Marlow Spring, Wallingford, Junior Sculling Regatta

It was a busy Bank Holiday weekend for Henley Rowing Club, with crews competing across three regattas: Marlow Spring Regatta on Saturday, Wallingford Regatta on Sunday and the Junior Sculling Regatta on Bank Holiday Monday. The latter two events were both held at Eton’s Dorney Lake course.

At Marlow Spring Regatta, Henley crews enjoyed success across a wide range of age groups, with several victories throughout the day.

Among those racing were the Henley Rowing Club J13 boys squad, competing in their first event of the season. In calm and sunny conditions, the crew of Harry Buntine, Josh Merrett, Theo Wedd, Tim Lancaster and cox Dylan Smith progressed well, comfortably beating local rivals Marlow Rowing Club before losing by one-and-a-half lengths to a strong Weybridge Rowing Club crew in the final.

The WJ13 girls crew of Ellie Robinson, Matilda Woolford, Isla Boreham, Poppy Simmons and cox Hadley McKean also impressed. In their opening heat against one of five crews entered by Headington School, Poppy Simmons suffered a sliding seat malfunction shortly after the start. Despite the setback, she maintained her composure and continued rowing effectively as the crew secured a convincing two-length victory. The girls then progressed to the final, where they faced another Headington crew alongside Weybridge Rowing Club, and went on to win decisively by four lengths.

Henley’s WJ15 quad of Liv Baker, Holly Mordecai, Zeffie Whiteman and Eliza Venn, coxed by Eva Worboys, also claimed victory. After defeating Weybridge and Molesey in their heat, they went on to beat Marlow by one-and-three-quarter lengths in the final.

The club’s Masters crews also enjoyed a successful day, with wins for the women’s G/H and E/F quads, while the men’s squads secured victories in the C/D and E/F quads. Henley’s junior boys also triumphed in the J15 double sculls.

At Wallingford Regatta, Henley’s most successful crew was the WJ15 eight of Holly Mordecai, Zeffie Whiteman, Lottie Cotton, Eloise Askin, Liv Baker, Freya Hampson, Darcy Kenny, Charlotte Roberts and cox Eva Worboys, who finished third in the final. In the premier junior women’s eight event, Henley’s crew finished fourth overall.

Monday’s Junior Sculling Regatta followed a time-trial format, with the fastest six crews progressing to A finals and medal contention. Henley produced five A-final qualifiers: the boys’ J16 double, J15 quad, girls’ J15 quad, girls’ J14 quad and girls’ J17 double.

Oliver Rowley and Diego Petosillo delivered one of the club’s standout performances, winning silver in the J16 double sculls behind Hereford Cathedral School.

Henley’s girls’ J14 quad of Martha Lowe, Matilda Groh, Katie Clegg and Emily Weeks, coxed by Isabelle Pennington, claimed bronze medals behind Headington School and Falcon Rowing Club.