Following the forecast of extreme weather, National Schools’ Regatta, which was supposed to be the peak of the season for practically all Junior 16 scullers, was cancelled for the Junior 16 quads and doubles. This doubtless left many feeling unsatisfied, thirsty for an opportunity to race again. Although some athletes will have gone on to race at Henley Royal Regatta or even the GB-France Junior 16 match, the majority will turn to the British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships to cap off their season.
Durham Amateur Rowing Club
Mosley has had a stellar season thus far; he finished in second place at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Junior 18 single, a truly formidable feat from a 16-year-old, as well as winning countless other events such as the Junior 16 single at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta in April, and winning the trials in the single for the GB-France Junior 16 match by a full eight seconds and ultimately going on to win the event against his French competitor with a similarly huge margin. He will doubtless be looking to cap off his year with one last win, and I would watch this athlete closely over the next couple of years; it seems inevitable that he will be representing Great Britain again before long.
Lea Rowing Club
One of two scullers in the event to have had a serious campaign at selection for the Great Britain U19 Squad, Guetin is one of the most promising picks to win this event. He has spent the majority of his season racing in the two-seat of the Lea Rowing Club Junior 18 quad, which won the B-final at the National Schools’ Regatta, beating strong, well-established crews such as Leander Club. They were unfortunately knocked out of Henley Royal Regatta’s Fawley Challenge Cup on the Tuesday, which will have likely been a bitter ending to the season for the crew. He raced in the single at the April U19 Trials Regatta, finishing in 26th place. Although he is not quite strong enough yet to represent Great Britain, he is another athlete I will watch for the future.
Hinksey Sculling School
Soloviov is the other athlete in the event who competed at the April U19 Trials Regatta; in fact, he raced in the same final as Guetin, ultimately finishing in 30th place. Aside from this result, he hasn’t appeared all that much in a single, meaning that, although it’s clear he’s a force to be reckoned with from this result and his impressive 2k erg score of 6:26, it’s difficult to determine how he stacks up against other athletes in the event such as Mosley. As he is starting at Shiplake College Boat Club in September, this will likely be his last race with the club, and I’m sure he’s keen to leave it on a good note.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
The notorious Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club needs no introduction in the world of junior men’s sculling. There are seven Windsorian scullers entered into this event, all of whom have incredible sculling prowess as shown by the fact that their ‘A’ boat has had a virtually unbeaten season domestically, culminating in their race at the GB-France Junior 16 Match last weekend where the French quad unfortunately beat them, and the fact that their ‘B’ boat isn’t all that far off; at Wallingford Regatta, in early May, their two quads each won their heats with only one second in between them. However, out of the seven scullers, I would pick Chute to be the fastest. He won the Junior 16 category at the club’s internal regatta, The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club championship, and was promoted to the Fawley Challenge Cup ‘B’ boat for Henley Royal Regatta. Nonetheless, I don’t doubt that each of these seven scullers will perform exceptionally.
St Peter’s School Boat Club
Gawthorp won at the Junior Sculling Regatta by a significant margin over his adversaries, but neither he nor his crew have taken part in a large number of races this year (having skipped huge events such as the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head) and therefore it’s difficult to assess just how good he is. He raced in the seven-seat of the Junior 18 eight that qualified for The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, a first for St Peter’s School Boat Club since 2012, but aside from this has had few races. Nonetheless, winning the Junior Sculling Regatta in this category is a strong result, and although I don’t think he’s likely to win at this event, he seems to be a strong athlete.
Prediction
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club squad is the wild card here; it’s clear that they are all terrific athletes from their excellent crew boat results, but their lack of races in the single – the last result I could find for many of the athletes was in April 2024 at the Ghent International Spring Regatta – makes it very difficult to assess just how fast they individually can go. That said, I think Mosley, Guetin, and Chute are safe bets to make the ‘A’ final, with Soloviov also seeming like a strong athlete with a good chance to make the ‘A’ final. Overall, I think Mosley is likely to take the win due to his incredibly strong track record. However, with 68 scullers competing, this is by no means an exhaustive list of the strongest athletes in the event and anyone could lay down a surprise performance and declare themselves as British champion.
