These previews were written prior to the cancellation of Wallingford Long Distance Sculls 2024
For the first race of the new season, 14 crews take on four kilometres of winding turns and overhanging trees. Being back after a summer away leaves us in an exciting position. We have a rough idea of expectations from crews, but if there’s any chance of an underdog making a name for themselves in the season, now’s probably the time. Here’s the down-low on my top-performing crews for the weekend.
Lea Rowing Club
Coming off the back of a successful 2023/2024 season, Lea Rowing Club are on an upward trajectory, stepping on from previous results. They finished third at the Junior Sculling Regatta, moving on to tenth at the National Schools’ Regatta and 11th at Marlow Regatta. They capped off the season by making the Thursday of the The Fawley Challenge Cup and claimed gold in both the J184x- and the J182x at the British Rowing Junior Championships. Lea have been consistently improving their results over the past few seasons, which makes them a prime contender to hit the ground running with a successful start to the year.
Tideway Scullers School
Tideway Scullers School have repeatedly proven themselves as one of the country’s top junior clubs. They are currently the only club-based setup to have won the The Fawley Challenge Cup and The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup Challenge Cup. This weekend, we will see their scullers out in force, with three quads entered. The men from Tideway had a successful 2023 season, racing the A-finals at the National Schools’ Regatta and Marlow Regatta, and they ended it on the Thursday of the Henley Royal Regatta. Wallingford is the season’s first race, so the TSS-A crew that are setting off third will look to hunt down their opposition to ensure they set the season’s tone right, looking ahead to the races later in the year held on their home-ground.
Bewl Bridge Rowing Club
A relatively unknown name in the world of Junior 18 quads, Bewl Bridge Rowing Club have historically performed well in smaller boat classes. The Ribbens’ brothers (Jack and Ben) won gold in the Junior 16 double at the National Schools’ Regatta 2023. Jack went on to win gold in the Junior 17 single at the Junior Sculling Regatta 2024 and to finish the season, the pair reunited to race the Junior 18 double at the British Rowing Championships 2024 and came away with a bronze medal. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how these two can translate their affinity for the smaller boats into a quad, especially with it being such a competitive field.
Honourable Mentions
While Radley College Boat Club is not historically a sculling-focused program, their name is so well-established in schoolboy rowing that it would be foolish to disregard them. Reading Rowing Club is another club not well known for its quads; however, their win at The National Schools’ Regatta 2024 in the championship double shows they are not to be discounted. Tideway Scullers School ‘B’ and ‘C’ will still provide the high-quality oarsmanship that we are used to seeing from their club, having made the A-final in the Junior 16 quads at the National Schools’ Regatta 2024 and winning Junior 18 second quads at the same event.
Predictions
I think we can look to see the boys from Tideway Scullers School out in front for this race, with the battle for second between Bewl Bridge Rowing Club and Lea Rowing Club being a tight race. However, I think Lea’s recent form in the bigger boats will pip Bewl Bridge to second place.
About The Author
