Finally the sun has made a reappearance, and we have reached the pinnacle of the head race season. 320 boats will be looking to showcase the results of their hard winter training down the iconic 6.8km course this weekend, and around 28 of those will be competing for the Senior Club pennant.
Thames Rowing Club
Unsurprisingly Thames have a flotilla of six crews entered again this weekend, four of whom are in the senior category. Thames placed five crews in the top 21 at this event last year, with their second eight taking home the Senior Club pennant. They will be determined to retain this title at the weekend, and demonstrate an even greater show of strength and depth than last year. However, retaining the senior pennant might be more of a challenge for the third ranked crew, with other clubs beginning to snap at their heels.
London Rowing Club
London’s depth appears to be growing year on year: like their embankment neighbours, they also have four senior eights racing this weekend. After playing bridesmaid to Thames in the final of the Wargrave Challenge last summer, they have had some mixed fortunes this season: they were less than a second off snatching the Club Eight win from Thames at the Remenham Head in December, but were somewhat off the pace of their rivals at the Rayner Cup in February (an annual fixture between London Rowing Club and Thames Rowing Club). However, with Thames’ top two eights racing in the category above, the gap could be overturned this weekend — Thames’ third eight and London’s first eight placed 14th and 15th respectively at WEHORR 2024.
Cantabrigian Rowing Club
The winner of the Provincial Club pennant several years in a row, Cantabrigian placed 27th in 2024. It is clear they have the experience on the chaotic waters of the Tideway to perform well. They made the semi-finals of the Club 8+ at Henley Women’s Regatta in 2024, losing out to Thames. Whilst they may be slightly off the pace for the Senior pennant, they will certainly be fighting to retain their Provincial Club title.
Upper Thames Rowing Club
Another non-Tideway based club who appear to perform consistently well at the head; their fastest eight in 2024 was 19th, albeit that crew was not eligible for the Senior Category. Upper Thames were the only other club apart from Thames and London to qualify two boats into the Wargrave last summer. Whilst their best summer results often have come from fours rather than eights, they will be looking to transfer that speed and depth into throwing a curveball into the Thames/London rivalry. However, they may struggle to achieve that on the home water of both clubs.
Notable Mentions
Other crews to watch include Tyne Amateur Rowing Club, Nottingham Rowing Club, and Agecroft Rowing Club who all placed in the top 40 at WeHORR 2024. They may be slightly off the pace of the above clubs, and do also lack the home water advantage London and Thames have here, but an exceptional performance could see them in the mix this weekend.
Prediction
It does look to be a two horse race for the fastest Senior Club 8+ between Thames and London this weekend. It would be foolish to bet against Thames retaining this pennant, however I would expect London to push them hard for this win.
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