This bank holiday weekend is a significant undertaking for juniors across the country and the continent – many rowers will race both Wallingford Regatta and Junior Sculling Regatta, while the crème de la crème are earning GB colours racing in Germany at Munich International Regatta. Not only is there a manic schedule over these three days, but this will be the season’s first regatta for most of the field, at the iconic Dorney Lake. Wallingford’s commitment to side-by-side racing, with both heats and finals, will throw these quads straight into the deep end of summer racing, as they gear up to take on the nation at National Schools’ Regatta.
Tideway Scullers School
A mysterious Tideway Scullers entry could be the crew to watch – their top quad snatched the pink flag at the Schools’ Head by a margin of ten seconds over Marlow Rowing Club, before scratching from the quads event at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, leaving their speed on the lake yet to be known. However, with key players Jess Kerbiriou and Charlotte Van der Wiele stealing away to Munich International Regatta, Tideway’s eight – Women’s Head of the River Race victors, who are also entered in the morning division, may take priority. As no quad is entered on Monday’s Junior Sculling Regatta, the crew members are largely unknown, yet the historic strength of Tideway’s quad means this entry will always be a threat.
Sir William Perkins’s School
Like Tideway, the strength of Sir William Perkins’s quad is little-known but much-feared. With Emily Nicholas away on international duties, the remaining mainstays of the quad – Daniya Al-Qahef, Maddie Macgregor, and Annabelle Thornton – have swapped into small boats for Monday’s JSR, while Perkins’ quad is their 2V entry. Their top boat had a flying start to the season with a win in junior quads at Wycliffe Big Head and silver in the same category at Junior Sculling Head: if Sunday’s crew includes their top athletes, they could come away with a medal. A B boat would likely include a mixture of J16s and J17s, who this season placed 28th in the same quad event at JSH and fourth in women’s quads at Wycliffe Big Head – albeit one minute behind this weekend’s opposition, Great Marlow School.
Marlow Rowing Club
With so many stellar crews disrupted by the Munich International Regatta, an unchanged Marlow may be the strongest boat in the field. This crew will likely be the same lineup that placed second at SHORR, some 32 seconds ahead of Claires Court, but just over ten seconds behind a Tideway Scullers crew on their home stretch. Marlow’s top quad have not missed a podium this season, and will not disrupt that streak now. Last year’s regatta season saw a series of silver medals behind an undefeated Wycliffe crew: in a new year, with new competition, this could be the race that sets off a string of victories for the Marlow girls.
Henley Rowing Club
Standing behind a strong tradition of success, Henley’s quad were third at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head after scratching from the larger stage of Schools’ Head of the River, where they had entered a championship quad – given their speed at Dorney, there’s little doubt that they would have challenged much of the field on the Tideway. Earlier sculling results include victory for the quad at Henley Long Distance Sculls in November, as well as strong results in the single at GB U19 trials for many of their rowers. Stints in the eight also yielded great results for these girls, including bronze at Hammersmith Head. However, a recent uninterrupted training block as a quad will allow them to display their maximum speed on Sunday.
Shannon Rowing Club, Ireland
The ladies of Shannon Rowing Club are skilled in small boats, and come to Dorney with the hopes of honing their craft in quads. A win in the double at Commercial Regatta for crew members Aoife Laffan and Hannah Balfe suggested a strong start to regatta season, backed up by the experience of Balfe and crewmate Isabella Collins in beach sprints, demanding the aggression and raw speed that will lend them an advantage in the quad. Top ten finishes for Lauren Forde in the WJ18 1k and Aoife Laffan in the Junior 16 2k at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships imply a wealth of strength to be transferred into bigger boats; however, the recent Limerick Regatta saw these girls place third in their heat and therefore miss out on the final. They will be eager not to waste this trip, and race hard against local clubs to earn a spot in Sunday’s final.
Claires Court School
Last year’s silver medallists Claires Court are known to build their speed throughout the season – long-time fans will remember their momentous Henley campaign three years ago, bowed by a then-J15 Jemimah Donn who sits in the boat once again this weekend. This year, the quad seems to have a more solid baseline than previous seasons: ninth place in girls’ championship quads at Schools’ Head 2024 improved to sixth place this year, setting this crew up to campaign for the podium at National Schools’ in just a few weeks.
Shrewsbury School
Like many of their opposition, Shrewsbury School was last seen at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head, where they came away with eighth place in WJ18 quads. However, their blistering first run would’ve put them firmly in the top six crews, suggesting this powerful crew may be better suited to shorter summer racing – no surprise, given their historic success in the coxless four last year. This crew is notably missing from the draw for JSR on Monday, so they’ll be all-in on Sunday to make their mark on the sculling circuit as they gear up for National Schools’, where they’ll aim to replicate last year’s success.
Other entries
Lady Eleanor Holles’ School have a strong tradition in sweeping, but have put out strong scullers over the years, most recently placing 12th in girls’ championship quads at the Schools’ Head.
South African Schools RU will not make a wasted trip – while little is known about this crew’s strength, they did notably win the Junior 16 quads event last year.
Sir William Borlase are a less prolific squad and have fewer results to assess, but their girls will be building on the momentum of Amy Clarke’s top ten finish at GB April Trials. Racing Junior Head of the North in January, the Borlase quad placed fourth behind Tideway Scullers and The Grange School, who themselves have seen a strong step on this season with a notable sixth place finish at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head – the strength of this crew could see them through to this weekend’s final if they play their cards right.
Predictions
Marlow are on paper probably the strongest quad, but Henley’s bronze medal at Junior Sculling Head and their absence from Schools’ Head makes it difficult to predict how the two compare. Sir William Perkins’ School and Tideway Scullers are also tricky to assess – I suspect they may have entered B crews due to the weekend’s many demands. I’m anticipating Marlow to edge out Henley for the top spot, followed by Claires Court in bronze – but watch out for the South African quad, who will seek to replicate their J16’s success from last year.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
