2025 was an all-time year for schoolgirl rowing, both locally in New South Wales, at the National Championships in Tasmania, and in the strength of those who competed at Henley Royal Regatta and the U19 World Rowing Championships. Looking ahead, the 2026 season certainly has a lot to live up to, but a combination of coaching movements, programs on the rise, and strong retention across the board means that this year’s journey toward the Head of the River and National Championships in March should be every bit as gripping as the one we witnessed twelve months ago.
Kinross Wolaroi
The reigning Head of the River champions impressed crowds every time, almost every time they touched the water last season, winning at just about every time of asking, including a nail-biting Head of the River. Additionally, they impressed at Henley Royal Regatta, making the weekend one of the most competitive iterations of The Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy we’ve seen. The most remarkable thing about that crew was they were particularly young, and so we see three returning this season, whilst a number are still sitting out – undoubtedly due to return later in the season.
Kinross didn’t start particularly fast last season, and with their 2025 campaign not ending until July, I wouldn’t expect them to be firing on all cylinders this side of Christmas. That said, it’d be foolish to write off the girls from Orange in any event this year.
Loreto Normanhurst
Last year was a resurgent one for the hosts of this year’s opening regatta. After a few years racing the umpires’ boats, 2025 saw Loreto Normanhurst come out swinging, taking bronze at the first event of the season. That form couldn’t be held all year, but a fifth in the B-final at nationals was a good first stepping stone for their rebuild. With 2025 junior Australian athlete Patricia Boland anchoring the crew, there’s no doubt Normo will be hungry to get the season started on the right foot.
Queenwood
2025 was a disappointing season for Queenwood. It was the first time in 17 years that they finished off the podium at the Head of the River, a result that was somewhat compensated for by four Nationals podiums in Tasmania. Their U17 eight was a highlight of that tour, snatching a bronze in a race that broke the long-standing event record. Vietch, Gassmann, and cox Holme have graduated from that crew, joining club eight champion Lucinda Doku in a crew that will be determined to go at least a couple of places better this season. The fly in the ointment for Queenwood will be the fact that this eight is racing less than two hours prior in two fours, which could just take that sting out of the legs needed to fight for a victory.
Pymble Ladies College
This time last year, we were wondering if anyone could possibly catch Pymble Ladies College. Their first outing at the NSW All Schools Championships saw them win by almost seven seconds. Whilst the winning ways didn’t last the test of an entire season, Pymble were always to be feared in the first half of a race, and sensationally finished agonisingly close to the podium by the time Nationals came around in March. With two of their national-champion U17 eight aboard, and Australian Junior representative Millie Cullinane in seven, it’s hard to imagine Pymble not occupying a seat at the pointy-end of this race.
Prediction
Before I get to a prediction, there is one glaring omission from this preview, and that is reigning national champions St Catherine’s, who have entered a second and third eight, but chosen to rest their firsts. With a new head coach this season in ex-NTC lead John Keogh, it’ll be fascinating to see if St Caths can continue their winning ways – but we’ll have to wait to find out.
On Saturday, I can’t go past Pymble for a win. They’ve proved they can find early-season speed, and they certainly have the talent and experience on board to take first blood once again this season. The battle for second and third should be interesting, and could go either way, but I’ll pick Kinross to get up by less than a length over Queenwood. If these are the results, though, they are no means a form guide for the rest of the season, and I think we’re in for a show that will rival what we saw across 2024/25.
