Following the highly competitive Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, 19 of the best women’s Junior 16 quads will descend upon Eton Dorney’s Olympic lake to take on the Junior Sculling Regatta this Monday. With the added challenge of potentially challenging winds, these crews are set for a demanding day out on the water, where staying sharp and working smoothly together will really count towards their final results.
Marlow Rowing Club
Taking the most recent win at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, Marlow have come out strong as the crew to beat this season. Their ten-second margin over second place highlights their determination to continue from where they left off last year, when they narrowly missed gold at the National Schools’ Regatta. With their recent Easter camp to help them, I am sure Marlow will arrive faster than ever and be ready to run the summer season red.
City of Bristol Rowing Club
Having had a remarkable winter season, where they claimed wins at many regional events, including Avon Spring Head and Worcester Head, Bristol placed themselves firmly amongst the best head racers on the circuit. Further cementing this was their third and fourth-place finish at the Pairs Head in the doubles, demonstrating the skill that each individual rower within this quad has. Moving into summer racing, Bristol has made a perfect transition, rewarded most recently by their bronze medals from JIRR just last weekend. With this momentum moving forward, they will be an almighty force this Monday.
Henley Rowing Club
With sweep-based dominance last season, Henley have proved themselves time and time again to have one of the best programs in junior women’s rowing. However, after a winter season of mixed results in the eight, including a second place at Hammersmith Head and fifth at the Schools’ Head of the River, last year’s national champions have swapped focus onto the sculling side of events. Claiming fifth place at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, trailing 22 seconds behind Marlow, Henley have some catching up to do before returning to their dominant displays of last season.
Putney High School Boat Club
In recent years, Putney High School has produced some highly skilled sculling crews at very high levels, most recently their current Junior 18 quad, who had an immensely successful season last year whilst racing a year up. Following in their footsteps is their Junior 16 quad, producing some great results with a fourth-place finish at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, being just five seconds outside of a medal-winning position. This comes straight after their eight claimed bronze in the women’s Junior 16 school eights at the Schools’ Head of the River just the day before, highlighting their versatility and skill across the board.
Wallingford Rowing Club
Becoming a constant name amongst the top junior clubs, Wallingford have gone from strength to strength with each new year of juniors, and this set of J16s is no different. In February, they made a strong start to the season with a silver medal at Wycliffe Big Head in the WJ16 quads, sandwiched between fellow competitors Marlow and Bristol, respectively. Excelling in sweep at JIRR, Wallingford took the win in the eights (in a composite with Sir William Perkins), bronze in the pair and fourth in the coxless four, showcasing their strengths across many different categories and disciplines. Turning back to sculling for now, Wallingford are a squad to look out for this season.
Prediction
Appearing to be a cut above the rest currently, I believe it is almost entirely Marlow’s race to lose on Monday. The real battle looks set to be for second place, with Putney High and Wallingford emerging as the leading contenders thanks to their consistent performances this season, with Putney just having the edge for silver. Behind them, Henley and Bristol are likely to be locked in a close contest for fourth, and with Bristol’s strength in side-by-side racing, they might just have the upper hand.
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