With a large number of championship eights schools entered in this event, these crews will be looking to see how they can perform in the first big boats race of the season. A number of other school clubs, such as Shiplake College Boat Club and Royal Shrewsbury School Boat Club have opted to race in Open 8s in the afternoon division, which will give them increased competition against more experienced competitors and clubs, such as Oxford Brookes University, however if conditions stay consistent throughout the day, these school eights will still be looking to beat the times of those eights who have entered the junior category.
St Pauls School Boat Club
With only two returners from their record-breaking eight last season, one would expect Paul’s to be slightly off the pace so far this season. However, our expectations have been overturned, with a huge win at Fours Head in Championship Coxed Fours and a second place finish in Championship Coxless Fours. I would expect both of St Paul’s eights to be extremely competitive this Sunday and they will be looking to take the top two spots, and as the season progress, they will certainly be looking for a repeat performance of last year. If St Paul’s can replicate the class of their eight last year throughout the season, they will be looking at another phenomenal season, potentially winning National Schools’ Regatta for the third year in a row.
Radley College Boat Club
Radley’s entry is named under Rory Gearing, who stroked Radley’s eight to a silver medal at National Schools Regatta last season and a place in the semi finals at Henley Royal Regatta. Radley will definitely be aiming to win this year and steal the limelight off St Paul’s, however they have had a slightly underwhelming start to the season, with middle place finishes in Junior Championship Coxed 4s at Fours Head. Radley tend to go from strength to strength as the season progresses, and therefore I don’t think they will be particularly competitive on Sunday, however will improve as the season continues.
Kings College School Boat Club
KCS showed a lot of determination last season, in particular on the Thursday at Henley Royal Regatta where they pushed Eton’s top eight right to the finish line and finished only a length behind them. They have had a decent start so far this season, with a 7th place finish in Championship coxed fours at Fours Head in an extremely competitive field. They have entered in force with three eights in this category, indicating a very large squad this season and it will be interesting to see if they can push some of the clubs who would normally rank above them, such as Westminster and Bedford School.
Henley Rowing Club
Henley Rowing Club’s junior boys squad are normally known for their ability to move a quad, as shown by their recent 5th and 6th place finishes by their two quads at Fours Head. These two quads will likely be merging together to form an eight, however these athletes are likely to be reasonably inexperienced rowing together in an eight, and therefore I struggle to see this eight being as competitive as some of the championship eight schools entered in this category.
Bedford School Boat Club
After a stellar season last year, with a 4th place finish in Championship eights at National Schools Regatta and a place in the quarter finals at Henley Royal Regatta, Bedford will be looking to replicate the success of last season this year. Two eights entered into this category indicates a strength and depth in their squad however we haven’t seen anything from them in sweep boats so far this season, as the only results they have put out so far this year was a 1st place finish in Challenge quads at Fours Head, which was a respectable performance.
St Edwards School Boat Club
Teddies had a respectable season last summer, with an A final finish at National Schools’ Regatta, although only progressing to the Thursday at Henley Royal Regatta. With new Director of rowing in charge, Adam Moffat, who transferred from Shiplake College, along with the addition of new athletes, it will be exciting to see what Teddies are able to do in an eight early on this season.
Westminster School Boat Club
With Westminster prioritising a top quad last season, their eight struggled and only managed to place in the C final of National Schools Regatta last summer. However, Westminster have shown that they are back on form this year, with a win and also a third and fourth place finish in Junior Championship coxless fours at Fours Head. It will be interesting to see what they can do combining these fours into an eight and whether they are able to make an impact and scare off some competition this early on into the season.
We also see entries from slightly less competitive clubs in the Championship eights category, such as Winchester College Boat Club and Abingdon School Boat Club. Although Abingdon has had its major successes winning the triple three years in a row under Dave Currie’s program, they haven’t been on form in recent years, with a B final finish at National Schools’ Regatta last season, indicating that they are unlikely to be as competitive in this category.
Prediction
Both of St Paul’s School’s eights to finish in first and second place, with Radley College just behind taking the third place position. However, I believe we could also see Westminster School and St Edward’s School put down some very competitive times in this race on Sunday and potentially challenge the top players.
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