The end of head season is upon us! Love it or hate it, everyone will be descending on the Tideway this weekend for one last go at a long distance win this season. According to the rules and regulations, the ‘senior’ category is open to all athlete who are below ‘international standard’, whereas ‘club’ refers to crews representing a single British Club, excluding academic institutions and national associations.
Thames RC
With five boats entered in the senior club category, lots of people will have their money on the Thames RC women in this category. Last year, Thames placed sixth, 15th, 17th, 23rd, 28th and 63rd overall on the championship course. All of these boats were entered into the senior club category, meaning they were second in the Senior status and Club pennant, losing out to Oxford Brookes A and Leander B respectively. Narrowly missing out on these wins will be spurring these crews on, likely to great success.
Vesta RC
The women of Vesta RC have gone from strength to strength over the last few seasons. Their top crew placed second in the band 2 category for women’s eights at Remenham Head, 26 seconds behind Thames RC’s band 2 boat. More recently, they placed sixth amongst women’s championship boats at Hammersmith Head. I expect Vesta will put in an impressive, but not winning, performance this weekend.
Mortlake Anglian and Alpha BC
Going off number 47 on Saturday, Mortlake Anglian and Alpha BC will be looking to build on their 51st placement from last year. This summer, two of their rowers raced for England at the Home International Regatta (HIRR) in the eight and four, and their Aspiration quad made the semi-finals at Henley Women’s Regatta. This experience, combined with an impressive set of results from Pairs Head of the River, places the Tideway club in a good position going into this weekend and the rest of the season ahead.
Lea RC
Lea have entered five boats overall this year, with their top crew in the senior club category, displaying the depth of the squad in their iconic orange all-in-ones. The north London club qualified 12th for the Copas Cup at Henley Women’s regatta last year, and qualified a boat for Henley Royal Regatta whilst they were at it. Although unlikely to leave the course with a pennant, Lea will perform well, building on their recent experience gained.
Prediction
Regarding Senior clubs, the clear leader of the pack will likely be Thames RC, however they may not leave with any pennant or medal due to the tough competition in the ‘senior’ and ‘club’ categories. I expect Vesta to build upon their growing success of recent year and I am very interested in how Mortlake Anglian and Alpha perform after a very successful few months.
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