Moving swiftly on to the Club events…and I want to thank Tom Morgan and his team for help with the research on the entries.

The Thames Cup

Holders: Thames Rowing Club

Entries: 49 (2018: 48)

Reduced to 32 through qualifying races

The Stewards have Selected eight crews. At the top of the draw the first Selected crew are Cercle de L’Aviron de Lyon, France. Lyon finished 2nd overall at the recent Senior French Championships. They had two 8’s competing at the Senior Championships. And the crew for Henley is the majority of the club’s 2nd 8 who finished 7th overall. They have, however, made two changes to that crew, with former French U23 internationals Jordan Lequy and Antonie Nougaréde joining from the A crew that won silver.

The last time an Irish crew won this event was Neptune in 1996. The Stewards have The 2ndSelected Commercial Rowing Club, Ireland. They raced at the Dublin Metropolitan Regatta winning the Senior M8. The crew for Henley has 6 of that crew, with the remaining members coming from the crew that came 2ndin the Senior 4-. They also raced at Ghent regatta, finishing 2ndbehind the Dutch from Nereus and just 18/100thahead of fellow Selected crew, Kingston Rowing Club.

The 3rdSelected crew in the top half of the draw is the first of two German crews in the event, Münchener Ruderclub von 1880. They came to the UK in March to race at the Head of The River, finishing 25thoverall. In may they raced at Heidelberg Regatta winning won Senior M8.

The final Selected crew in the top half of the draw are the defending champions, Thames Rowing Club ‘A’. Thames have won this event in three of the last four years (including an all-Thames final in 2017), a testimony to the strong squad developed by Head Coach, Ben Lewis. This is Lewis’s last Henley with the club and he’ll be keen to make it 4 wins in 5. His crew for this year won Challenge 8’s at Wallingford and then placed 3rdin the B-Final of Champ 8’s at Marlow (10th overall).

In the lower half of the draw, the first Selected crew are Kingston Rowing Club. The club have never won this event, although they did make the final in 1971 and 1972 (losing to Harvard on both occasions). As mentioned above, they were narrowly pushed into 3rdplace at Ghent by Commercial Rowing Club. Domestically they have a 6thplace at Wallingford, and a very impressive B-Final win (8thoverall) in Championship 8’s at Marlow. It’s a mark of the strength in depth of the club that they have three 8’s in the main draw.

The 2ndSelected crew are Roeivereeniging Studenten Vreie Universteit Okeanos, The Netherlands. They’ve been fairly active on the Dutch domestic scene, At the Heineken Roeivierkamp they finished 8thoverall in the 2ndDivision M8. At the Bosbaan Regatta the won bronze in Open 8’s at the Bosbaan Regatta and at the RaceRoei they finished 4th

The 3rdSelected crew are aiming to become the first New Zealand crew to win the event since the war, Wairau Rowing Club. This is a highly experienced crew, all of whom have won medals in Senior or Premier events at the New Zealand National Championships (often rowing in crews with members of the New Zealand National team). They do have Henley experience as four of the crew raced at the Regatta last year (three in the Wyfold and one in the Visitors). They could well be the dark horses of the event.

The final Selected crew in the bottom half of the draw are Bonner Ruder-Gesellschaft e.V., Germany. This club competed in this event last year, reaching Friday’s racing. This year they’ll be hoping to go at least one better. They raced at the Wedau Regatta in Duisburg, finishing 6thin the B-Final on the Sunday (albeit 15 seconds behind 5thplace).

Of the crews not Selected by the Stewards, the crew from Molesey Boat Clubl ook to be the strongest. They were 4thin the B-Final at both the Metropolitan Regatta and in Championship 8’s at Marlow.

Agecroft Rowing Club from Manchester last won an event at Henley back in 2009. So far this season they raced on both days at the Metropolitan Regatta, finishing 5thon Saturday and 14thon Sunday. They also raced at Marlow, where they finished 6thin the B-Final.

