Youngest GB Rowing Team pathway squad compete at annual GB v France J16 Match

56 athletes from 15 rowing programmes competed against France in the annual bout between nations.

France and Great Britain alternate hosting the annual GB v France J16 Match and on Wednesday, 12 July 2023 it was hosted at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham. The GB Rowing J16 Team was made up of 56 athletes from 15 rowing programmes and all the crews, apart from the men’s eight, were single club units that had training and raced together throughout the season.

Arriving in the morning it was clear that the racing would be tough. A strong headwind had made the conditions over the 1500m course very choppy and not unlike those seen at the Rio 2016 Olympics. The French had a successful match when they hosted in 2022 and were keen to repeat this on foreign soil. This they did – winning 11 of the 14 races.

The women’s eight had an interesting day as in their initial race the French crew were victorious but had rowed almost the entire course in lane 0. With this brought to the umpires’ attention, it was decided that both crews would re-row at the end of the day. By the time the much-anticipated rematch came around the conditions had worsened but the GB boat, made up of rowers from Henley RC, was dominant and won their race comfortably.

The closest race of the day was the men’s quad. The French boat took an early lead over the GB boat from The Windsor Boys’ School. By halfway the GB boat had made up the difference and the lead changed on each stroke. The boats stayed like this throughout the second half of the race with a one foot lead swapping between the two crews. A photo finish was required to decide the winner which went to the French crew who snatched the victory on the surge of the boat.

Another noticeable GB performance came from Briony Wood (Glasgow Academy) who took charge of her women’s single scull race early on and looked completely unphased by the conditions, continuing to stretch her lead all the way to victory.

All the competitors who raced showed immense grit and determination. They earned the right to say they represented their country, and that is a great accomplishment in itself. Although the outcome did not go our way, the rower’s experience of donning the GB all in one for the first time will have undoubtedly inspired them to continue to work hard and aim for representation on at the U19 level and beyond.

The 2024 match will be held in France. The venue is still TBC as they are holding quite a large regatta around the same time in their preferred choice!

Match	Boat	Lane1	Lane2	Result
Race 1	W8+	FR	GB	Re-Row
Race 2	M4+	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 3	W2x	FR	GB	FRANCE
Race 4	M4x	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 5	W4-	FR	GB	FRANCE
Race 6	M4-	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 7	W1x	FR	GB	GREAT BRITAIN
Race 8	M2x	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 9	W4x	FR	GB	FRANCE
Race 10	M1x	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 11	W4+	FR	GB	GREAT BRITAIN
Race 12	M2-	GB	FR	FRANCE
Race 13	W2-	FR	GB	FRANCE
Race 14	M8+	GB	FR	FRANCE
Reserve M	M1x	FR	GB	GREAT BRITAIN
Reserve W	W1x	GB	FR	GREAT BRITAIN
Re Row Race 1	W8+	FR	GB	GREAT BRITAIN