Although it is a local race, this category has seen a lot of tight and high-quality racing from a multitude of top clubs, with this year being no exception. 24 entries into the division isn’t unusual, but seeing such a high level of competition is unexpected. The entries themselves reflect those of the Junior Fours Head just two weeks ago, so predicting the strength of these crews may be slightly more accurate than usual. The course itself is a scenic 3km row, without any sharp bends, which will take some stress off the steersmen in these boats, especially on the finishing straight past Platt’s Eyot.
Lea Rowing Club
Lea Rowing Club, especially recently, have demonstrated exceptional performances, and this year has been no different. Following a fifth place at the Junior Fours Head and a win at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls in a double by almost 30 seconds, they have shown that they have a strong foundation for outstanding performances this season, and I don’t see how this race will be any different. Two of their crew members, Watson and Guetin, placed ninth and 16th at the GB trials in Boston earlier this year, further highlighting their sculling proficiency.
Wallingford Rowing Club
With two entries in this division, Wallingford Rowing Club are another club that has cemented its place among the top Junior 18 quads this year. They started the year off by finishing third at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls in a double, 45 seconds behind Lea Rowing Club and then continued with a sixth place at the Junior Fours Head, this time only three seconds behind Lea, which perhaps shows that their full quad is stronger than their doubles, or a sharp improvement between the two races. Either way, the Wallingford quad has everything they need to be on the podium this weekend.
Tideway Scullers School
The Tideway Scullers School are a well-known club all across the Thames, and they are no strangers to this race, but they have decided not to limit themselves to a few crews and have 14 entries across a lot of the divisions, obviously including a J18 quad. As for their strength, they edged ahead of both Lea Rowing Club and Wallingford Rowing Club at Fours Head, coming in fourth. Additionally, they won Teddington Head just last week and had two singles, Tinsley and McCarthy, place fifth and sixth at Scullers’ Head, with McCarthy also winning the supplementary event for GB trials in Caversham. This racing experience, combined with their results this year, makes them a formidable opponent to all other racing crews, and I have no doubt they will take one of the top spots in this category.
Tiffin School Boat Club
A decently local club, just downstream of Hampton, Tiffin School Boat Club never fails to enter a few crews into this race. However, their Junior 18 squad has performed well this year, with a second place at Kingston Small Boats Head and seventh at Junior Fours Head, right behind all of the clubs mentioned above. On top of that, at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, they locked out the podium with their top sculler, Wilde, even beating the time of the Wallingford Rowing Club double. Wilde went on to place 13th out of the 105 people racing at the GB trials in Boston, showing his sculling ability, something I’m sure he can transfer to the quad on the weekend.
Norwich School Boat Club
The strength of Norwich School Boat Club isn’t easy to predict, as they are a club that typically does not attend many national events. However, they did send a coxless four to the Junior Fours Head. In this event, disregarding their ten-second time penalty, they came first by 25 seconds, and their time in the four would place them in seventh place in the quads, which is an achievement not to be underestimated. Whether they can transfer this speed across disciplines into sculling will be the question left undecided. Earlier this year, Nicholas Conway won the GB trials in Boston by six seconds, which shows that Norwich’s sculling ability is not to be discounted.
Prediction
It is always challenging to predict with such a high calibre of competition, since I think that every crew mentioned above can take the top spot on Saturday. However, I think that Norwich School Boat Club’s speed in the four and proven sculling proficiency may place them in a more favourable position to take the win, with Tideway Scullers School or Lea Rowing Club right behind them, as both of those clubs have proven to be rapid by the multitude of commendable results so far this year. I think that Tiffin School Boat Club also have the potential to secure a podium place.