Another strong crew are Tyne Rowing Club ‘A’. They have been fierce rivals of Agecroft all season. They just pipped them at the Head of the River to win the Jackson Trophy (for the fastest non-Thames club). But during the regatta season the Mancunians have just got the better of the Tynesiders. On both days of the metropolitan Regatta Tyne finished 1 place behind Agecroft. Sadly the draw means these two crews are unlikely to meet for what would’ve been a great battle.

The rules for the Princess Elizabeth forbid entries from clubs, meaning any Junior club crew must race in the Thames Cup, such is the fate for Green Lake of the USA Based in Seattle, they finished Fifth in Varsity Eights and second in Varsity Coxed Fours at the Northwest Youth Championships. At the USRowing Youth National Championships they finished first in the ‘C’ final of Youth Coxed Fours. Shortly after arriving in the UK they raced at Marlow Regatta finishing 3rd in the ‘C’ final of Tier 2 Eights. Perhaps one day the stewards will open up the Princess Elizabeth to club as well as school crews.

My picks…..the draw would suggest a Thames v Kingston final, but the Kiwis will be the biggest threat. I’m going for a win for the Kiwis from Wairau.

The Wyfold Challenge Cup

Holders: Molesey Boat Club

Entries: 64 (2018: 56)

Reduced to 32 by qualifying races

The first selected crew in the top half of the draw is the first of four German entries (three of whom are Selected) Dresdner Ruderverein E.V. They have raced in this even several times in the last few years, reaching Thursday’s racing in 2015 and Friday the year after. Their crew of Hannes Janick, Gregori Kjulbassanoff, Franz Dieringer and Albrecht Dunkel raced at the Ratzeburg Regatta, placing 8thin Open M4-

The 2ndSelected crew in the top half of the draw are Mercantile Rowing club, Australia. Based in Melbourne, this club reached the final in 2018 and have two returners from that crew. They won Men’s B 8’s at the Head of the Yarra and were also winners of both Club Men’s Coxless Fours and Eights at the 2019 Sydney International Rowing Regatta.

Third of the Selected crews are another Antipodean entry, Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club from New Zealand. This is the first time that the Whanganui club have sent a crew to Henley. Three of the crew, Hugh Pawson, Tom Monaghan and Luke Watts finished 4thin the Senior M4X at the New Zealand Championships. The 4thmember of the crew, Hamish Maxwell, took silver in the Premier M4- event. They face a tricky opening race against London Rowing Club. Sixth in the ‘A’ final of Championship Coxless Fours at Marlow Regatta. Fifth in the final of Challenge Coxless Fours at Wallingford Regatta. They were the highest placed Wyfold crew at Marlow Regatta. This could well be the best race on the opening day

The final Selected crew in this half of the draw are Thames Rowing Club ‘A’. They raced at Wallingford Regatta finishing 4thin the Challenge 4’s class. At Marlow they finished 2ndin the B-Final of Champ 4-‘s placing them 10thoverall. The Stewards decision to Select this crew is slightly odd as there were several of their competitor Wyfold crews who finished ahead of them in Marlow (London Rowing Club and City of Bristol Rowing Club), but have not been Selected. They face a tricky 1stround draw against Quintin Boat Club who finished 1 place behind them at Marlow.

In the bottom half of the draw the first Selected crew are from the Lea Rowing Club. They didn’t race at Marlow Regatta, but did place 3rdin Open Coxless fours on the Saturday of the Metropolitan Regatta and 2ndon the Sunday just 2 seconds behind the Thames Rowing Club Visitors crew. They also finished 2ndin Challenge Coxless Fours at Wallingford Regatta.

The 2ndGerman entry are from Rudern, Tennis Und Hockey Club Bayer Leverkusen. Their crew is Fabian Mimberg, Steffan Kruse, Faabian Weiler and Christopher Ahn. This quartet raced recently at the Ratzeburg Regatta placing 5thin their heat of Open M4- . They face a tricky opening race against The Tideway Scullers School.

