Rowing Round Up
Women’s Head of the River
Saturday 5th March was an exciting return to the Tideway for the first Women’s Head in 4 years. After being cancelled for weather in 2019 and then for Covid in 2020/21, this race was a great chance to see the calibre of women’s rowing in the UK with crews from schools, universities and clubs all being able to compete against each other along the 6.8km course.
The First Eight was the only Headington crew racing this event due to injuries and substitutions and set off 17th, surrounded by club and university crews. The crew rowed well and placed second in the Junior event and 23rd overall.
Link to results: https://www.wehorr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WEHoRR-2022-results-3.pdf
Schools’ Head of the River
The Schools’ Head of the River was the second race in what was a busy week for the club. Held along the same stretch of the Tideway as the Women’s Head of the River, albeit 300m shorter, it was another opportunity to build on Saturday’s performance, this time with a cohort of three crews – the First Eight, J16 Eight and J18 Quad.
The First Eight was set off first out of the Headington crews and managed to overtake three crews to take second place by a margin of one second. For the J16 Eight, it was their first race of the week and they executed a skilled race and also ranked second in their respective event. Finally, the J18 Coxless Quad took to the water. Like the other crews, they also gave a strong performance and worked well to confidently steer what is a notoriously tricky course, placing 27th.
Link to results: https://www.shorr.org.uk/assets/SHORR-2022-results.pdf
Junior Sculling Head:
Wednesday 16th March brought about the third and final race of the week with the Junior Sculling Head. Headington entered with two J18 Quads, a J16 Quad, two J15 Quads, two J14 Octos and Quads respectively. This event is held at the 2012 Olympic Course at Dorney Lake across 3,600m which is split into two timed runs up and down the lake.
The first race of the day was for the J18 Coxless Quads. The First Quad managed to produce a confident performance placing third, the next Senior Quad also raced well and placed 28th in what was a very competitive event. Next up was the J16 Quad who secured a fantastic third place. To finish off the morning, the J15 Coxed Quads raced and managed the worsening conditions well, with the top J15 Quad walking away with a gold after their dominant performance.
After the lunchtime break, it was time for the J14s to arrive and, for many, land their boats in the waters of Dorney Lake for the first time. At this point in the afternoon, the wind and rain was in full force, creating tricky rowing conditions. After some delays, the J14 Coxed Quads secured fourth and 28th respectively, both delivering confident race plans. To end the day Headington had the two Octos coming down the track who placed a respective fifth and 11th after rowing two strong races overall causing a positive end to a busy week.
Link to results: https://www.thescullery.org.uk/WP/?page_id=69
At all three races across the last week, it was great to have the support of friends and family alongside the continuous assistance and guidance provided by the coaches. A big thank you also to Emanuel School who kindly hosted us for both the Women’s Head and School’s Head.
Written by Phoebe (U6)
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