Henley Women's Regatta
- 23 June 2017
- Alice Carrington-Windo
Henley Women's Regatta took place from 16th - 18th June in Henley-on-Thames and, like Marlow, the conditions proved to be flat, hot and sunny.
Three crews were entered: two quads in the J16 category with members from the J15 and J16 squads, and one quad in the J18 category.
Each crew took part in a time trial to determine their progression into side-by-side racing. The J16 crews competed in a field of twenty crews for eight places in the quarter finals, whilst the J18 4x raced against thirty-five other crews for sixteen places in the next round. With all crews having trained together for only a few sessions prior to racing, the J18 4x and the J16 4x (Vine) missed out on a spot in the next round having put up a strong fight in the time trial. The J16 4x (Marshall progressed through in their event as one of the fastest eight - a fantastic achievement with two J15s (Jojo Blyth and Mae Willoughby) in the boat!
Their quarter final took place the following day against Surbiton High School, racing for a place in the semi-finals of the J16 quad event. Off to a strong start, the Hinksey quad took the lead for the initial part of the race before Surbiton gained ground and moved ahead. Maintaining contact for a good chunk of the race, the final margin was called at 2.5 lengths in favour of Surbiton.
Crews:
J16 4x (Vine): Maryse Girgis, Harriet Wilson, Bonnie Coughlan and Alice Vine
J16 4x (Marshall): Amelia Ledgard-Hoile, Jojo Blyth, Mae Willoughby and Poppy Marshall
J18 4x: Vic Baird, Clarisse Astruc, Emma Foster and Jess Foster