The final event of the year for many is approaching, and following the cancellation of this event at the National Schools’ Regatta, it’s what many competitors will consider the peak of their season. There’s a hugely strong group of quads entered in this event, including a few who have hardly raced at all and a few composite crews which have the potential to shake things up. I’m sure all of these athletes will be keen to finish their season on a good note and race against each other once more, as so many of them have already done so many times.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club is legendary in junior men’s sculling. All the way from the Junior 14 Octuples to the Junior 18 Henley-winning boats, it is the single most dominant club on the men’s sculling circuit. This club has won The Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta five times in ten years, with three further crews beyond those five competing in the final. This year’s cohort of Windsorians is no different; their ‘A’ quad has won events such as the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, the Junior Sculling Regatta, and, most recently, the GB-France Match qualifiers. Although they didn’t end up winning the match against the French, they are still a hugely dominant crew, and that’s not just the case for the ‘A’ boat. The ‘B’ boat has proved time and time again that they are a similarly fast crew, placing fourth at the Junior Sculling head and third at the Junior Sculling Regatta, as well as picking up some other silverware along the way, such as winning in the double at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta. They have some incredible squad depth and even recently had Castor Chute, stroke seat of the ‘A’ quad, racing at Henley Royal Regatta in the program’s ‘B’ boat (which, despite being a ‘B’ boat, was still prequalified and seeded). They are, frankly, the crew to beat.
Walbrook Rowing Club
Walbrook Rowing Club is the obvious choice for a crew to take Windsor down. Since the Junior-15 level, these two crews have been fighting back and forth to be the best in the country, and although Windsor seem to have claimed that title now, Walbrook have kept the gap – and their lead over their other competitors– tight. They have had a series of second-place results this year, but they seem to be constantly pulling closer and closer to Windsor. In addition, these four athletes also attempted to qualify for the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, and although they were not able to do it, they put down a solid time which beat a large number of Junior 18 boats. For a relatively unheard-of club, they’re performing exceptionally well and, if there’s anyone who has shown time and time again that they have the potential to overturn Windsor, it’s them.
Marlow Rowing Club
This Marlow Rowing Club crew has slightly lacked consistency throughout this season. At their best, they’re a medal-winning crew with very strong results, such as a third-place finish at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head and a second place at Wallingford Regatta. However, sometimes their performances are closer to the floor of what you would expect in an A-final, rather than the ceiling, such as their race at the Junior Sculling Regatta, where they finished 15 seconds behind the Windsor Boys’ ‘A’ Boat. Nonetheless, the fact that even at their worst, they can still perform to a high level means that these athletes have nothing to lose, and I don’t doubt that they’ll be fighting for a medal to end their season on a strong note.
Henley Rowing Club
This crew seems to be improving every time they race. Coming off the back of a slightly weaker Junior 15 season, they finished in sixth place in the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head (a strong result in and of itself), and then pushed on to fourth at the Marlow Regatta. Henley Rowing Club’s men’s squad seems to be struggling at the moment, with only this quad and a Junior-18 sculler having been scheduled to race at the National Schools’ Regatta. Therefore, I think it’s entirely fair to say that these athletes are the future of the Henley RC men’s junior squad. While that’s a lofty statement which comes with huge expectations, I think these athletes will be able to deliver if they keep progressing at the rate they have this year.
George Watson’s College Boat Club
This crew might seem like a surprising choice at first glance; they seemingly haven’t performed all that well this year, with a 20th-place finish at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head and no major appearances aside from that. However, just because the crew hasn’t raced under this name doesn’t mean they haven’t raced at all. Three of the four members of this quad actually raced at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Junior 18 category, and they placed 15th. For a quad containing two Junior 16s and a Junior 15 (Fyffe, Palmer and McNab, respectively), this is an excellent result and really highlights the excellent level of these athletes. Similarly, at Marlow Regatta, two of this crew raced in the Junior-18 category and came tenth, and this crew ultimately went on to barely miss out on qualification for the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. This crew has performed miracles before; I remember at Marlow Regatta 2024, when the same four scullers turned up to race in the Junior 15 coxed quads after having hardly raced all year, and, with two Junior 14s in the boat, proceeded to win by four seconds over the Windsor Boys’. Although I’m not suggesting that this is destined to happen again over the weekend, I would certainly consider them a dark horse.
Predictions
As I’ve made clear, I think The Windsor Boys’ School ‘A’ is the favourite to win; I don’t think Walbrook quite have it in them to take them on just yet. However, I don’t believe that George Watson’s College can at all be counted out. We’ve seen it before, where they come out of left field to claim a surprise victory, and a part of me hopes that they’ll be able to do it again. I believe both Windsor Boys’ ‘A’ and ‘B’ boats, alongside the other four quads mentioned, will make the A-final.
