National Schools’ Regatta 2025 – Girls’ Junior 15 Coxed Fours Preview

The National Schools’ Regatta is the highlight of the racing season for schools and clubs nationwide. Despite the venue shifting North to the National Water Sports Centre, the NWSC certainly knows how to put on a party, having hosted this regatta from 1973 to 2015. The racing spectacle, close finishes, and intense days associated with the National Schools’ Regatta will be as good as ever, with this year’s cohort of women’s Junior 15 coxed fours ready to show us their strength.

Leeds Rowing Club

Leading the armada of boats down the course this weekend, we have an exceptional crew from Leeds Rowing Club. With a busy last few months of racing, their standout result was their phenomenal second place at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta. This will have served as a significant confidence boost and good preparation for the National Schools’ Regatta, as both events are held on the unpredictable waters at Holme Pierrepont. If more evidence is needed to show their strength when it comes to sweeping, their result at the Schools’ Head of the River Race does just that, where they placed seventh in the girls Junior 15 eight with a time of 20:53, which would have put them in third place in the school category. It will be exciting to see what this crew gets up to in the coming season.

Barn Elms

Another crew that will be seen zipping down the course is Barn Elms. These girls will have had a longer journey to reach Nottingham than the Leeds crew. Despite this, they will still bring their ferocious race mindset on the day. Having placed eighth at Junior Inter-Regional Regatta out of an ever-growing number of regions, Barn Elms are certainly worth looking out for. They have been topping podiums in many regional races to show us they are the best of what London offers.

Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association

Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association are a force to be reckoned with whenever they pitch up at the National Schools’ Regatta. Situated on the East coast of Scotland, ASRA is a club that has had numerous members of their squad racing for Great Britain in recent years, suggesting this coxed four will have plenty of inspiration and certainly an effective training plan. They also journeyed to Nottingham for the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta last month, placing sixth overall in a tight race. If they can display that same determination at the National Schools’ Regatta, they should be able to prove again that they deserve those precious spots in the A-final.

Tideway Scullers School

Despite what the club’s name suggests, the Tideway Scullers School have a very strong programme in both the sculling and the sweep disciplines. This crew sadly missed out on JIRR qualification by the narrowest of margins. However, they have shown their strength at various other events, including a tenth-place finish at the Schools’ Head of the River in March; their finish time would have placed them eighth if they were racing in the schools category rather than championship.

Notable Mentions

Bedford Girl’s School are another club worth mentioning here. They are often a very strong outfit in junior sweep racing, placing second at the Eastern JIRR trials.

Prediction

Predicting results for this race is challenging, considering that these girls will have only taken up sweep racing this year and haven’t yet been pitted against each other outside of JIRR. This just makes the racing even more exciting, as anyone could take the win on the weekend. Despite this, I believe Leeds have given firm evidence that they could be receiving the Katrina Jacks trophy.

Following them onto the podium will be Barn Elms and ASRA and both will likely be engaged in a tight race. However, I reckon Aberdeen will claim the silver medal.