The weekend of 7 and 8 March is almost here. It’s time for the Head of the River Amstel. This approximately 8 km long time trial always promises to be a spectacular event. The race, which will take place in the Dutch capital, also attracts a lot of international attention. Of the total of 458 entries, spread across 97 clubs, 24 are from abroad. Most of these are from Germany, whose national team is also competing with two boats. The race will start at Ouderkerk, south of Amsterdam, after which the boats will follow the winding course one by one, passing under several bridges along the way. After rowing about 8 km towards the city centre, they will finish at De Hoop. First-year rowers will also compete here for the fastest time. This will be their second race on the water, and their performances will be count towards the TxMiller First-Year Classification (EJK).
Whereas the women’s first-year eights rowed the WinterWedstrijden (WW) over 5 km in cold Delft about three weeks earlier, the Head goes one notch higher, making it the longest race in the rankings. At that time, 13 first-year women’s crews were also ready to compete against each other. At the (WW), Nereus came first with an impressive time of 19:12.3 over 5 km, followed by Gyas 10.4 seconds later, Orca with 19:26.4 on the clock and Skøll, who then crossed the finish line in fourth place.
The Head is a home race for the Nereus and Skøll crews, as both clubs are located on the banks of the Amstel. Other first-year teams will not be rowing in a completely new environment on Saturday as well, as many clubs have already made a trip to Amsterdam in previous weeks to train on the Amstel. It is a race in which you not only achieve a good time by rowing hard, but the coxswains also play a crucial role. By cutting the corners as tightly as possible and maintaining the best course, a significant distance can be reduced. In addition, it is important that the coxswains keep a cool head. Due to the bends, bridges and the significant number of boats, the Amstel is an intimidating course for many.
Prediction
Now, a few weeks and many training sessions later, anything can happen, especially in first-year rowing. Whereas the rowers wore many layers of clothing during the WW, they will now mostly appear on the Amstel in short sleeves due to the good weather. In the three weeks since then, significant progress has been made both on the Amstel and on other rowing waters. If I had to guess the winner of the first-year women’s eights at the Head of the River, I would go for Nereus. After their great results at the WW and their victory at the NKIR, they cannot let their winning streak slip out of their hands. I put Skøll in second place. Their victory at the CEK and fourth place at the WW show that they have the potential to seriously compete at the top, especially with the home advantage the crew has. I give the third spot to Gyas, who showed what they are capable of in the previous race when they got second.
