With the booms firmly in place, Henley begins to prepare for Henley Women’s Regatta. In the Parkside Trophy, we see five crews, an increase from the three last year, take to the course. Having the athletes in each crew average 57kg and many strong entries, we are set up to have some close, exciting racing.
Newcastle University BC
Whilst the rest of the Newcastle squad takes to the course in eights, Brewster and Kelly have entered the pairs instead. Brewster had previous success in the pair, placing second in the lightweight pairs at BUCS Regatta, albeit with a different partner. Overall, the lightweights at Newcastle have performed well in sweep this season, winning the championship coxless fours at both BUCS Head and BUCS Regatta. These strong results and the decision to go against the grain as the sole athletes not entered in an eight mark these two as ones to watch.
Mortlake Anglian and Alpha RC
At the Women’s Head of the River Race, Griffin and Rochester were the bow pair of the Mortlake crew that placed 76th overall and fifth in the challenge category, an impressive result. Since moving to the pair, they have raced at Hammersmith Regatta and Metropolitan Regatta, where they placed sixth in the C-final. This indicates they will be a bit off the pace of the top crews in this category.
Barnes Bridge Ladies BC
The only crew returning to this event, Barnes Bridge Ladies, will hope to make it further through the competition this year, having been knocked out in the first round last year. They started this season with a strong result at Pairs Head, placing second in the lightweight pair. They also raced at the Metropolitan Regatta, placing seventh in the B-final on Saturday and winning it on Sunday. Hopefully, these results and experience racing in this boat class at last year’s event will help them step up from their 2024 result.
Sons of the Thames
Coming off the back of a win in the lightweight pairs at the Metropolitan Regatta, Sons of the Thames are coming to Henley with big expectations. They have also had success on the Tideway, winning Hammersmith Regatta and the Masters B/C pairs at Pairs Head in a time faster than the lightweight entries. After a win at the Metropolitan Regatta, they’re in good form and should be set to have a strong run at Henley.
Cambridge University BC
In 2022, Cambridge University won the lightweight pairs in a time that equalled the record from 2019. I don’t think that performance will be replicated this year, however. The fourth crew in this event, Clarkson and Jackson, raced at the Metropolitan Regatta and placed second in the C final. At BUCS Regatta, this pair were part of the championship lightweight four that won a silver medal. I think this crew will progress to the side-by-side racing, but not quite have the success of their 2022 counterparts.
Prediction
With many of these crews having raced at the Metropolitan Regatta, we have a fair indication of what to expect in this event. However, there could be changes in the rankings depending on how well crews can cope with the lively water between the booms compared to the unusually calm conditions there were at Dorney for the Metropolitan Regatta. I would look to Newcastle and Sons of the Thames as the top competitors in this category, with the edge given to Newcastle.
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