At the start of a new season the slate gets wiped clean, which makes these early races very interesting. The notorious course and the long distance of 4250m will provide crews with an excellent opportunity for an early test and set the tone for the rest of the head season.
Headington
Headington have entered two doubles in this category, and due to their excellent track record, it would be foolish to leave them out of medal contention. One of the athletes, Kennedy, raced in the second 8 at NSR which got into the B final which will fare well coming into this new year and make for a competitive double.
Emanuel
Emanuel has also entered two doubles, one of these includes Bucknall, who was sat at 2 in the successful coxed 4 last season, helping them get into the A final at National Schools. She is therefore clearly a strong well-rounded athlete which will serve this double well. The other double includes Beams, who was bow of the championship quad at national schools, despite their disappointing result, her experience and ability will also prove an asset. Both of these crews are promising.
Queen Anne’s School
It seems as if this set of doubles are in fact the split-up championship quad from last season, who placed 3 in the C final at National Schools. This will prove an interesting experiment, and hints at their potential to come back stronger in the regatta season as a quad. These girls will have been rowing together for a while, so they are two crews that might surprise.
Stratford-Upon-Avon
This is a double that I think has a good chance of a potentially surprising race, Gill-Swift was one of the girls in the winning WJ16 coxed 4 at National Championships and I presume her doubles partner was also a part of this four. Despite being younger, I think this crew could put up a good fight and they obviously have a good training plan to boost this potential.
Predictions
Despite the relative number of new names to this category, I’m expecting that either Headington or Emanuel will take the win. However, I think they will need to watch out for the crew from Stratford, and maybe the Crews from Queen Anne’s. There is also a Maidenhead double that could cause a problem, but since it is this early on in the season- its anyone’s for the taking.
SweepingSculler
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