Next of the Selected boats are Sydney Rowing Club, Australia. Sydney are perennial visitors to the Royal Regatta winning the Britannia Challenge Cup in 2015. In 2018 they reached the semi-finals and they have one of that crew, Alex Nichol in this year’s Wyfold boat. Nichol is joined by Oscar Olsen, Oscar Carr-Middleton and Alex Potter. All four of this crew won gold in U21 Championship Eights at the NSW State Championships in February. They also finished fourth in U23 Men’s Eight at Sydney International Rowing Regatta. Olsen and Carr-Middleton also won silver in the U21 Men’s Pair at the same event.

The final Selected crew are the 3rdof the German entries, Ruderclub Nürtingen. This crew includes Dominic Imort who won the Britannia Challenge Cup with RHTC Bayer Leverkusen in 2016. He was also a member of the RHTC Bayer Leverkusen crew that reached the final of the Thames Cup in 2015. At a stated 18st 1lb (115kg) he is the heaviest oarsman at the Regatta. Imort is joined by three athletes who all have international age-group representative honours. Marvin Ruedt finished 10thin the U23 BLM2- in 2017 and Nick Blankenburg and Oliver Peikert have both won medals at the Junior World Championships. As a crew they raced at Ratzeburg Regatta placing 7thin the A-Final of M4-. They meet a crew representing the UK Armed Forces in the first round. This crew had to come through Qualifiers and are part of the squad put together to contest The King’s Cup. The crew is Cpl Ed Carpenter (RAF Band), Cpl Tom Jackman (RAF Regiment), 2ndLieutenant George Redman (royal regiment of Scotland) and Marine Luke Grainger (Royal Marines).

Of the non-Selected crews, the crew from Norway, Norske Studenters Rokklub could well be the biggest threat. This crew were all in the Thames Cup finalist eight from last year. Peder Strand also won the Britannia Challenge Cup in 2017. Sture also has senior international honours to his name having raced in the LM1X at the 1st and 2nd World Cups in 2016. They face a tough first race against Cambridge 99 Rowing Club who won the B-Final of Champ 4-‘s at Marlow Regatta.

City of Bristol Rowing Club have never won at Henley, this year’s crew has a good chance of progressing deep into the regatta. Eighth in the ‘A’ final of Championship Coxless Fours at Marlow Regatta. The crew raced in Open Coxless Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta, but were disqualified in the final.

The only non-Selected German entry are from Akademische Ruderverbindung Westfalen. They raced at the Ratzeburg Regatta finishing 5thof 5 n their heat 25 seconds behind the winners.

The final overseas crew n the draw are from the Netherlands, Koninklijke Amsterdamsche Roei-en Zeilvereeniging ‘De Hoop’. They finished 6that the RaceRoei Regatta and 4that the Bosbaan Regatta. They face a first round race against the qualifiers from Bedford Rowing Club.

My picks…Always a highly competitive event, I think the Kiwis from Aromoha Whanganui are my marginal favourites.

The Britannia Challenge Cup

Holders: Thames Rowing Club ‘A’

Entries: 31 (2018: 25)

Reduced to 16 by Qualifying Races.

The Stewards have chosen to Select eight crews for this event. At the top of the draw the first selected crew are Rudern Tennis Und Hockey Club, Bayer Leverkusen, Germany. This club last won this event in 2016 and have put together a very strong crew to try and regain the title. Niklas Mäger and Marius Kock have both raced internationally at U23 level. They are joined by Dennis Dethmann and Julius Lingnau with cox Anna Dames. They raced at the Ratzeburg Regatta winning the Coxed Four event.

