After last year’s cancellation, seeing over 500 scullers take to the Tideway to battle it out down the championship course was enthralling. As the first of the Tideway heads, Vesta Scullers Head marks the shift from regatta racing to head racing and the beginning of the new season.
This year introduced a collaboration with the Wingfield Sculls, which awarded qualification to the fastest scullers, adding an extra incentive to this year’s racing. These spots went to Matt Long of Reading University Boat Club on the open side and Georgie Robinson Ranger of Leander Club for the women. Hopefully, we will get to see them take the opportunity to return to the Tideway to compete against the county’s top scullers. Matt Long was over 20 seconds clear of second-placed rower Max Raymond-Barker of Lea Rowing Club, who pipped Tim Wilkinson of Greenbank Falmouth Rowing Club in third. The women’s results were significantly closer, with Poppy Baker of Nottingham Rowing Club missing out on the win by only 0.7 seconds. Tideway local Daisy Faithfull, racing for the University of London Boat Club, finished in third.
The title of fastest junior went to Jonathan Miles of St. Paul’s School, who placed an impressive seventh overall. St Paul’s also took the win in the open J17 singles with sculler Edward Ludgate, but Toby Bell of Newark Rowing Club stopped them completing a clean sweep of the open junior events. Following an excellent season in the single last summer, Ella McDougall of Barn Elms Rowing Club starts the season off strong as the fastest junior women’s sculler. Larissa Hainlein, racing for Tideway Scullers School, won the women’s J17 category and Elise Stevens of NCRA the J16 category.
Tideway clubs took many of the top spots in the women’s events, with scullers Hope Cessford and Isabella Cassidy of Thames Rowing Club winning the women’s club and women’s novice categories, respectively. In the women’s senior category, Isabelle Maxwell of Vesta Rowing Club, a competitor in last year’s Princess Royal Challenge Cup, continued demonstrating her sculling expertise. Another competitor in the women’s premier sculls at Henley Royal Regatta last year, Hazel Wake of City of Oxford Rowing Club, was the fastest women’s lightweight sculler, a minute clear of the next ranking sculler. Reading University dominated the U23 women’s singles, taking the top four spots: Meg Knight, who competed at the U23 World Rowing Championships last summer, placed first. She also finished an impressive fifth in the overall women’s category despite boating far down the start order.
Thames also took many of the wins in the open singles, with James Beattie claiming the senior title and Ben Trotman the novice title. The open club title went to Molesey Boat Club’s Alex Morris. As in the women’s category, Reading University performed well, taking three of the top four spots in the U23 singles, but they missed out on the win, which went to Gwilym Johnson of Newcastle University Boat Club. Racing for Crabtree Boat Club, Nathan O’Reilly won in the open lightweight single. Climbing over 200 places from his start position, City of Cambridge’s Ed Gardiner placed eighth overall as the fastest Masters A sculler.
This weekend saw strong performances from many established names in sculling, such as Reading University and Leander Club, but also four wins for Thames Rowing Club, a club more known for their success on the sweep side. With a new season beginning, we will have to wait and see how these scullers progress and develop as individuals as well as when they come together in crew boats. With Pairs Head taking place on the Tideway next weekend, we will get the opportunity to see how these athletes perform when they come together or switch to sweep as the head season continues.
