This weekend, Wallingford Long Distance Sculls will mark a return to head race season for many clubs, and the 4km upstream course will help identify the ones to watch in the WJ18 category this year. It’s exciting to see quite a substantial entry into the WJ18 2x, with 18 doubles racing over 6 clubs. With this event being in division 3 it will offer a test of the athlete’s mental and physical endurance, as many will be doubling up and also racing division 1 in the morning.
Lea Rowing Club
Being named British Rowing’s Club of the Year in 2022, Lea Rowing Club are certainly a familiar face on the junior women’s rowing scene. Last year, their WJ18 4x (all of whom return as juniors this season) reached the Thursday of HRR in the Diamond Jubilee and picked up a close 2nd place at Brit Champs. Armed with experience and motivation, we’ll see this weekend if the four doubles entered can start off another successful season for the club. A strong contender may be the double of Ines Guetin and Hetty Amis-Woods, stroke pair of the quad, but with many great results of the club at junior level last year, I don’t doubt the other combinations will also be competitive.
Wallingford Rowing Club
Another club coming out of the 2022/23 season with plenty of success for their JW is Wallingford Rowing Club. They won the WJ16 8+ at the National Schools’ Regatta, and the WJ16 4+ at the British Rowing Junior Championships after only just missing out on qualifying for the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy (PP) at HRR. With three crews entered into this event, I would expect to see some quick times from them: especially as they’ll be used to steering the course since they have their boathouse along the racing stretch. The double of Zara Richardson and Matilda Sizer appears to be particularly strong, with Richardson in the winning boats mentioned above, along with a 2nd place finish in the WJ16 4x at BRJC now being paired with Sizer who took on the impressive feat of competing in the ChW1x at NSR.
Headington School Oxford Boat Club
With Henley Rowing Club choosing to prioritise the quad, Headington were left as the dominant sweep force in the UK last year. Setting their intent at NSR, winning by over 10 seconds, they went on to win HWR and lost to the eventual PP winners at HRR by only half a length. They typically begin their head season in sculling boats, and this weekend it appears that their top athletes have been entered into the W4x for division 3. However, with a new cohort of J17s, I’m sure there is plenty of depth in the squad and I would expect a strong showing from their four crews. Two of the athletes entered are Gervacio and Parsons, who came 3rd in the B final at NSR in the WJ16 2x, so it will be interesting to see how these younger competitors fare this weekend against those who are perhaps older and more experienced.
Other entries
Having already raced at Vesta Scullers’ Head last weekend, American School in London Boat Club are starting the season off strong, with two boats entered in this event. Stratford upon Avon have entered four doubles, and finally, Pangbourne College also have one entered, so I’d expect it to contain their top girls and show a high quality of sculling.
Predictions
It looks like the fight for the win will be between Guetin/Amis-Woods from Lea, and Richardson/Sizer from Wallingford, with both having seen success last season. However, Headington is also a very well-established programme and I wouldn’t look past any crew they put out. Ultimately, I think the experience of the Lea double and the time spent rowing together makes them the favourites coming in; but it will be exciting to see what each crew can produce on the weekend, and perhaps start the season out with a different club dominating.
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