Ben Watkinson looking forward to World Rowing Junior Championships

The 22-strong New Zealand Junior Rowing team flies to Brazil this Friday for the 2015 World Rowing Junior Championships which are being held on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Rio de Janiero, from 6 to 9 August.

New Zealand will be represented in Rio by a men’s single scull, women’s quadruple scull, women’s coxless four, men’s coxed four, men’s quadruple scull and travelling reserves will contest the women’s pair and men’s double scull.

Single skuller Ben Watkinson can’t wait to leave. “I’m feeling confident ahead of the trip, but at the same time I’m going up against the best rowers from different countries around the world so it’s going to be tough,” he said. ” Everybody in our team is really excited and we can’t wait to get on the plane.”

“It’s really going to be a different feeling racing at this venue, with everything set up ahead of the Olympics next year.”

Ben, a year 13 student at Dilworth School in Auckland, said he’s particularly excited to be representing New Zealand for the first time.  He qualified for the New Zealand team after winning the U18 Boys Single Sculls at the Maadi Cup in March.

Preparation has been thorough. “We all live in the lodge at Lake Karapiro and for the past eight weeks we’ve been training together,” said Ben.

The junior team began their training block at Lake Karapiro at the Rowing New Zealand High Performance Centre on 7 June under the guidance of coaches John O’Connor, Bruce Jones and Rachel Arbuckle.

There hasn’t been much time off. “A normal week-day will be doing some rowing in the morning, so maybe two 5 km or a 4 km open race. In the afternoon we’ll go through a technical row and have a weights session. Every Saturday we have two sessions in the morning. So we’ll go out and do a longer distance and then in the second row we’ll do some sprints.”

For role models, Ben doesn’t have far to turn, with 2000 Olympic gold medallist Rob Waddell and 2012 Olympic champion and single scull world record holder Mahe Drysdale to look up to.

“I’ve talked to Mahe once or twice because he is part of the same club as me – West End in Auckland.  He’s stayed at Nationals with us, along with his young family.

“I definitely look up to Mahe and Rob as role models and I see what they’ve achieved and I just hope to do the same thing.  When I stop rowing if I know that I have gone out and pushed as hard as I can then I will be happy.”

Ben explained that he got into rowing through his school, which started a programme a few years ago. This was discontinued but he stayed involved through the West End club.

“My family also has a history in rowing and I wanted to continue that too.”  His great uncle Murray was a multiple national single sculls champion who won silver at the 1962 Commonwealth Games and competed at the 1964 and 1972 Olympics.

What about school work at the moment? “We’re still doing school work. We’re temporarily enrolled at St Peter’s, Cambridge, doing work by correspondence and with teachers we can access.” He admits he won’t be doing much NCEA work overseas though!

The young New Zealand rowers will compete against hundreds of top junior athletes from around the world at the Championships. To compete as a junior rower the athletes must be under 19 years of age. Juniors can compete in the following boat classes at the world championships: Men – single scull, double scull, coxless pair, quadruple scull, coxed four, coxless four and eights; and the junior women in the single scull, double scull, coxless pair, quadruple scull, coxless four and eights.

 

2015 New Zealand Junior Team

 

Junior Women’s Quad Scull

Ella Toa (Sacred Heart Girls’ College, New Plymouth)

Ella Simanu (Diocesan School for Girls)

Claudia MacDonald (Fraser High School)

Michaela Townshend (Southland Girls High School)

John O’Connor (Coach)

 

Junior Women’s Coxless Four

Anahera Nin (Waikato Diocesan School for Girls)

Finau Mosa’ati-Fosita (Sacred Heart Girls’ College Hamilton)

Lucy Hutchinson (Avon RC, Southern RPC)

Ella Greenslade (Wairau RC, Central RPC)

John O’Connor (Coach)

 

Junior Men’s Coxed Four

Fergus McSwiney (Mt Albert Grammar School)

Jonathan Winter (Mt Albert Grammar School)

Sam Martel (St Andrew’s College)

George Howat (Rangiora High School)

Timothy Zouch - Coxswain (Massey University)

Bruce Jones (Coach)

 

Junior Men’s Quad Scull

Ben Kirsop (Cambridge High School)

Lenny Jenkins (Whakatane High School)

Matthew Mesman (Canterbury Rowing Club, Southern RPC)

Braeden Camp (St Peter’s School, Cambridge)

Bruce Jones (Coach)

 

Junior Men’s Single Scull

Ben Watkinson (Dilworth School)

Bruce Jones (Coach) assisted by Rachel Arbuckle (Coach)

 

Junior Women’s Travelling Reserves (Double/Pair)

Ruby Willis (Petone Rowing Club)

Olivia Mendonca (St Margaret’s College)

John O’Connor (Coach) assisted by Rachel Arbuckle (Coach)

 

Junior Men’s Travelling Reserves (Double/Pair)

Jack Lopas (Christchurch Boys High School)

Hayden Robertson (Onslow College)

Bruce Jones (Coach) assisted by Rachel Arbuckle (C