The 2025-26 head season in the North West kicks off with Chester Long Distance Sculls. The River Dee is the perfect venue for the first local race of the year; scenic and yet full of surprises. Two major corners at Heron Bridge and Earl’s Eye challenge even the most experienced steers, while the wide stretch around Sandy Lane facilitates overtaking late in the race, resulting in fierce battles to the finish line. Some competitive categories are analysed below, but all crews will be fighting tooth and nail to take that first win of the season. Prizes will be presented by the Lord Mayor of Chester and Admiral of the Dee, Councillor Sherin Akhtar.
Division One
Men’s Single Sculls (Bands One & Two)
The men’s singles are led out in Band One by Harry McGarva of Royal Chester Rowing Club, who has accumulated an impressive array of results since his last outing at Chester LDS in 2019, including two Jackson Trophy wins and a Henley Royal Regatta final. While McGarva is undoubtedly the favourite, he may be given a run for his money by Joseph Bakewell of Trentham Boat Club – a product of their highly successful junior squad, who has raced in the single at the National Schools’ Regatta and the Junior Sculling Regatta in 2025.
In Band Two, the race to the top spot will be no less interesting. York City Rowing Club’s Alex Press is a good candidate, with experience of steering on the Dee and plenty of recent race appearances, albeit mainly in sweep boats. However, Zac Morgan from Liverpool University Boat Club could make waves here – as an ex-junior from Nottingham and Union Rowing Club, where he won the Club Junior pennant at the Head of the River Race (amongst other successes in sculling boats), he is one to watch in this category. Chester locals such as Hugo Ellison from Royal Chester RC and Ian Eyres of Grosvenor Rowing Club may also be contenders for the win.
Women’s Coxless Quads
Having won the women’s quad in 2023 and 2024, Royal Chester Rowing Club are the crew to beat as they go for the hat-trick in 2025. This year’s crew comprises four members of their history-making Wargrave Challenge Cup eight from this summer, which qualified and won a round at Henley Royal Regatta. On the other hand, there may well be strength enough to challenge them in the Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club/Warrington Rowing Club composite – female scullers from both clubs achieved nationally significant results at both Henley Women’s Regatta and the British Rowing Club Championships in the summer, meaning that this could potentially be a combination to be reckoned with. With York City Rowing Club and Liverpool University Boat Club also in the mix, I suspect that this event could be one of the tightest races of the day.
Division Two
Junior 18 Coxless Quads
A junior men’s quad from Northwich Rowing Club has won this event three times in the last five years. Given the depth of their junior squad, this year’s combination should be of the usual high standard, despite a number of their older rowers moving on to university. However, Yarm School Boat Club from North Yorkshire, with three Junior 18 quads entered, are difficult to ignore. With at least two crew members returning from their Fawley Challenge Cup crew last year (the seventh-fastest non-qualifiers in a vast field), I expect their top crews to rival Northwich, even on an unfamiliar river.
Women’s Single Sculls
Division Two is closed out by the women’s single sculling events. The lead contender and likely winner here is Susie Youlton of Chester-le-Street Amateur Rowing Club – after winning the B-final at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Championship single, reaching the final of the Junior single at Henley Women’s Regatta, and representing Wales in the Junior women’s single at Home Internationals, she brings a huge back catalogue of recent successes which will stand her in good stead this weekend. Her competition includes Ebony Hutton-Mitchell of Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association, who produced some promising results last season, including being the fastest non-qualifier in the Aspirational single at Henley Women’s Regatta, finishing sixth in the women’s intermediate quads at BUCS Head with Loughborough University, and competing at the GB Olympic Pathway Regatta.
Women’s Junior 18 Single Sculls
The field in this event is especially strong, reflecting the quality of the various junior programmes in the North West. Leading off is Maisie Brittles of Warrington Rowing Club – she had a stellar season in 2025, reaching the semifinals of the Junior single at Henley Women’s Regatta, coming third in the Championship Single at the National Schools’ Regatta, and, impressively, picking up a silver and bronze medal at Coupe de la Jeunesse in the women’s double. Right behind her in the start order is rising star Holly Andrews of Grange School Rowing Club, 2025 Junior Interregional Regatta winner in the WJ16 single (following in Brittles’ footsteps, who won the same event in 2024), and a member of Grange’s WJ18 quad, which came sixth overall at the Junior Sculling Head last year. I expect these two will push each other to the line, but that the more-experienced Brittles will take the win.
