These previews were written prior to the cancellation of Wallingford Long Distance Sculls 2024.
The long, dark winter nights are beginning to draw in, bringing the forlorn sound of erg chains slapping and weights clanking with them. However, for those mad, desperate (some may even say foolhardy) rowers who can’t let go of the racing season just yet, there are still a few head races that are appearing from the gloom. One of the most eagerly anticipated of these, for many, is the Wallingford Long Distance Sculls; a tough race over a challenging 2,500m or gruelling 4,000m course. The lineup for the Open J16 doubles category at this year’s Wallingford LDS is forecasting some great rowing, and looks to be highly contested by a majority of school crews, along with a few club crews in the mix that are not so easily discounted. As is the way with many J16 events, a lot of the crews are not established, fixed crews, as they have ascended from J15 the previous year and so do not have a particularly competitive history to draw on. Therefore, entirely new pairings may be entered, and new crews may blitz the field.
Abingdon School Boat Club
Based simply on probability, the odds are much in the favour of Abingdon School Boat Club, with 3 crews entered into the event. It’s only to be expected that they’re hoping to clear the field and secure all 3 podium finishes. With a fine pedigree of national level rowing, with members representing GB at the Coupe de la Jeunesse, World Rowing U19 Championships, and going on to Olympic heights as alumni of the club, Abingdon School BC is clearly not short of talent. They will definitely be entering some fearsome crews that will pose a threat to the podium. However, from an outsider’s perspective, Abingdon School BC does seem to dedicate much more focus towards rowing rather than sculling, so the question is raised as to whether their sculling crews will be as strong as their rowing crews, or will their single oar fixation let them down?
Pangbourne College Boat Club
The obvious favourites to disrupt Abingdon’s podium finishes are Pangbourne College Boat Club, arguably one of the best rowing schools in Great Britain. With the quality of coaching and rowing coming out of Pangbourne College BC, we can expect nothing less than a stellar performance, accredited by the club’s consistent appearances at Henley, and some very positive results at National Schools Regatta 2024. With only one crew entered, they will have to get in some big, powerful strokes if they wish to sail past the three Abingdon crews to take the podium position, but as we know; it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!
Bewl Bridge Rowing Club
Another serious contender for the trophy, Bewl Bridge Rowing Club are going to want to build on and improve on their strong 6th position finish at the British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships earlier this year. I think that they will provide a serious challenge for both the Abingdon and Pangbourne crews, although I do believe that Bewl Bridge RC’s seeming emphasis on sculling over rowing at junior levels may give them a slight advantage, especially in comparison to Abingdon.
Overall, I do think that there will be some incredible crews entered, with highly competitive clubs and established training at their backs. The trophy will not be taken easily, and will definitely have a few crews contesting keenly to get their bows over the line first. However, ultimately there can be only one first place, and this honour is likely to end up in the hands of one of the Abingdon School crews, with the wealth of expertise that they have driving them on. I definitely wouldn’t discount any of the other crews entered, and I firmly believe that there will be a fierce battle for second between Pangbourne College and Bewl Bridge, with both crews having some honour to defend, as well as the renowned competitive streak of J16 rowers. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the racing, and I can’t wait to see which crew manages to push out in front and come up triumphant.
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