Schools Head and Oarsport Junior Sculling Head
- 15 March 2018
- Alice Carrington-Windo
Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th March saw the culmination of the Head season, with Schools' Head and Oarsport Junior Sculling Head. Seven crews competed in quads across the two days, with all of the athletes having made big improvements in the lead-up to the events and everyone performing well under pressure.
Three crews raced at Schools' Head on Monday 12th March, two of which placed amongst the top 10 in their event. With conditions on the tideway often proving challenging, on this occasion the wind stayed away resulting in good conditions across the course despite driving rain in the hours preceding the race. Racing on the outgoing tide from Chiswick to Putney proves a unique view of London and fast boat speed, so it was a great racing opportunity for all of the athletes. Our top performing crew at Schools' Head was the J16 girls quad (Harry, Mae, Phoebe and Jojo), who placed 4th in their event. With a last minute crew change the Boys Champ quad (Stan, Hugo, Drew and Rafe) sculled well to place 7th.
The following day four crews raced at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake, producing similar results across different age groups. Both the J14 and J15 girls competed in very large fields - a new experience compared to the smaller local head races that took place earlier on in the season. Two Hinksey crews again placed in the top 10 with the J14 girls quad (Bea, Alice P., Elizabeth, Alice C. and Alice G.) producing our highest result of 7th in a very strong field, and the J17 boys quad (Hugo, Archie, Fred and Rafe) finishing 10th in their race.
Both events are of a high calibre and considered the National Championships for the Junior Head Season. All squads will now look to convert these performances into similar results in the regatta season. Our next race will be the Junior Sculling Regatta on 5th May, a few weeks after we return from training camp in France.
Full Schools Head results can be found here and Oarsport results here.
Crews:
Schools Head
J16 Girls Quad, 4th: Harriet Wilson, Mae Willoughby, Phoebe May and Jojo Blyth.
Boys Champ Quad, 7th: Stanley Cannons, Hugo Binnian, Drew Clark and Rafe Stanford-Meisl.
Girls Champ Quad, 17th: Poppy Marshall, Bonnie Cloughlan, Maryse Girgis and Alice Vine.
Oarsport Junior Sculling Head
W.J14 Quad, 7th out of 44: Bea Myers, Alice Purvor, Elizabeth Ledgard-Hoile and Alice Channon, coxed by Alice Godley
J17 Quad, 10th: Hugo Binnian, Archie Licudi, Fred Trott and Rafe Stanford-Meisl.
W.J17 Quad, 13th: Poppy Marshall, Jess Foster, Maryse Girgis and Alice Vine.
W.J15 Quad, 31st out of 60: Becca Marshall, Annie Wakefield, Nia Matthews and Grace Hawksworth-Pratten, coxed by Hannah Wood.