With head race season now fully underway, clubs are starting to look at the boat classes they’ll be targeting for the rest of the year, moving on from the small boats of Scullers’ Head and Pairs’ Head into the eights that will end up going on to race at some of the biggest races of the year, such as the Head of the River Race in March. Teddington Head, 5.2km down the serene Hampton stretch of the Thames, should provide an ideal opportunity for clubs to do this on Saturday.
Open Eights
Setting off first in the event is Molesey Boat Club, a strong contender to take home the gold in Band 1 of the open eights event. While it is unclear whether the two Molesey eights are matched or not, it would be wise to assume that these are both strong crews, given the recent success of Molesey Boat Club in the last year, and also so far this season. Relatively strong finishes in both the coxed and coxless fours events at Fours Head last weekend, placing eighth and ninth respectively, highlight the club’s high standard of racing at the top level, and with more than 20 athletes racing at the event, there is clearly no shortage of depth either.
Chasing down some of the older and more experienced crews are three eights from Shiplake College Boat Club, who will undoubtedly be looking to make waves in Kingston this weekend from Band 2. A very strong squad, boosted by returners from international rowing over the summer, such as Luca Hunt-Davis, who won gold at the U19 World Rowing Championships in the eight, as well as Rupert Evans, who won two golds in the four at the Coupe de la Jeunesse, it would be wise to keep an eye on all three Shiplake eights as they make their way down the course, as they look to continue their success from last year, which included wins at both National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta.
Another crew to watch this Saturday should be Vesta Rowing Club, with an impressive four eights entered in this category, demonstrating another squad with strong depth. Similarly to Molesey, strong results at Fours Head last weekend, with an eighth-place finish in the coxless four, and a sixth-place finish in the coxed, will no doubt boost confidence for the upcoming race, giving them the fire and hunger required to dog it out at the top level to hopefully come away with the win.
Open Junior Eights
Another event to keep an eye on this Saturday is undoubtedly the junior eights event, where King’s College School Boat Club, setting off first and third, will be eager to test out their speed in their first race in eights of the season. Competing in two evenly-matched eights, it will be interesting to see how their speed compares to other schools entering a clear first and second eight. However, after a solid season last year, and boosted by the international racing experience of Sebastien Strecker and Alexander Hoo, both of whom raced in the eight at the Coupe de la Jeunesse, King’s College will pose a significant threat to all of the other crews entered.
Another club with multiple entries in this event is Westminster School Boat Club, who will have fielded two strong eights for this weekend. Similarly to King’s, Westminster is coming off a strong but not exceptional season last year, and finds themselves with a good depth to their squad, including two returners from Coupe, Jack Frye and George Petrow, both of whom took home two golds in the coxless four. It is unclear whether these two crews are evenly matched or not, but regardless, they should be two quick crews, keen to get racing this Saturday and give King’s College a run for their money.
Hampton School Boat Club, with one eight entered in Band 2, may be setting off second from last in the event, but is by no means a force to be underestimated. With a very impressive season last year, arguably the most impressive in the whole event, which culminated in reaching the Saturday at Henley, Hampton have carried their momentum over the summer into the new year, with a win in the coxed four at the GB France match. These accolades highlight skill, grit and experience which can only aid them as they duke it out over 5.2km this Saturday with King’s and Westminster to try and take home a victory.
Open Junior Coxed Fours
It seems that the Junior Coxed Fours event is shaping up to be a two horse race, with the favourite likely being the crew setting off first – King’s College School Boat Club. The coxed four is a strong boat class for King’s, following their success in the event last year, taking home a bronze medal at the National Schools’ Regatta in the championship event – and with two returners from that very same crew, Alexander Golder and Cameron Alder, King’s will surely be heading into this weekend looking to crack the rest of the competition and take home the gold.
However, there is another dog in this fight – Emanuel School Boat Club, who should not be discounted to give King’s a run for their money. With fresh talent from their J16 squad moving into the senior squad, the Emanuel coxed four will be boosted by the experience of last year’s J16 coxed four, who impressively took home a bronze medal at National Schools’ Regatta, as well as a bronze medal at the prestigious Junior Inter-regional Regatta, giving them the confidence to back themselves down the course and, hopefully, put down a blisteringly fast time.
Conclusion
It’s certainly shaping up to be a race of fierce competition in Kingston this weekend. In the early stages of the season it’s always difficult to make predictions regarding winners and losers, but it seems to me that in the open eight, Molesey Boat Club will take the win, on account of their depth and experience, closely followed by Shiplake College Boat Club. Meanwhile, in the junior eights, it should be a close race between King’s College School Boat Club and Westminster School Boat Club, but, on account of King’s sending out two even eights, it looks likely that Westminster will emerge victorious. However, this will perhaps not be the case in the junior coxed four, which, I believe, should result in a commanding win for King’s College School Boat Club.
