With the summer racing season drawing to a close – on the national stage, at least – Nottingham will play host to the 2025 British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships. With a large number of junior 15 coxed quads ready to duke it out at Holme Pierrepont, let’s dive in and see who will stand atop the podium.
Henley Rowing Club
Returning from a convincing gold medal at the National Schools’ Regatta in May, Henley will take some stopping. After a quieter couple of years for this powerhouse, in part due to the consolidation of talent at the major school programmes, this quintet look like the brightest prospect for some time. Returning all of the athletes who won the national title on this water seven weeks ago, you have to count Henley as one of the standout favourites.
The Windsor Boys School
With three Fawley Challenge Cups in four years, the Windsor Boys School require no introduction. Their dominance in the younger junior age groups is the stuff of legend. They won silver at the National Schools’ Regatta and took the open junior 15 octuple title at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head back in March. They also – crucially – beat Henley at Marlow Regatta in this category just four weeks ago. With one change to the silver medallist line-up from May, they will be determined to wrest back the title they missed out on last summer.
Trentham Boat Club
Having finished second at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in this category, it was curious that Trentham could only manage the C-final at the National Schools’ Regatta. Whether crew line-ups shifted, we hope to see more from this talented outfit this weekend. The crew that placed 16th at Nottingham seven weeks ago returns in full here.
George Watson’s College
A crew that has been up and down the leaderboard this season, George Watson’s College have a good record of peaking when it matters. They were D-finalists at the National Schools’ Regatta but improved markedly at Marlow Regatta to finish third overall and just eight seconds back on Henley Rowing Club. Three of that boat are back this weekend and an A-final will be in their sights.
Maidenhead Rowing Club
Another junior rowing programme with a rich heritage of producing excellent crews (you need look no further for evidence than their semifinalist Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup entry from the recent Henley Royal Regatta), Maidenhead will be strong contenders. They were top of the B-final at the National Schools’ Regatta and placed tenth overall at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head.
Bewl Bridge Rowing Club
Four seconds behind Maidenhead at the National Schools’ Regatta were Bewl Bridge Rowing Club. They placed higher at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, finishing sixth overall. They did not race at Marlow Regatta but did collect a selection of Junior 15 medals at Peterborough Regatta and Reading Amateur Regatta.
Prediction
Hard to look past what appears to be a straight shootout between Henley Rowing Club and the Windsor Boys School. I think Windsor will nick it. Their experience and know-how on the biggest stages is second to none.
