4250m of winding river will greet this batch of J18 scullers as they take on Wallingford LDS. 73 scullers will be competing here, with sizeable entries from Westminster, St Pauls and Radley amongst others.
Star & Arrow Club
The junior offshoot of Leander, Star & Arrow Club always produce excellent scullers. In fact, they picked up the win in this category last year. They only have three entries this year, with SSA-Willis likely to be their best chance at a win. He finished 7th out of 82 last year, and with many of those who beat him no longer juniors, this race could be a perfect chance to establish himself at the very top of junior sculling.
St Paul’s School
Though better known as a sweep school, St Paul’s has produced competent scullers as part of their program, with 3rd place in this event last year. However, many of their high finishers last year, like at Star and Arrow, are no longer juniors and, judging by the small number of entries (5), it appears that J18 1x isn’t a priority for Bobby this year.
Radley College
Radley have gone for quantity this year with the entries. They have no fewer than 15 scullers racing. It appears that many of their rowers competing in this category did not race last year, so they are somewhat of an unknown quantity. However, given their unspectacular 55th place (highest finisher) in this event last year, they may not be challenging for top spots.
Henley RC
Regular competitors and finalists in the Fawley Challenge Cup last year, Henley only have 4 entries in J18 1x this year. However, with 3 athletes inside the top ten of this event last year, they will no doubt be strong entries. They were pipped to the post by Leander this year and will want to start this season off brightly as they plan towards the triple later in the year.
Westminster School
Like Radley, Westminster have stacked this event, with 14 scullers racing, including some of last years First VIII. Though they did not reach the top spots in this event last year, they managed to place a number of scullers in the top half, which serves to highlight the depth the Tideway school are able to call upon. They’ve flitted between sweep and scull in past seasons, and depending on their early season results in small boats, we could see a top quad this season from Westminster.
This is a hugely competitive event with entries from all of the top clubs and schools. Whilst it is likely that the winner will come from an established program, I may well have missed out a diamond in the rough, so be sure to keep an eye on this one.
TidewaySweeper
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