All the things you need to know about the racing today at Henley Royal Regatta with Sarah Winckless, Race Umpire, Steward and Olympic medallist.
OVERVIEW
It’s Sunday the 2nd of July, we're here! Day 6 and it's Finals Day. Therefore, I just have to say we're just excited about the quality of the entry and the races we're going to see today.
I want to note the strength of Thames, where we see athletes from the club in the Prince Albert, the Ladies’, the Stewards’, the Visitors’, the Temple, the Grand, and the Island. What a number of finals there.
Also I have to talk about the Hinksey story, which is a brilliant case of the underdog. We have maybe written them off in the morning briefing every day and they're here to prove me wrong, which I love.
And that strong international presence; Canada, we see them in the quads, the Princess Grace, Remenham, Grand and Stonor. And also that strong Dutch entry is still showing up in the Thames and the Prince of Wales.
We wish all the athletes luck today.
CONDITIONS: We’re anticipating the wind to swing around so that it's now coming from the west. It remains between 11 and 20 miles an hour, so it will be significant out there. What's significant about that swing is it becomes a crosshead. So when you're coming out of that shelter from the island, we can expect to see the crews really having to manage their steering because they will be dealing with gusts and the Buckinghamshire crew is likely to want to veer away from their booms.
So for the final time this year, here are my ones to watch.
RACES TO WATCH
2 11.10 Jubilee 544 The Tideway Scullers' School vs 548 Wycliffe Junior R.C. 'A'
We've been following Wycliffe all regatta. Their ‘B’ and ‘C’ boats have gone, but the ‘A’ boat has got their way to the final and remain favourites. A number of these girls are likely to be racing in the World Junior Championships later on in the year.
10 12.30 Visitors' 312 Oxford Brookes University vs 307 Leander Club
The Visitors’ with Oxford Brookes University against Leander Club. Really looking forward to seeing that.
LUNCHEON INTERVAL
17 3.00 PP 262 Greenwich Crew, USA vs 259 Deerfield Academy, USA
We've got an all-American final. It's fantastic to see the quality of those athletes. Deerfield Academy beat Winter Park yesterday, and meet Greenwich today.
18 3.10 Goblets 630 J. Walkey & J. Cullen, CAN vs 631 O.H. Wynne-Griffith & T.J.E. George
I'm really looking forward to seeing Canada against GB in that match up.
25 4.20 Britannia 575 Thames R.C. 'A' vs 566 Molesey B.C.
We've got Thames ‘A’ against Molesey, who beat Sydney yesterday.
26 4.30 Fawley 440 Hinksey Sculling School 'A' vs 448 Leander Club 'A'
And my goodness, I had the race of the day, I think, in the Fawley yesterday. Leander Club ‘A’ beat Windsor Boys School by three feet, but it’s absolutely brilliant to see Hinksey Sculling School in the final of this junior event, having seen these young athletes compete in senior events before.
