This is a great opportunity for NZ's top young rowers!
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Girls
Briana Perry, St Peter's School, Cambridge
Brooke Kilmister, St Peter's School, Cambridge
Grace Watson, St Paul's Collegiate School
Holly Mills, Waikato Diocesan School for Girls
Isabella Carter, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School
Jamie Harris, Wanganui Collegiate School
Kate Littlejohn, St Paul’s Collegiate School
Kathryn Glen, Villa Maria College
Kayla Baker, Nelson Rowing Club
Mahalia Shand, Nelson College for Girls
Megan Bol, Baradene College
Mollie Gibson, Ashburton Rowing Club
Niamh McHugh, West End Rowing Club/Auckland RPC
Olivia Clark, Onslow College
Phoebe Trolove, Craighead Diocesan School
Poppy Newall, Petone Rowing Club
Rebecca Leigh, St Peter's School, Cambridge
Sophia Meldrum, Baradene College
Sophie Egnot-Johnson, Westlake Girls’ High School
Stella Clayton-Greene, Hauraki Plains/Waikato RPC
Veronica Wall, Ashburton Rowing Club
Boys
Alex Todhunter, Christ’s College
Angus Shotter, Westlake Boys’ High School
Blake Bradshaw, Westlake Boys' High School
Campbell Crouch, Hamilton Boys’ High school
Elliott Jenkins, Hamilton Boys’ High School
Fergus Ritchie, Lindisfarne College
Flynn Watson, Hamilton Boys’ High School
Harry Church, Saint Kentigern College
Jack Chapman, Christchurch Boys’ High School
Jack Gibbs, Roncalli College
James Hall, Auckland Rowing Club/Auckland RPC
Jamie Batchelor, Christ’s College
Jonte Wright , Wanganui Collegiate School
Manawa Mclaughlin, Clifton Rowing Club/Central RPC
Matthew White, Christchurch Boys’ High School
Max Goodwin, Christ's College
Ryan Campbell, Hamilton Boys’ High School
Sam Cummins, King's College
Thomas Woelders, Christchurch Boys’ High School
Will Gilbert, Christchurch Boys’ High School
Will Thompson, Hamilton Boys’ High School
Zackary Rumble, Canterbury Rowing Club/Southern RPC

Max Goodwin is accustomed to making big decisions, but in the past week Goodwin has been forced to make two of the biggest of his life.
 
Goodwin is the head prefect at Christ’s College. On Saturday, Goodwin was a central figure in his schools’ Aon Maadi Cup triumph, a success which has enhanced his considerable reputation in rowing and earned him a chance to train permanently in the New Zealand high-performance programme in Cambridge.
 
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I have to settle it this week. I’ve got extra responsibilities as head boy of Christ’s and I love Christchurch, but moving up north to train is a big opportunity,” Goodwin reveals.
 
Three days earlier Goodwin was one of only two returning members from Christ’s College’s eight in the 2017 Maadi Cup regatta. Goodwin was positioned in the sixth seat or ‘the powerhouse’ section of the boat. Goodwin’s role is to literally row as hard as possible as he is the heart of the boat’s engine. Christ’s needed a big heart to topple North Island champions, Hamilton Boys’ High School. Goodwin provides an insight into Christ’s tactics.
 
“We knew Hamilton would come out hard, they are big, strong boys and that had been their approach all week. We knew if we could hold them to a lead of less than a boat length early on we could take them at the end,” Goodwin explains.
 
At what point did Christ’s choose to accelerate?
 
“Hamilton Boys’ led from the 500m mark, but we weren’t far behind and starting pulling away at the 750m mark. We just rowed quicker as the race went on and it was pretty special to win,” Goodwin answers.
 
Christchurch Boys’ High School finished third, but had beaten Christ’s in the South Island Championships. What did Christ’s learn from that defeat?
 
“We learned we can be behind and still win. The key is to know your strengths and ours was endurance. The whole crew was outstanding; rowing is one of those sports where you can't hide,” Goodwin concludes.


The winning Christ's College Maadi Cup crew was: Alex Todhunter (stroke), Max Goodwin, Sam Darry, Jack Elvy, Zac Cran, Will Chaffey, Jamie Batchelor, Sean Swanson + Guy Flynn (cox)

It was a super Saturday on Lake Ruataniwha for St Peter’s School rowers.

