In a time of rapidly declining lightweight events, this year’s entry for the Fiona Dennis Trophy should be especially celebrated. With 23 entries (three more than last year) and only 16 spots for side-by-side racing, this event promises close margins in a tight field. Racing at 12:45, the scullers will be bracing the mid-day sun of a promised heat wave and will no doubt be hoping for perfect conditions on Friday. With the currently optimistic prediction of a light East to West cross wind of around five m/s, the rowers can maximise their technique on the relatively flat water.
Aside from the expected bounce between the booms, every single one of these women will be giving their all to the course this weekend in the hopes of snagging one of the coveted qualifying spots. And with the harsh reality that seven will sadly not race again, all 23 deserve a big cheer down the time trial track as we use this weekend to champion women in the sport of rowing once again. Read on for a comprehensive guide of the most notable entries for this year’s Fiona Dennis Trophy.
Hollingworth Lake – Leanna Daniels
Rowing for Hollingworth Lake on Friday, Daniels looks to be in good form this regatta season after progressing to the semifinals in this event last year. Starting strong, she finished third in the singles event at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta. More recently, at Nottingham City Regatta, she secured second place in the women’s single sculls and second again in the lightweight event, followed by a win in the Master’s ‘A’ category at Nottingham Masters and Club the next day. Daniels then carried this confidence into the Metropolitan Regatta, where she placed second in the B-final on the Saturday and finished third overall in the lightweight singles. This wealth of race experience will undoubtedly serve her well on Friday as she looks to move through the rounds this weekend.
Nottingham Rowing Club – Katie Cooper
Following Daniels, we have Cooper of Nottingham Rowing Club, who at Nottingham City Regatta placed third in the lightweight single sculls, with nine seconds between herself and Daniels. Similarly, last year in this event, the two met in the quarterfinal round, with Daniels winning by two and a half lengths. This Friday provides the perfect opportunity for Cooper to close the gap and bring the fight to Daniels, and I am particularly excited to see how both perform this weekend.
Worcester RC – Catherine Jackson
Jackson is no stranger to the single. After also making it to the semifinal of this event last year, Jackson from Worcester RC braved an attack on The Princess Royal Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Although she unfortunately did not manage to qualify, Jackson has started this season just as strongly, with a fifth-place finish in the challenge singles event at Wallingford Regatta. She followed this up with second in the C-final at the Metropolitan Regatta on the Sunday, and gold at the British Masters Championships in the Masters ‘B’ singles. With this arsenal of experience, Jackson will be looking to improve, if not equal, her performance from last year.
Glasgow Univesity – Ava Robertson
After securing a silver medal for Glasgow at BUCS Regatta in the championship lightweight singles, Robertson may feel quietly confident heading into racing on Friday. Another bow in her quiver will be her win over Daniels of Hollingworth Lake at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta, where she took home gold in the women’s singles. Although she has not raced against much of this field at events such as the Metropolitan Regatta, and wasn’t present in this event last year, I would go as far as to say I am backing Robertson as my underdog for this weekend.
University of Exeter – Florence Humphrey Weeks
Humphrey Weeks also put herself on the list of those to watch back at BUCS Regatta. Her performance in an extremely close field resulted in a fourth-place finish in the A-final for championship lightweight singles. Following this, the Exeter sculler fought against an entire cohort of singles at the Metropolitan Regatta to win the C-final on Saturday. She is also familiar with this event, having qualified in 2023 while racing for Fulham Reach BC. I am confident this vital race experience will serve her well on Friday, and I hope to see her qualify for side-by-side racing and potentially make a round, too.
City of Oxford – Joanna Heymann
Following closely behind Florence is Heymann, racing for the City of Oxford. At the Metropolitan Regatta, she placed fourth in the C-final on Saturday and second in the D-final on Sunday, and like Florence, also qualified for this event in 2023. These results suggest that Heymann is looking strong heading into the weekend and will leave it all out there on the course to qualify on Friday.
Dart Totnes – Amy Hallett
Hallett from Dart Totnes is another of the field who raced in this event last year, unfortunately being knocked out in the first round of racing. Earlier in this regatta season, Hallett finished seventh in the challenge single sculls at Wallingford Regatta, followed by fourth in the lightweight singles at Nottingham City Regatta. More recently, at the Metropolitan Regatta, she placed sixth in the C and D-finals on the Saturday and Sunday, respectively. I look forward to seeing her challenge Heymann on Friday in a time trial that is shaping up to promise extremely close margins.
Durham University – Chloe Readman-Bell
Biting at the heels of Hallett is Readman-Bell of Durham University, who finished just one place behind the former with a result of seventh in the D-final on the Sunday at the Metropolitan Regatta. I am sure she will aim to perform well this weekend and potentially overturn this result, with the ultimate goal of qualifying in this highly competitive cohort of racers.
Notable Mentions
Let’s start with Twickenham RC, who have two entries this year featuring C. Griffin and E. Garbett. The Twickenham senior women’s squad has just spent the past weekend in Henley-on-Thames training on the course, gaining invaluable experience between the booms, which could in fact give these two an advantage on Friday.
U.S.R. Triton from the Netherlands is also sending two crews down the course of Friday, with G. Neijens and A. Serrarens hoping to qualify. With no comparable data to the rest of the field, these two are coming into this event relatively unknown. Yet, the sheer effort of making the trip over for this event fills me with confidence that we could see at least one qualify for racing this weekend.
One last mention for R. Setford of Clydesdale RC, who, like others previously mentioned, qualified for this event in 2023 and unfortunately was knocked out in the first round. This experience on the Henley stretch will serve her well this weekend as she also aims to qualify again.
Prediction
Overall, Leanna Daniels is the favourite to watch heading into the later rounds this weekend. Catherine Jackson and Ava Roberson are the most likely to pose the biggest threat. It will also be interesting to watch Katie Cooper, who has potential for success, even without having recently raced at the Metropolitan Regatta. Moreover, I would be ignorant to discount the likes of Humphrey Weeks, Heymann, Hallett and Readman-Bell. I will be backing all of them to qualify on Friday and lead the fight in what promises to be some thrilling one-on-one racing.
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