Prediction
For this category, I reckon it will be a battle between the two clubs that call Wallingford ‘home’, with Brookes and OUWBC promising an exciting race.
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