Wallingford is one of the few heads which offers a J17 event, and as the first big event of the season, it’s a great way to see who’s looking fast in this age group.
Headington School
Headington are taking up most of the field in this event with 7 scullers entered. Headington had a hugely successful season as J16s last year, but their dominance was mostly in the eight where they were winners of the schools Head and NSR in the WJ16 8+. They also had strong sculling performances too, such as bronze in the WJ16 4x at national schools in which they were not quite able to live up to their results in the eight. It’s difficult to predict which of Headington’s scullers will be fastest, but a good guess would be Parrott, Barker, Greig-Connor and Kilco from the quad due to their greater sculling experience, however any of Headington scullers could challenge for the win.
Henley RC
Another big name in junior women’s rowing, Henley has produced many fast scullers over the years and the two names entered here should be no exception. Both Fletcher and O’Donohue won bronze in the WJ16 eight at national schools, with O’Donohue winning the WJ16 4x event at Henley Women’s Regatta. Both of Henley’s scullers should be fast and at the top of the field.
Reading RC
Pollard from Reading is one of the few scullers in the field who almost solely competes in the single, and had some good results last season, including racing to the B final at the British Championships and winning several local heads. Her experience in the single will be vital and she can definitely challenge for the win.
Others to mention are Donaldson from Eton Execelsior and Lambden from ASL, as both clubs have produced strong juniors in the past.
Prediction:
It’s always difficult to predict events this early in the season, especially as many of the competitors here are seen more in crew boats – however Headington, Henley and Reading’s scullers all look like they could potentially take the win.
RowingGirl
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