18 crews will return to the world-famous Olympic rowing venue at Eton Dorney in Windsor this Monday to compete in the ‘second half’ of the 2025 Scullery series. Following the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head a few weeks ago, the relatively short interval between events marks the turning point from the Head season into the higher-paced sprints. This year’s Junior 16 cohort includes crews from Walbrook, Marlow, Claires Court, Windsor and Henley amongst others.
Walbrook Rowing Club
Last year, Walbrook won the Junior 15 category, and this year they look to build upon that with a deep squad of juniors, with crews competing across the Junior 14, 15, and Junior 16 categories. Most recently, this crew claimed top honours at the Bedford Spring Head, with their second crew coming a commendable fifth. In the doubles event, they ranked second, third and fourth, adding evidence that Walbrook has a large group of highly competent athletes.
Marlow Rowing Club
Fresh off a training camp and a bronze at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, Marlow will be looking to step up this season, having finished eighth at this event in the Junior 15 category in 2024. Under the stewardship of Pete Chambers, Marlow has continued to impress across the domestic circuit regularly; this crew is no different and should be targeting a podium finish.
Claires Court School Boat Club
15th last year – a second off the Marlow B crew – Claires Court School Boat Club are climbing the ladder this season. With Hammersmith Regatta wins in hand for both the boys’ and girls’ categories, Claires Court is excelling across the board. After 11th place last year in the Junior 16 category, these new Junior 16 recruits will likely bounce into regatta season and prove more successful than their predecessors.
The Windsor Boys’ School
Having completed their world tour, winning at Heineken Head and the Head of the Charles, the Windsor Boys’ School returns to Dorney alongside their second boat. However, whether this order remains the final lineup will be up to Windsor to prove wrong. Recently, at the JIRR, these athletes won the Junior 16 quad and Junior 16 double, proving Windsor’s success on a national scale in the regatta lanes even before peak side-by-side racing season. Last year, they won this category, pushing over Walbrook by seven seconds, with their second boat finishing fourth. They finished first in their category at the recent Schools’ Head, but whether they can keep that up and transfer that success into the sculling crews will have to be proven on Monday.
Henley Rowing Club
Having come seventh in both Junior 16 and Junior 15 events last year, this baseline is something that Henley will want to progress. Recently, at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, they clinched a sixth-place finish, while their JIRR crew achieved silver in the quads. Amidst the likes of The Windsor Boys’ School, the Henley name carries prestige, but their crew this year will have to back that up.
Predictions
As always, predicting a definitive winner is challenging. Nonetheless, given their recent success, I think it will be a fierce tussle between Windsor and Walbrook. However, I wouldn’t put it past Marlow or Henley to throw a spanner into the works. We’ll just have to wait until Monday to find out!
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