Some say that the path to success is rarely a straight one, and, while that may not always be true, it certainly is in the case of Hampton Small Boats Head. This weekend, a staggering 750 crews will chase the flow of the Thames for 3,000m.
Boasting such a vast number of entries, it’s hardly surprising that an expansive field of Junior 18 singles will be racing on Saturday – no fewer than 20 crews are entered into the category, which promises to make for some close racing.
Claire’s Court School Boat Club
A flotilla of 11 single sculls from Claires Court are entered into the J18 singles category – more than half of the total crews in this event. They bring strength as well as numbers, too: Howlett-Bolton will be racing at Hampton fresh from a win at Henley Sculls at the beginning of the month, alongside Spanswick, who took silver less than two seconds behind him. Garston and Shoukry also finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the same category (band one) out of 14 entrants, and Shaw won band two. Earlier in the season, Spanswick, Beever and Howlett-Bolton once again proved their competency in the single sculls, finishing 17th, 14th and 23rd respectively in a strong field of 55 at Scullers Head, which came fresh off the back of reaching the quarterfinals at Henley Royal Regatta and a bronze medal at the National Schools’ Regatta in the quadruple scull. A further five Claires Court crews include two British Rowing Club Championship Medallists – Redland (J16 coxed four), Bronze and Peacey (J18 eight, gold). With a squad of this strength, I have almost no doubt that Claires Court will finish in the top three (if not in first place) at Hampton on Saturday, and I would hedge my bets that either Howlett-Bolton or Spanswick will cross the line fastest.
Rob Roy Boat Club
As a club that focuses on ‘excellence in small boats’, Rob Roy should find themselves at home in this category. Indeed, their entry, Kruppa, fulfilled this vision by coming second in the National Schools’ Regatta B-final – eighth overall, despite being a year younger than most other competitors. A fourth-place finish at the Junior Sculling Regatta further supports Kruppa’s abilities in a single scull. Clearly capable of moving a boat well, I anticipate that Kruppa will be within the top five finishers at Hampton Small Boats Head, perhaps breaking his way into the line of six Claires Court scullers starting ahead of him.
Hampton School Boat Club
The hosts of this event, Hampton, are boating four Junior 18 single sculls, seemingly half of their third eight from the National Schools’ Regatta this year. They will race with the fabled ‘home water advantage’ as they train on this stretch, knowledge of the fastest racing line being hugely advantageous. Additional familiarity with the bends and obstacles will allow the Hampton crews (Ladva, Metzgen, Wray-Miller and Childs) to boat with considerably less apprehension than the visiting opposition, perhaps encouraging them to steer more competitively and confidently. Could this be enough to place them among the top scullers in the event?
Honourable mentions
St. George’s College Boat Club are fielding two crews in this event, one of whom raced the championship single at the National Schools’ Regatta 2025, missing out on an A-final by just under 40 seconds. The scullers from both City of Bristol Rowing Club and Kew House School raced recently at the inaugural Junior Fours Head, both finishing 23rd in their respective categories.
Prediction
I think it would be very fair to expect a Claires Court victory of either Howlett-Bolton or Spanswick – perhaps the latter will close the small gap that separated them at Henley Sculls at the beginning of the month. I doubt that Kruppa of Rob Roy will be too far behind, and it will be interesting to see whether the scullers from Hampton School use their knowledge of the somewhat bendy stretch, complete with eyots, islands and various other obstacles, to their advantage.
