By: Amarna (Captain), Trudie and CiCi (Vice Captains).
Wallingford Long Distance Sculls is a 4.25km time trial and the first of many long sculling races to come this season. Headington had 25 boats entered into a range of events including singles, doubles and quads, with most athletes racing twice over the course of the day. All the boats entered were mixed with the focus of developing the squad as a whole and allowing junior athletes to race with and alongside seniors.
Seven different Headington entries competed in the first division with 23 athletes racing. We saw the two WJ18 quads race against the likes of Henley, Wallingford and Hinksey, all of whom were competing for the top places. These two senior quads finished in second and third place, with only one second separating them over the 4.25k course. Similar competitive racing was seen in the younger age categories as the J16 quads managed to secure a 3rd and 5th place against strong crews from Maidenhead and Henley. It was especially impressive that one of these two J16 crews (Katie, Phoebe, Ana and Freya) would have placed in the top ten J18 quads based off of their finishing time, beating 5 J18 entries. Two singles were entered alongside the quads in the morning. Molly and Claudia both managed to finish in the top ten within a competitive category of 36 entries. Headington also had a WJ15 coxed quad who tackled the long course in Division one, these athletes achieved a commendable 4th place.
Division two is geared more towards younger athletes, with entries available only to those in J14 and 15. The shortened 1500m course allows junior athletes to experience their first race of the year without the pressures of steering a long course. Headington entered two J15 doubles and two J15 singles along with three J14 coxed quads. Rosie and Amelia raced well in their singles and placed 3rd and 4th respectively, both J15 doubles placed 7th and 8th with half a second separating them.
Division three saw two J18 doubles, five J18 singles and six J16 singles. Molly and Jessie came 3rd in the double sculls event and were closely followed by Katie and Claudia who placed 4th. Vicky had a good race in the singles event placing 3rd, with Leonie 5th, Trudie 7th, Cordi 8th and Sasha 22nd. In the J16 singles Eleanor had a very strong performance and finished 3rd with a time of 20:11 (this result would have put her in 6th position in J18 singles). Ana came 17th, Phoebe 21st, Hope 23rd, Charlotte 25th, Freya 28th and Angelina 29th.