As the first major race of 2026, crews will be looking to kick off the New Year on a high, hopefully setting the standard for the rest of the season. While the Championship crews are likely to be the ones dominating the overall podium over the 4.4km course, the Open Senior Eights frequently provide the clearest indication of programme depth ahead of Head of the River in a couple of months. Sitting just beneath the top tier, this category brings together second and third eights that are still operating at a very high level, with Oxford Brookes fielding multiple crews alongside various strong Tideway-based clubs, such as Thames, London, Imperial and Vesta. Marlow, City of Cambridge, and City of Bristol continue to add to a high-class field where margins are regularly minuscule.
Oxford Brookes University
New men’s coach, Ali Brown, has decided it is time for Oxford Brookes to return to Quintin Head after a long hiatus. With Leander missing from the starting lineup and a disappointing end to the 2024/2025 season, Brookes will be looking to reestablish itself as the British powerhouse it is. With an insane amount of squad depth seen with eight men’s eights entered, their chances look strong to take the top spot in the Open Senior category, especially with their top student eight likely being entered into this category. Brookes has already begun to signal their ambitions against domestic opposition this season, with podium placings on home waters at Wallingford Head and an impressive performance from senior athletes at Fours Head as early checkpoints of their progression through the winter so far. Despite unconfirmed crew lists, all of Brookes’ crews typically perform very well, given the large squad of athletes, and with consistent, strong competitive finishes already, Brown’s programme is clearly moving with purpose this season, rather than just feeling its way into his new regime.
Thames Rowing Club
A name well-known for its historical Tideway dominance, Thames RC will be looking to prove a point after losing out multiple times to London last season at Quintin Head, Head of the River and Henley Royal Regatta. However, this season, they already look like a club dead set on reclaiming the Tideway crown, starting with a statement win in the Remenham Challenge, where their second and third eights also placed an impressive fourth and fifth behind top London and Molesey crews. This was a step on from strong performances in smaller boats at Fours Head, as London remained close on par despite a win in the club coxless four. Now, Quintin Head offers Thames the perfect chance to turn Remenham form into a Tideway statement and set the tone for the season ahead.
London Rowing Club
With no entries in the open championship category, it would be assumed that London is not sending their top eight to this race despite dominating Quintin Head last year. Their lower crews should still not be counted out, though, as they showed last season, they can still consistently be competitive among top club crews. This season, they have already delivered standout performances at Upper Thames Autumn Head late in 2025, taking multiple open eight placings across both divisions and claiming the fastest open crew trophy against a competitive field including crews from Marlow RC and Oxford University BC. Additionally, Fours Head allowed them to execute some notable Tideway results among both championship and club categories, maintaining that smaller boat momentum after their Wyfold win at Henley Royal Regatta in the summer. Quintin Head will give London an idea of who their biggest competition is lining up to be, and how they can retain their Head of the River headship in a couple of months. I imagine their eyes will be predominantly fixed on how these various Thames RC crews draw up against their own.
Notable mentions: Marlow Rowing Club, Imperial College
Rounding up the last of the field, each of these clubs are coming off the back of some recently outstanding seasons that demonstrate the sport’s domestic growth. Marlow RC, a historic club that has only continued to grow stronger under the coaching of ex-Brookes athlete Jamie Axon. With an exceptional final and win in The Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in only his second year as head coach; Marlow taking the Page Trophy back from Molesey last year at Head of the River; and some impressive results at Fours Head (barring disqualifications), Upper Thames Autumn Head and Wallingford Head, this club seems primed to start causing some significant upsets to some of the bigger historical names among club rowing.
For Imperial College BC, it is hard to ignore that this club won this category at Quintin Head last year. Going off the names listed on the draw, it looks like the second eight may be starting in the category above due to Quintin’s banding based on CRI. It can often be hard to predict how academic crews will perform year-on-year, as a crew’s performance depends heavily on the athletes at that institution, and as Imperial lost their status as a British Rowing high-performance centre a couple of years ago, this remains a larger challenge they likely face. However, it cannot be denied that the quality that gained them high-performance status in the first instance remains after a second-place finish at Teddington Head, only one second behind Molesey BC, and a win in the open senior academic coxless four already this season.
Prediction
After missing out on wins at Henley Royal Regatta this summer and the momentum coach Ali Brown is bringing, I imagine Oxford Brookes will be looking to make a significant statement to top clubs this weekend. No matter the crew, they have a long history of steady, high-class pedigree that is hard to ignore, and as a result, I could see them taking that top spot in this category. This will likely be closely followed by one of the two leading clubs on the Tideway: Thames RC or London RC, although, based on recent results, I would pin my hopes on Thames likely coming out on top there for second place. However, don’t be too surprised if either Marlow RC or Imperial College features as a dark horse on the podium after some strong recruitment and a string of consistently growing results.