The 2ndSelected crew in the top half of the draw are Société D’Encouragement Du SportNautique, France. There crew has the hugely experienced Hugo Dupety at bow who is an eight-time French National Champion. At the recent Championnats De France Bateaux Long they came 5thin the M4+ category. They face the 2010 winners of this event, The Tideway Scullers School in the first round Scullers were 3rdin the B-Final of Championship Coxed Fours at Marlow Regatta, and 2ndat the Metropolitan.

The 3rd Selected crew are the first of two entries from Australia, Mercantile Rowing Club. A development crew comprised of athletes from different racing profiles. Lukas Matic won silver at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta in the U19 Single whilst Achermann and Cain raced to a third place in the U23 Eight category. Both Cain and Clarke competed in the U23 single event, placing first and fourth in the ‘B’ final respectively. The raced at Marlow Regatta finishing fifth in the ‘A’ final of Championship Coxed Fours.

The final crew Selected in the top half of the draw are, the holders Thames Rowing Club. As with the Thames crew in the Wyfold, it’s perhaps a little surprising that Thames have been Selected as there are domestic crews who have had better results than them in the run-up to Henley. This crew were sixth in the ‘B’ final of Championship Coxed Fours at Marlow Regatta. Fifth in Open Championship Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta, and winners of Challenge Coxed Fours at Wallingford Regatta. Thames face a tricky first round contest against Royal Chester Rowing Club, who finished 3/10thof a second ahead of them at Marlow Regatta. Royal Chester also won Club Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta.

In the lower half of the draw the first Selected crew are probably the top domestic crew from Molesey Boat Club. Their crew of Robbie Schofield, Jens Hullah, Matt Christie, Kenneth Gray and cox Rebecca Harrison finished 2ndin Champ Coxed Fours at Marlow, but were a full 6 seconds faster than their nearest Britannia Cup rivals (Mercantile). They won Open M4+ on the Saturday of the Metropolitan Regatta and then placed 3rdon the Sunday (but beating all their Britannia Cup opposition).

The next Selected crew are the 2ndGerman crew in the event, Rudergemeinschaft Angaria Hannover E.V. They raced at the Ratzeburg Regatta with their crew of Sven Lessner, Marius Wagner, Konrad Thibaut, Tome Bode and cox Beatrice Lüsse, finishing 7thin the M4+ division. They also raced in small boast at Ghent Regatta winning a bronze medal in the M2X.

The 2ndof the entries from Australia are from Sydney Rowing Club. They last won this event in 2015. For Henley this year they have a young crew of mainly U23 athletes who all raced at the Sydney International Regatta this year. Torun Olsen competed in the U23 M4X winning a bronze medal and Max Brenner and Tom Galloway racing in the U23 M4- that finished 7th. The fourth member of the crew is Dylan Boakes. He raced in the Open M8 at Sydney picking up a silver medal. They face City of Bristol in the first round who were first in the ‘C’ Final of Championship 4+ at Marlow Regatta.

The final Selected crew are from Deutscher Ruder Club Hannover Von 1884, Germany. They also raced at Ratzeburg Regatta placing 5thin the Final of M4+. Several of the crew (Hendrik Hellhammer and Paul Peter) have raced at the European University Championships. Their first round opponents are from Nottingham Rowing Club who won Open Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta and silver in Tier 2 Coxed Fours at Marlow.

Also racing are crews from Lea Rowing Club (5thin the ‘C’-Final at Marlow), Twickenham Rowing Club( Sixth in Tier 2 Coxed Fours at Marlow Regatta. Second in Open Club Coxed Fours on the Sunday of the Metropolitan Regatta), Local club Upper Thames Rowing Club( 6thin Challenge 4+ at Wallingford Regatta) and Vesta Rowing Club (Second in the ‘C’ final of Championship Coxed Fours at Marlow Regatta. Won Open Club Coxed Fours on the Saturday of the Metropolitan Regatta. Fifth in Challenge Coxed Fours at Wallingford Regatta.)

My pick….I’m hoping for a home win with Molesey taking the honours.