46 athletes selected for 2026 Coupe de la Jeunesse
Ahead of racing this weekend in Lucerne, Switzerland final preparations are taking place for the Coupe de la Jeunesse class of 2026
Great Britain has announced 14 crews that will travel to the Rotsee for the 2026 Coupe de la Jeunesse. It’s the first time since 2013 that the event has been held on the hallowed waters of Lucerne, as the Lake of the Gods welcomes the next generation of rowers.
Running annually since 1985, when it was held in Candia, Italy, the Coupe de la Jeunesse is a competition organised by World Rowing which brings together Under 19 athletes from 16 European Nations who are not participating in the World Rowing U19 Championships in the same year.
The event sees athletes race over two days. Heats and finals will all take place on Saturday, before repeating the format on Sunday, meaning crews can return home with two medals.
Last year, the Great Britain team were outstanding. They returned from Linz-Ottensheim, Austria with the trophies for the Men’s, Women’s, and Overall titles. Along the way, 45 of the 46 athletes won medals across the two days of racing.
On the Women’s team, St Edward’s School Boat Club are providing the largest contingent of athletes with four of their first Eight from this season. The quartet won silver at the National Schools’ Regatta and advanced to Friday’s racing in the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy. Beatrice Peters and Rosie Reynolds will both race in the Women’s Eight, Katie Webber in the Women’s Four, and Esther Walker teams up with Headington School Oxford Boat Club’s Zena Breed in the Women’s Pair.
After winning the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup and their Temple Challenge Cup crew, winning a round of racing, St Paul’s School will provide the backbone of the Men’s Eight. Theo Fairclough, Angus Ludgate, Max Williams, and Andrej Zarkovic have all been selected together to race in the crew.
At the other end of the spectrum, Amy Clarke and Reuben Tinsley have been selected as the Single Scullers. Clarke comes from the Sir William Borlases’s Quadruple Scull that were A Finalists at NSR and raced at both Henley Women’s Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. For Tinsley, this will be a step up after racing for England in the Junior Men’s Double Scull at last year’s Home International Regatta. This season, he’s been part of an incredible Tideway Sculls School outfit that were silver medallists in Championship Quads at NSR, and finalists in the Fawley Challenge Cup a couple of weeks ago.
“The Coupe team has a lot of experience both in terms of coaches and athletes, and with the short turnaround and the addition of a German team to the competition this year should make for some very exciting racing,” said Team Manager Neil Double.
The Great Britain team to race the Coupe de la Jeunesse from 24-26 July 2026
Men’s Eight (JM8+)
Barney Doyle (Shiplake College Boat Club)
Theo Fairclough (St Paul’s School Boat Club)
Alexander Hoo (King’s College School, Wimbledon Boat Club)
James Howard (Norwich School Boat Club)
Felix Koelsch (Westminster School Boat Club)
Angus Ludgate (St Paul’s School Boat Club)
Max Williams (St Paul’s School Boat Club)
Andrej Zarkovic (St Paul’s School Boat Club)
Jonas Yu (cox) (King’s College School, Wimbledon Boat Club)
Coach: Tom Shewell (Kew House School Boat Club)
Women’s Eight (JW8+)
Madeleine Clarke (The Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club)
Isla Evans (Sir William Perkins’s School Boat Club)
Kate Gairdner (Headington School Oxford Boat Club)
Stevie Rose Gildert (Strathclyde Park Rowing Club)
Eloise Hobbs (Marlow Rowing Club)
Holly Jackson (Henley Rowing Club)
Beatrice Peters (St Edward’s School Boat Club)
Rosie Reynolds (St Edward’s School Boat Club)
Alice Gelling (cox) (Headington School Oxford Boat Club)
Coach: Gabby Rodriguez (Surbiton High School Boat Club)
Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x)
Castor Chute (The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club)
Peter Masters (The Grange School Boat Club)
Joseph McCarthy (Tideway Scullers School)
Josh Spanswick (Claires Court School Boat Club)
Coach: Jonathan Keir (Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Boat Club)
Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x)
Cassie Anderson (Wycliffe College Boat Club)
Daisy O’Reilly (Wycliffe College Boat Club)
Daniela Raguckaite (Hartpury University and College Boat Club)
Caitlin Warnock (Glasgow Rowing Club)
Coach: Ben Smeeton (Hartpury University and College Boat Club)
Men’s Four (JM4-)
Thomas Cox (Radley College Boat Club)
Bertie Holloway ((Radley College Boat Club)
Ben Morgan (Royal Shrewsbury School Boat Club)
Josef Robinson (Westminster School Boat Club)
Coach: Ashley Carter-Mayers (Norwich School Boat Club)
Women’s Four (JW4-)
Lily Clayton (Wallingford Rowing Club)
Florence Grose (Putney High School)
Jasmine Irvin-Sellers (Sir William Perkins’s School Boat Club)
Katie Webber (St Edward’s School Boat Club)
Coach: Jamie Kirkwood (The Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club)
Men’s Pair (JM2-)
Ewan Fawcett (Bedford School Boat Club)
Oliver Payne (Bedford School Boat Club)
Tobias Rudkin (Bedford School Boat Club)
Women’s Pair (JW2-)
Zena Breed (Headington School Oxford Boat Club)
Esther Walker (St Edward’s School Boat Club)
Coach: Oliver Gerrard (Latymer Upper School Boat Club)
Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x)
Ezra Ferguson (George Watson’s College Boat Club)
Max Fullman (Hartpury University and College Boat Club)
Coach: Ben Liddell (The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club)
Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x)
Holly Andrews (The Grange School Boat Club)
Elizabeth Robinson (Sir William Perkins’s School Boat Club)
Coach: Stephen Hughes (Maidenhead Rowing Club)
Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x)
Reuben Tinsley (Tideway Scullers School)
Coach: Richard Hawkins (Dulwich College Boat Club)
Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x)
Amy Clarke (Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Boat Club)
Coach: Natalie Holden (Sir William Perkins’s School Boat Club)
Men’s Reserve Single Sculls (JM1x)
Alec Thompson (St Edward’s School Boat Club)
Women’s Reserve Single Sculls (JW1x)
Naomi Bell (Wallingford Rowing Club)
Team Support
Neil Double – Team Manager
Tristan Mayglothling – Lead Coach
Dave Barstow Equipment – Manager
Doug MacDonald – Coach Developer
Grace Miller – Physio
Juan Rosales – Doctor
