The National Schools’ Regatta has always been the highlight of the junior rowing calendar and, along with other regattas, such as the Junior Sculling Regatta and Wallingford, makes up the focal point for this year’s crews. The countdown has already begun for this year’s event, after some exciting racing over the early regattas this season. We expect to see some interesting and no doubt dramatic racing at NSR. This year a bumper entry of 63 crews plan to battle it out and get a spot in the finals, raced for the J15’s over 1000M.
Henley
Henley will be looking to hold their title gained by their predecessors last year in the quad sculls, but they face serious competition. So far this year Henley has had a strong, but not spectacular racing season. Placing second at JSR, tucking in behind Marlow, they have already found some of their main competition. Despite this, they had a strong race beating Latymer Upper by a good margin. Henley’s time at Wallingford was by no means their crowning moment, being dropped from the podium by Latymer’s B crew. Their highlight of the year so far was at Hampton Head, beating all crews in their category, no doubt they will be aiming to draw on the experience at Hampton and bring it to Dorney. Henley’s crew of Della Luke, Isabelle Cotten, Holly Cookson, Georgina Pollard, and cox Ella Nolson are a strong force to contend with, but will they be able to hold the top spot? It seems unlikely they will bring home the gold, but they shouldn’t be discounted from finding a place somewhere on the podium.
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper is one of the strongest coming into the Regatta this year, with a successful camp in Baynoles under their belt, they will be looking to show off some young talent in the quad. Throughout the year Latymer’s depth of talent has shown, both locally and nationally. Back in April they blew out the winter cobwebs with a promising gold medal victory at Hammersmith Regatta, which may not be the biggest, but is still a good opportunity for crews to test themselves. They then stormed Wallingford, securing another gold ahead of Tideway Scullers. Despite it being a close finish with only a half-length in it, they gained not only a medal but also a massive confidence boost coming into the rest of the season. The cox for Latymer at NSR will be Eloise Hussey who is treading in the footsteps of Sophie Shapter, the cox of the winning blue boat at this years Boat Races. The rest of the crew consists of Claire Gooch, Zoë Scheske, Caroline Rijkse, and Julia Hunt-Davis. Latymer have created a strong crew this year for NSR and have the potential to top the podium.
Tideway Scullers School
Tideway scullers have a long, strong history of sitting near the top of events across all categories and their junior sculling squad is no exception. Their highlight of the year has been their silver medal slot at Wallingford, pipped at the post by Latymer. This was a strong second place, with them snapping at the heels of a top crew. Furthermore, the TSS’s in depth talent is highlighted by the ‘all Scullers’ final at Putney Town Regatta, again, a minor event, but still an impressive feat for the coaching team. Tideway’s crew of Freya Lovric-Kemp, Mary McWilliam, Ursula Cornelius, Hannah Marwood, and cox Ellie Campbell, are looking well placed as we come into the Regatta but will they reach the top spot? Latymer will most likely be their biggest challenge, but there is no reason why they shouldn’t be confidident in their ability.
Other Notable Mentions
Marlow Rowing Club, deserves to be on this list, not least for their win at JSR, which showed their dedication coming into the season, but with no crew at Wallingford, it’s hard to compare them to other crews. Despite this, one should imagine they will be looking to fight with the best back at Dorney.
Another crew to watch will be Lady E Holles, another crew absent at Marlow Regatta, but which showed promise at JSR. Over the year they have shown an enviable artistry at many of the smaller heads and events, all of which makes them another crew to keep half an eye on.
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