The Waikato school was flushed with success on Saturday evening,  after their best ever performance at the Aon Maadi Cup, winning eight gold, six silver and two bronze medals.

After a week of weather disruptions and stiff competition from other schools from throughout the country, it was a stellar last day for St Peter’s who won the Star Trophy for the champion school of the regatta for the third time. St Peter’s finished with 52 points, ahead of Hamilton Boys’ High School on 39 and Christchurch Boys’ High School on 31.

Leading the way were the U18 girl’s rowers, who won the A finals of the pair (Garry Robertson Cup), coxed four (Dawn Cup) and the coxed eight (Levin 75th Jubilee Cup) - winning the eights for the first time in the school’s history.  

Girl’s rowing captain and two-seat in the U18 eight, Amy Butler, said was a day to savour for the crews.

“It was pretty special winning in front of so many people and having all our St Peter’s teammates cheering us, and being on the podium they were very loud," she enthused.

The pair final was in the morning, the coxed four was at midday and the coxed eight was the penultimate event of the regatta later in the day - immediately before the boys coxed eight final for the Maadi Cup itself, which was won by Christ’s College.

The Levin 75th Jubilee Cup final itself was no contest. St Peter’s established a comfortable lead from the 1000m mark and maintained their advantage to win in 6:55.10, ahead of Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in second,  Waikato Diocesan School in third and Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in fourth.

“We knew that before going into the final we knew we could do it, but there is always that uncertainty in the U18 race because it is always so close. But our aim was to get out fast from the start and to hold the lead.  We gained a boat-length lead and held it to the finish so it worked.

“Waikato Dio were always going to be strong, they beat us at the start of the season, although we had beaten them in the North Island final two weeks before," added Amy.

The crew that won the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup was: Amy Butler, Brie Perry, Brooke Kilmister, Morgan Blind, Anna Cairns, Beckie Leigh, Katie Bell, Kaylin Wren and coxswain Lauren Gibb.

Two rowers, Brie Perry and Brooke Kilmister, were part of all three crews that won the U18 titles on Saturday, while Morgan Blind, Katie Bell joined them in the four that won the Dawn Cup. Amy Butler and Beckie Leigh also won the U17s coxed quad on Saturday.
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The St Peter’s girls also won Silver’s in the U18 novice coxed eight and U18 novice coxed quad. 

Not to be outdone, the St Peter’s boys produced one of the highlights of the day by roaring to a commanding win in the U17 Boys coxed quad.  
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Jason Nel and Rebecca Leigh both had very hard fought races in the U17 Boys and Girls single skulls races, with the margins for the medals being decided by only centimetres, with Jason picking up silver and Beckie picking up bronze.

The Novices carried on from their successful North Islands with both the boys (Alister Jenkins and Carter Grey) and girls (Holly Williams and Madi Fuller) both winning gold in the U18 novice double sculls, with the boys teammates Fletcher Pearson-Riley and Harrison Lynch winning silver in the double as well and then combining the two doubles to win gold in the U18 novice coxed quad.

Rowing Captain Amy said the nucleus of the winning U18 Levin Jubilee Cup and Dawn Cups has been together for four seasons.
 
“Most of us have been racing together since U15s and we won the U17s girls eight last year. So it had been a long-term goal for us to win the U18s eights,” she said.
 
“We have all stuck at it and it is a great way to finish our school rowing careers in our last season together.”
 
Three of the rowers, Brie, Brooke and Beckie,  have been selected to trial for the national junior rowing team, while Amy has got a north-south trial coming up.
 
The future of St Peter’s rowing is in good shape – an unexpected results was from the St Peter’s U15 Girls coxed eight, who under the leadership of senior coxswain Charlotte Siermans, stormed through the field to take an incredible silver medal with only two seconds separating the top three crews.

Then six of the girls jumped straight in the U15 coxless eight and raced home to pick up silver behind a very strong Dunstan High School crew.

In the final regatta presentations one of St Peter’s long standing coaches, Norm Charlton, was recognised as the best coach of junior crews winning the Bill Eaddy Cup.

