With the UK amid an early summer heatwave, now seems like a perfect time for Dorney Lake to host the Oarsport Junior Sculling Regatta. It will be the first regatta where crews from across the country can show themselves. This year’s race sees the same number of entries as last year, 28. As is the case again this year, the regatta falls on the same Bank Holiday weekend as the Munich International Junior Regatta. This means that eight athletes scheduled to race at Dorney will not do so, significantly impacting the race’s overall outcome.
Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
It has been said many times, but it is worth repeating: The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club dominate junior men’s sculling. They are the crew against whom everyone dreams of winning. However, some of their athletes are headed to Munich, namely Wellington and Thornton, the engine room of the Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club quad. Their racing in Munich over the weekend makes it difficult to know what condition they will be in, if at all, they are even racing. Such is their dominance that even with two athletes from their top quad away, the crew are still favourites to win their umpteenth Junior Sculling Regatta. This means that other crews will have a better chance of overturning the boys in dark green.
Lea Rowing Club
A club that seems to be going from strength to strength, Lea Rowing Club are certainly in with a chance of claiming victory. A good starting point will be to improve on their respectable fourth-place finish last year. Bettering last year’s results will be an excellent mark of Lea’s improvement. As a former Lea Rowing Club junior myself, I know this crew is undoubtedly far faster than crews in previous years. This quad also has one athlete, Pakulis, racing at Munich this weekend. He will be racing on Monday, but it remains to be seen what sort of condition he will be in. Despite this, Lea Rowing Club can go toe to toe on their day with Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club, and this race will certainly showcase their speed. They might even go on and take victory.
Hartpury College Boat Club
In the past, Hartpury College Boat Club have been an enigma. Their physical strength and power are well-known (they were the club of Elliott Donovan-Davies, after all), yet they never posed a serious threat to Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club or Marlow Rowing Club last year. Granted, they were always in the top five or so crews, but they never seemed to challenge for a medal properly. Things seem to have changed this year, with plenty of recruitment leading to a much more cohesive crew that looks extremely promising. It is always a slight unknown as to what Hartpury can bring, but look out for them on race day; they might just surprise us.
Honourable Mentions
Aside from the three favourites, plenty of other crews will be jostling for those medal positions. The likes of Marlow Rowing Club and Great Marlow School have always provided top-level racing and should be in the mix.
Prediction
Once again, it seems Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club will be the crew to beat, as their continual dominance puts them above and beyond other crews. Lea Rowing Club will follow closely in second place, with Hartpury College Boat Club picking up the last medal spot.
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