As the days grow shorter and temperatures continue to fall, the head season has fully taken hold. Hampton Small Boats is one of many events that give athletes the chance to race in boats they don’t typically row. In the Junior 18 pairs events, some crews will use the opportunity to measure themselves against top national competition ahead of the GB February Trials, while others will focus on sharpening their technical skills in preparation for crucial crew selections for the major races in January. The field features 16 pairs, and with home favourites Hampton making up the majority of entries, will they triumph on their turf or get bested by their opposition?
Hampton School Boat Club
Hampton has six pairs entered into Saturday’s racing- likely comprised of their first eight and the top of their second eight. The two second eight pairs will be hoping to break into the Hampton first eight after last season saw them qualify for the weekend at Henley Royal Regatta, following years out of the spotlight. Going off first and second in the categories appears to be Hampton’s GB talent in the form of Leo Robertson and Ewan McVey. These boys will have learnt a lot from international racing at Junior Worlds and Coupe respectively, and after winning on the World stage, they will undoubtedly have their eyes on the top spot on home water.
Canford School Boat Club
Famous for their internet personality, Oliver Lowe, Canford is a club that seems to be on the rise. They took home the gold in the inaugural junior fours head mixed quad, which seems to demonstrate cohesion between both girls’ and boys’ squads. Last year, they produced a junior world champion on their girls’ side, marking their first bit of GB representation in a couple of years. Canford not only managed to qualify their eight for Henley Royal Regatta last year but also made it through the first round, a feat that will arm them with experience not seen by smaller programs. Despite lacking the international racing that Hampton seems to have on their books, I have no doubt these boys will give it their all.
St George’s College Boat Club
After losing star rower Barney Doyle to Shiplake, St George’s will still be keen to lay down a mark at this event. With only one pair entered, they are lacking the strength in numbers that other clubs, such as Hampton, can provide. They managed to qualify their eight for HRR last year, showing a good technical and fitness benchmark to build off of. On their Instagram, they credit their lack of gold-winning results to feeling as though they ‘should let other crews win every so often’. Whether this humble attitude will allow them to capture the gold remains to be seen
Wallingford Rowing Club
This pair is likely the crew selected to race for GB at the GB-France Match last season, where they walked away with the win. This international experience from at least one of the boys in this crew should provide them with some technical skills to enable them to best the opposition. Wallingford is a club known to be lurking in the upper echelon of junior rowing, but often can’t seem to snatch the highest level of results. This crew will likely have had the most time together out of any pair in this category and with this being a longer distance head race, the technical cohesion gained from spending prolonged time in a boat together is likely to produce dividends for them and allow them to row together even when tiredness and exhaustion start to kick in.
Predictions
This race seems to be Hampton’s to win or lose. They clearly have a stacked group of oarsman entered into this category and their top three pairs will likely be able to complete the podium on home water. I think Wallingford may be able to provide some stiff competition if it is the same crew that competed at GB France, and might be able to push into the fleet of Hampton pairs starting before them. For the rest of the field, racing in a pair is sure to provide technical challenges that make any oarsman better on the other side. For those competing in the GB February trials, the race will serve as a run-through, highlighting any weaknesses as they take on the country’s best juniors.