St Peter’s also won the Presidents Scull for the Top Sculling School for the 8th time in the past nine years with 31 points to Ashburton’s 21 points back in second.

St Peter’s School Aon Maadi Cup medals:

Gold
U18 Girls 8+ (Brie Perry, Brooke Kilmister, Morgan Blind, Anna Cairns, Beckie Leigh, Katie Bell, Amy Butler, Kaylin Wren and coxswain Lauren Gibb)
U18 Girls 4+ (Brie Perry, Brooke Kilmister, Morgan Blind, Katie Bell and coxswain Charlotte Siermans)
U18 Girls 2-  (Brie Perry, Brooke Kilmister)
U17 Boys 4X+ (Patrick Griffin, Jason Nel, Calum Henderson, Ed Clarkson and coxswains Brooke Houston)
U17 Girls 4X+  (Clare Milne, Beckie Leigh, Amelia Barrell, Amy Butler and coxswain Brooke Houston
U18 Nov Boys 2X  (Alister Jenkins and Carter Grey)
U18 Nov Girls 2X  (Holly Williams and Madi Fuller)
U18 Nov Boys 4X+ (Harry Lynch, Fletcher Pearson- Riley, Carter Grey, Alister Jenkins with coxswain Ruby Hosking)

Silver
U18 Nov Girls 8+ (Samara Mockford, Fran Pollock, Aaliyah Brown, Holly Williams, Millie Baker, Caitlin Huxtable, Kari Loveridge, Madi Fuller and coxswain Ruby Hosking)
U18 Nov Boys 2X  (Fletcher Pearson-Riley, Harrison Lynch)
U18 Nov Girls 4X+  (Aaliyah Brown, Holly Williams, Madi Fuller, Kari Loveridge and coxswain Alyssa Sherry-Middlemiss)
U17 Boys 1X (Jason Nel)
U15 Girls 8+  (Samara Mockford, Fran Pollock, Atlanta Bruce, Tobi Oldham, Millie Baker, Caitlin Huxtable, Emma Butcher, Molly Bayly and coxswain Charlotte Siermans)
U15 Girls 8X+ (Emma Butcher, Emma Stead, Holly Williams, Fran Pollock, Samara Mockford, Molly Bayly, Millie Baker, Caitlin Huxtable coxswain Annabelle McGuire)

Bronze
U17 Girls 1X  (Beckie Leigh)
U15 Girls 2X  (Atlanta Bruce, Emma Stead)

Severe headwinds delayed the majority of races today at day four of the 2018 Aon Maadi Cup at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel.

The girl’s under 17 coxed quad sculls were the first crews out on the water with the first quarter final starting at 6pm after winds finally subsided. After an even battle to the 1000m mark, St Peter’s School (Cambridge) broke ahead and maintained their lead finishing in an impressive time of 7:44.03, 13 seconds ahead of second place Mt Aspiring College. With the first four crews progressing, Dunstan Arm College and Villa Maria College fought a tight battle for fourth place with Dunstan Arm College joining St Hilda’s Collegiate in the semi-final, less than a second ahead of Villa Maria College. Ashburton College also maintained an impressive lead in their quarter final finishing six seconds ahead of second place Maclean’s College. Nelson College for Girl’s and Whanganui High School also move forward to the semi-final, both making a comfortable first place in their respective quarter-finals.

The boy’s under 16 single sculls saw another striking performance from Evan Williams of Takapuna Grammar School, securing his spot in the semi-final and winning his quarter final by six seconds. St John’s College (Hamilton) also moves forward to the semi-final, joined by Wanganui Collegiate School and Whakatane High School after each narrowly won their respective quarter finals.

In the girl’s under 16 double sculls, Southland Girls’ High School’s Anna Rikiti and Shakira Mirfin showed incredible strength in tough conditions, crossing the line ten seconds ahead of second place Craighead Diocesan School. In similar style, Westlake Girls’ High School’s Devon Thorpe and Sylvia Leadley crossed the line eight seconds ahead of second place St Hilda’s Collegiate. Timaru Girls’ High School, Dunstan High School and Southland Girls’ High School also move forward to the semi-final.
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Racing begins tomorrow from 8am with a full schedule of semi-finals and C & D finals, with all A & B finals scheduled for Saturday.

