IN a four-day festival of processional racing, Oxford crews dominated the national Head of the River races, with Headington School winning in junior eights and quads, while Oxford took the title at the Eights Head, writes John Wiggins.

Headington’s senior squad finished seven seconds ahead of the pack in their eight on the Tideway at the Schools’ Head of the River Race, before changing boats and water to win by 15 seconds in the quad scull at Eton’s Dorney Lake the next day.

Katie King-Smith, Isabel Rundle, Lydia Currie and Danielle Semple won in the quad before joining Lucy Pullinger, Rosie Little, Elizabeth Haskins, Maya Nickituk and cox Annelise Perkins in the eight.

To add to the celebrations, the J15 squad also took two sets of medals, winning at Dorney’s Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in the coxed octuple after half of the crew had picked up bronze in the eight at the Schools’ Head.

Their J16s claimed bronze in the eight and silver in the quad just ahead of City of Oxford, who picked up a bronze medal.

Oxford Brookes capped an amazing winter by overcoming a strong Leander crew to become the first university crew in 50 years to take the title over the Eights Head Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.

Many of the undergraduate crew of Ask Tjøm, Will Hall, Rory Gibbs, Matthew Aldridge, Matt Hnatiw, Richard Hawkins, Michael Glover, Morgan Bolding and cox, Harry Brightmore, were involved with the defeat of Oxford University in a training fixture and a win at Reading Head.

They are now engaged in GB rowing training sessions.

Brookes’s director of rowing, Richard Spratley received British rowing’s coach-of-the-year award, recognising his 25-year campaign to bring the club to the forefront of British rowing.

Meanwhile, Wallingford RC’s women’s masters C crew came first in the Vesta Veterans Head of the River while their the men’s G eight were second and the women’s B eight third.