One of the first amidst a multitude of long-distance sculling events, Wallingford LDS is a chance for crews to start sizing each other up on the 4250m course before the head season begins in earnest. With a strong line up which looks as if it will be continuing the age-old rivalry between Henley, Headington and LEH among others, the WJ18 4x draw looks as if it’s shaping up to be an interesting race.
Headington School – A, B
Last year the two Headington crews entered for this event took second and third place respectively. As it is the start of the season and there are no names given for either crew it is difficult to make a highly accurate prediction. However, given Headington’s success over the last season – the WJ17 4x came 5th overall at Junior Sculling Head amongst other strong results – I’d expect them to come within the top 3 crews.
Henley RC – Hills, Underwood
Always producing a very strong junior women’s squad, Henley is proving no exception this season. At National Schools’ Regatta 2019, Sophie Underwood raced in the Girls J16 8+ which took gold and came first in the B final of the J16 4x, whilst Hannah Hills’ crew took gold in the Championship Girls’ 8+ and the Girls’ Championship 4x. With results like these, I’d expect these Henley crews to be in a very strong position for the new season. It’ll be exciting to see how competition heats up in the next few races.
Hinksey Sculling School – Wilson
At 2018 National Schools’ Regatta the Hinksey WJ16 4x comprising of Jojo Blyth, Harriet Wilson, Mae Willoughby, Phoebe May placed 10th overall (4th in the B final). More recently, Willoughby and May have been replaced by Emma Foster and J. Foster in a crew which came in a slightly disappointing (given previous successes) 6th in WJ18 4x- at The Scullery. This crew combination also took first place at the Upper Thames Autumn Head, clocking the fastest time of the day. Finally, at Four’s Head last year the girls took an impressive 2nd place in the Junior Challenge quad.
Lady Eleanor Holles BC – Brady, Kerr, Bellamy, Summers, Sutherland
Lady Eleanor Holles were very successful at National Schools’ Regatta this year, taking gold in the Championship Girls VIII, in addition to a win in the B final for the coxless four and strong results across the board the J14, J15 and J16 squads. Given their recent reputation and results – as well as the volume of crews entered – I’d imagine that the LEH crews will definitely be in with a chance of taking one of the top spots.
Maidenhead RC – Stuij
Maidenhead came 14th overall in the Women’s Junior Championship quad at Four’s Head. At The Scullery, Stephanie Stuij raced in the WJ16 2x, coming 3rd in the B final, a good result. Maidenhead’s junior squad has been doing rather well recently, so it will be interesting to see how their season is shaping up when pitted against crews such as Headington and LEH.
Stratford-upon-Avon BC – James
At National Schools’ Regatta 2019, Maiya James raced in the J16 coxless quad, finishing 16th overall. The quad also raced at Oxford City Royal Regatta, coming 2nd in the WJ16 quad. The girls split into doubles for the same race, where both lost out to Wallingford; given this information it will be interesting to see how they do when facing the Wallingford girls in the coming race.
Wallingford RC – Wilkinson
At The Scullery, the Wallingford crew took third place in the WJ16 4x-, a very strong result which placed them above both the Headington and Lady Eleanor Holles crews. Known for producing successful athletes (GB rowers Brianna Stubbs, Ellie Piggott, Gemma Hall and Mary Wilson all rowed for the club), I’m sure that this crew will be putting in the work necessary for a successful season and am excited to see how they place.
Predictions:
There are a number of crews who have the potential to take the top spots. I’d imagine that it will be a toss up between any of the Henley and Headington crews, with strong competition from the LEH crews and potentially the Hinksey quad too.
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