Upper Thames Autumn Head is a crucially important event during head season, giving crews a chance to row down the Henley course, and get some early racing under their belts. After two years in a row of cancellation, it is exciting to see this event run again, with just as much competition as before.
Women’s Junior 16 Events
The WJ16 doubles will be first down the course, with the local competition of Henley and Marlow arising again. Marlow are well known for their sculling, having won Head of the Charles in a coxed quad just a few days ago, and so far this season, their WJ16s have lived up to this standard as well. Their WJ16 coxless quads came second, sixth and seventh at Reading Small Boats Head, showing great depth in their squad. They also competed in the WJ16 doubles, coming fourth in bands one and two. All of this is off the back of a strong 2024/25 season, coming third in girls’ championship quads at National Schools’ Regatta. Henley have also performed this season, with first and third place in the WJ16 doubles at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, and a victory in the WJ16 quad at Reading Small Boats Head by 13 seconds. Combining this with their National Schools’ Regatta win in the WJ15 coxed quad last year, I think Henley could be coming home with wins in both the double and quad this weekend.
Women’s Junior 15 Events
There are six entries in WJ15 quads this weekend for Upper Thames Autumn Head, and for the vast majority, it will be their first experience racing down the iconic Henley course. Two of the entries are from home competitors, Henley Rowing Club, and they will be expecting some big things given their season so far. At Reading Small Boats Head, they came second in the WJ15 quad and third in the double, building on their success last year, with fourth place at National Schools’ Regatta in the WJ14 octo. Wallingford have also entered two crews: having come fourth and fifth in the WJ15 quad at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, their season has started very well. This is a big improvement on last year, when they came sixth in the B-final of the WJ14 quads at National Schools’ Regatta. Another local entry comes from Thames Scullers, who are often seen fielding smaller boats. Hitting hard for such a small club, they came second in the WJ15 doubles at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls and first and second in the WJ15 singles. This shows an impressive skill to move small boats, which will no doubt transfer into their quad. I expect Henley to come home with the win, with Wallingford and Thames Scullers challenging for second and third.
Women’s Junior 14 Events
Entered into the WJ14 quads are Henley, Thames Scullers, and Wallingford. With a cut down on events from previous years, when there was also a WJ14 doubles event, we can expect quite the competition. Henley recently came second and third in this category at Reading Small Boats Head, with Thames Scullers coming seventh, three minutes behind over the 3.5km course. However, with no competition history from Wallingford, I cannot predict an outright Henley win, especially given the nature of the younger junior categories.
