After a January and February defined by relentless rain and rising rivers, the 2026 head season has been less about fine-tuning speed and more about simply finding chances to race. With events across the country lost to flooding, and many clubs forced into long stretches of land training, Hammersmith Head stands out as one of the few remaining opportunities to finally get racing experience in crews on the Tideway ahead of the fast-approaching Head of the River Race. With a range of entries from clubs, schools and universities, these eights will be looking to make a mark against some of the top Championship crews attending.
Radley College Boat Club
Despite being juniors in a field of predominantly senior athletes, history shows that you should not count out the boys from Radley College Boat Club. Last season, we saw an impressive all-round performance, with standout moments, including a second-place finish at the National Schools’ Regatta and a runner-up finish in The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, falling short to Shiplake College on both occasions. This season, Radley has started strong and already looks to send an early message. At Wycliffe Big Head 2026, they showed their power by putting down the fastest time of the day at Wycliffe Big Head, notably with a clear ten-second margin to Shiplake in second. With the Schools’ Head of the River Race coming up in a few weeks, and regatta season starting to become more of a thought in people’s minds, Radley will be looking to show the threat they are to more commonly known schoolboy rowing names. Seeing how they perform against powerhouses from clubs like Leander and rival schools will ultimately show the crew’s potential for the year.
Leander Club
The depth of talent within the Leander Club squad is only demonstrated by their second eight. Despite being a second eight, this crew consistently secures strong results every season, often on par with many of the top domestic clubs’ first eights. At the Head of the River Race, it has been a decade since the Leander ‘B’ boat finished outside the top five overall, and they have made the semifinal in The Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta almost every year they have entered, all the way back to the early 2000s. This only exemplifies the quality and pedigree of the pink palace, as the top eight are typically ineligible to enter club events. However, it can be hard to accurately predict the strength of this crew, as this ‘B’ crew usually changes completely every year. This season, we have been unfortunate not to have seen many appearances from Leander yet. Last week, the ‘B’ boat faced the ‘Isis’ crew from Oxford University Boat Club, ultimately fielding two significant wins. It would be assumed that this crew would be similar, if not the same, as the one attending the race this weekend, and if so, I would expect them to continue to show their prowess as one of the top rowing clubs globally, with both of their eights likely looking to get the clean sweep within their categories.
Thames Rowing Club
A name very well-known on the Tideway, surprisingly, it seems Thames Rowing Club have managed to sneak their second eight into this Intermediate category. Despite many clubs getting early racing experience at the start of this season, before this constant rain and chaos, Thames have not raced frequently so far. However, when they have appeared, the results have been impressive as usual. At Fours Head, they placed third in the open championship coxed four against crews featuring senior GB athletes, plus another third in the open club coxed four, and overall won the open club coxless four, the largest category of the day, showing the depth beyond their top boat. This result was backed up with a storming win in the Remenham Challenge against fellow Tideway rivals, London and Molesey, with their second and third eights placing a respective fourth and fifth, closely behind these other clubs’ top eights. The consistency and talent pool that Thames has every year are well known, and with construction chaos at the London Rowing Club’s boathouse, it is likely that Thames will look to capitalise on having more space and time on the Tideway than their adversaries.
London Rowing Club
With two crews already entered higher up, it seems London Rowing Club looks set to field what is effectively their third and fourth eights in this category. That should not be mistaken for a lack of quality. Even away from their leading boats, London have shown in recent seasons that their depth can remain competitive with top club opposition, and this winter has offered little evidence to the contrary despite the lack of racing. In the absence of 2026 results, their main outing has been a recent fixture with Oxford University Boat Club, giving London’s leading boats an opportunity to test speed against Isis in race conditions ahead of The Boat Race and Head of the River Race. Adding to this, earlier this season, they laid down solid markers at Upper Thames Autumn Head, where multiple open eights finished prominently across the day and secured the fastest open crew pennant against opposition, including Marlow Rowing Club and Oxford University. Fours Head then saw them maintain that form on their home water of the Tideway, across both championship and club events, carrying forward the momentum built through their Wyfold victory at Henley Royal Regatta last summer. With recruitment highs over the last few years, it would be expected that this London crew will perform strongly in lower boats in the squad, demonstrating the pedigree that the club’s depth of talent offers; however, I do see the top spot as a bit of a stretch in this particular field.
Honourable Mention: City of Cambridge Rowing Club
Keep an eye on City of Cambridge Rowing Club, who have been quietly building momentum over recent years and arrive with a stronger résumé than many might expect. Their performances at Fours Head 2025 earned them the Davison Award, recognition for the standout performance by a smaller club, after fielding multiple crews and recording notable finishes, including fifth in open club coxed four, while showing depth across other category entries. This result was then backed up with a solid showing at Wallingford Fours and Eights Head, finishing 12th overall in a field stacked with many Oxford Brookes crews, Oxford University’s Blue and Isis Boats, and many strong domestic clubs. They are unlikely to trouble the very front end here, but this is a club trending upward, integrating young, new athletes and racing with increasing assurance. In a disrupted winter where continuity has been hard to find, that kind of trajectory can translate into a result that turns a few heads.
Prediction
Ultimately, I struggle to see anyone coming close to the pedigree of Leander Club, which I imagine will be pushing to be among the top overall time-wise, let alone in this Intermediate category. However, I think if anyone has potential for an upset, it would be the boys from Radley College, who have proven they can be among the top club and school crews already. There is a possibility that the time may be closer than Leander may want to see. Tideway locals, Thames will likely round out the top three.
