For many, Wallingford Regatta is the opening regatta of summer campaigns. As the May sun beats down, crews will look to break records throughout Sunday’s racing. The Cooperative Funeral Care Trophy for Junior 15 eights is always a lively event, with only 12 seconds separating the six crews in last year’s final.
Hampton School Boat Club
The previous winners of the Wallingford Open Junior 15 Eight event will be aiming to replicate last year’s regatta, where they won both the final and their heat. Hampton School Boat Club finished third at the Schools’ Head of the River, under three seconds behind opponents King’s College School Boat Club, and were only a second slower to the Harrods mark point, hinting at the fact they may be a crew more suited to the shorter 2k distance.
King’s College School Boat Club
Placing second at the Schools’ Head of the River 40 days prior will fill this crew with confidence going into their first regatta of the season. Returning from an early April camp to Cerlac, King’s College School Boat Club find themselves in heat A, where they will go head to head with local opponents Westminster School Boat Club, and will be eager to show their speed.
Radley College Boat Club
A school that always performs at the top end of junior rowing, no matter the category, Radley College Boat Club finished third at Wallingford in this event last year. Fifth place at the School’s Head shows strength in this Radley cohort, but a boat club of this standard will want more. At Kingston Head, this crew placed second, finishing ahead of Hampton, and will look to return to these heights.
Westminster School Boat Club
A very strong junior crew, Westminster School Boat Club ended the Schools’ Head of the River in a competitive fourth place. A Westminster octo also made an appearance in the J15 octos at the Junior Sculling Head, suggesting that these athletes may be taking a hybrid sculling-sweep approach to their racing this year. Could some speed found in sculling be brought over to their sweep racing?
Prediction
- Hampton School Boat Club – An impressive finish at the School’s Head and a victory in this event last year sets them up well for Sunday’s race.
- Radley College Boat Club – Radley always compete for the top spots, particularly in regatta season, and a third-place finish at the previous Wallingford Regatta suggests they have what it takes to push the top spots.
- Westminster School Boat Club – Just 1.2 seconds behind Hampton School at School’s Head of the River, despite Westminster being 3 seconds faster to the bandstand marker, shows this crew loves a fast race. Could they prove this on Sunday’s racing?
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