With the weather worsening and days growing darker and colder, it is only a matter of time before the annual pilgrimage to the erg room begins, marking what could be up to three months of long and harsh training. That makes every head race and opportunity for these young scullers a vital chance to gain racing experience.
Hampton School Boat Club – Ho
The highest-ranked sculler from Hampton School, Ho will have an in-depth knowledge of the course and the most optimal line to take to give him the best chance of coming away with victory in this event. Not much was seen of this sculler during his J16 season, meaning he could have a lot to show in this race. As much as home advantage doesn’t automatically correlate to a higher position, the Thames’ tumultuous tendencies can mean that the line a sculler takes can make or break their race.
City of Bristol Rowing Club – Walker
City of Bristol are well known on the younger end of the junior scene for producing some very strong club-level scullers, having sent multiple crews to the GB vs France match for sculling. Setting off first, Walker will have the opportunity to show the progress he has made at the start of the season and to challenge himself with the massive step up that is the transition between J16 and the upper end of junior rowing. Walker, last season, was able to reach the C-final in the J16 single at the British Rowing Club Championships, competing against a massive field of entries. Hopefully, the skills he has already demonstrated will have been further developed over the past four months of training.
St George’s College Boat Club – Mooney
A programme not known for its sculling, St George’s fielding a sculler who has been ranked second in the starting order by the organisers could indicate a new talent emerging from the programme. This could even be a possible precursor to the GB U19 February Trials, which could be his first real test to see if there is the potential to make the national team as a sculler. It is exciting to see programmes that don’t usually participate in sculling put crews forward, as this can only be a strengthening factor for the overall British Sculling Pathway.
Peterborough City Rowing Club – Hynes
Another club known for producing very strong J14-J16 level club scullers, Peterborough City, has sometimes struggled to make the leap from that level to the upper echelons of junior rowing. However, considering the fact that Hynes boats in such a strong starting position, I believe that he will have something to show the other scullers in this Thames valley-dominated field of entries. This will be an exciting opportunity for him to test his mettle against some strong up-and-coming junior scullers.
Prediction
I think it is fair to say that with a heavy flow on the Hampton stretch, Ho will be able to use his knowledge of the course to his advantage to claim the win. In second place, I think it will be a hard-fought battle between Walker and Mooney. However, given Walker’s previous results from his J16 year, I am inclined to side with Walker to take second place and Mooney to take third place. Nonetheless, depending on the conditions, anything could happen. We’ll just have to wait until Saturday to find out!
