With Bedford Small Boats Head around the corner, this will be the first chance for many crews within the Eastern region to display the speed they are building in small boats at this early stage. Despite the shorter-than-standard 2000m head race course, the presence of sharp bends and numerous bridges presents an equal challenge for coxes and steerspersons alike.
WJ18 2x
Lea Rowing Club brings years of top results within junior girls sculling, getting them to the Friday of Henley Royal Regatta in 2024, highlighting the impressive programme they have built in Hackney. More recently their WJ18 4x- placed within the top three at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, which is a promising start to the season amongst a competitive field. Oundle School Boat Club will also be looking to put down a fast time, with bow pair returners of their Henley Royal quad, Shields and Sullivan. They will certainly be used to racing together, which may prove to be invaluable. Norwich School have entered four doubles, with the combination of powerhouses Douglas and Thwaites likely to place highly amongst the field, following an impressive set of results as J16s leading them to the ‘A’ Final of the WJ16 4+ at National Schools’ Regatta in May. I equally wouldn’t be surprised if Bedford Girls’ School put up a fast time having had a hugely successful 24/25 season, leading them to qualify for both the GB v France Match and Henley Women’s Regatta earlier this year.
WJ18 1x
To me the likely front runners of this category are obvious. With Sir William Borlase’s Amy Clark recently returning from her GB representation at the Coupe de la Jeunesse with two medals, she will be looking to begin her final year within the junior GB system with a bang. However, Oundle School’s Maisie Shields could pose a threat, with her technical abilities lending herself to the bow seat of the Oundle school first quad, she is likely to be able to transfer this skill well into the single to put up a good fight against Clark.
WJ17 2-
Despite a small field of only three crews, this category is likely to be a highly competitive one. With the Norwich School pair having raced together at GB France trials earlier this year, the cohesion within this highly technical boat category could prove vital. With the likes of Norwich coming up against two Bedford Girls School crews, one thing is for certain – all crews will want to come back with this win. With Norwich School’s Ellie Thwaites and Amelie Ivie losing out to Bedford Girls’ Kara Farquhar and her crew in the ‘A’ final of the WJ16 4+ at National Schools’ Regatta earlier this year, the Norwich School pair will likely be determined to push Bedford Girls once more to the line.
WJ17 1x
The women’s J17 single scull appears to be an event stacked with rising talent, with many of these girls likely to begin their GB trialling process this November, making this event one of the ones to watch on Sunday. Firstly, Bedford Modern‘s Annabel Yang is no stranger to the single, having already attended GB early ID trials as a J16; it is clear she has speed, and will be looking to build upon her fifth place finish in this event last year. Sir William Borlase’s Evie Woodbridge has also proven herself among this course with a 6th place finish just behind Yang last year in a field of 39 scullers, proving her capabilities. Norwich School’s Ellie Thwaites is likely to be another key contender, evidenced by her qualification for the WJ16 1x at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta back in April, demonstrating that she is one of the fastest scullers within the Eastern region. However, it is hard to look past the likes of Oundle School’s Beatrice Sullivan who found herself racing on the Thursday of Henley Royal Regatta as a J16 before loosing out to the eventual winners – a highly commendable accolade.