The 2018 Aon Maadi Cup is the biggest secondary school sports event in New Zealand. Some of the numbers and logistics behind the event are huge. College Sport Media caught up with Sonya Walker from Rowing New Zealand and Hamilton Boys’ High School to gain some insight into some of the challenges in preparing for and organising the event. The Aon Maadi Cup is held all next week on Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel.
 
Some Numbers

1 - The Aon Maadi Cup is the largest secondary schools sports event in New Zealand and one of the largest regattas in the Southern Hemisphere.

5 - The number of official referees. The umpiring roster for the 2018 Aon Maadi Cup is: Chief Umpire: Peter Midgley, Chief Starter: Justin Wall, Chief Judge: Darryl Purton, Race Committee: Andrew Carr-Smith.

6 – The number of days the regatta runs for. It starts on Monday March 19 March  and concludes on Saturday March 24. Sunday 25 March is a reserve day.

120 – The number of secondary schools from across New Zealand lining up at the regatta

2,283 – The total number of athletes at Aon Maadi Cup (entered rowers prior to the regatta).

52 – The number of events that will be on offer throughout the regatta

1436 – The total number of crews entered throughout the regatta

64 – The number of crews competing in the Girls U17 Single Scull – making that the event with the largest entries

4 – The number of age group categories - U15, U16, U17 and U18 – in a range of boat classes including singles, pairs, doubles, fours, quads, eights and octuples.

8 – The Boys’ and Girls’ U18 Eights will be competing for the prestigious Maadi Cup and Levin Jubilee Cup silverware. The number of Maadi Cup titles that Hamilton Boys’ High School have won since 2005.

71 – The number of boys’ Maadi Cup regattas there has been. The first was in 1947 and won by Auckland’s Mount Albert Grammar School.

13 - The number of times a South Island school has won the Maadi Cup trophy. North Island schools have won 58, with Wanganui Collegiate winning 17 of these, but not since 2004.

Sonya Walker Rowing New Zealand
 
Sonya Walker is one of three staff at Rowing New Zealand assigned the task of organising the Maadi Cup. Rowing New Zealand also works closely with South Island rowing to ensure the event runs smoothly. Walker attended the Maadi Cup while a student at Wakatipu High School. She later became a coach before taking on a full time role in administration. Walker says her highlights working at the Maadi Cup have been the “greater spread of schools on the podium” which reflects, “the increasing strength of rowing in New Zealand.”
 
Some Considerations
 
Boat Storage: The boats are stored at a huge outdoor boat park near Lake Ruataniwha.  The boats are tricky to transport and store because they are 22-metres long. Most teams bring them to the venue with a trailer and those coming from the North Island ship them over on the ferry.
 
Accommodation and Transport: The schools look after their own accommodation, staying in hotels, hostels or home stays. Because Twizel is only a small place schools stay as far away as Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo and in some cases drive an hour one way to reach the venue daily.
 
Bad Weather: There is only a week to complete the entire regatta. Sunday is a spare day. If things get really bad races are shortened. It's the job of the licensed race officials to determine the suitability of the weather. Only once in Walker’s time at Rowing New Zealand has Sunday been required to complete racing.
 
Health and Safety: There are a number of health and safety considerations. New Zealand rowing works with the New Zealand Secondary Schools Association and local council to ensure regulatory standards are met. Maritime New Zealand assess the safety of the water and ambulance staff are on site in the event of serious injury.
 
Spectator Needs: A considerable number of spectators attend the Maadi Cup. Though no official number is recorded finals day on Friday and Saturday attracts an estimated 10,000 people. It's the obligation of the host rowing club to supply food stalls and toilet facilities.
 
Volunteers: There are between 75 and 100 volunteers who help run the event. This includes everybody from food suppliers for officials, general inquiry assistants, individuals handing out numbers to racers and cleaners.
 
Hamilton Boys’ High School
 
Hamilton Boys’ High School have won the Maadi Cup eight times since 2005 making the Waikato college the most successful in the regatta over the last decade.
 
The logistics of transporting the Hamilton team to Twizel is massive as are their efforts to win medals.
 
Hamilton is taking 65 boys out of a programme of 95. It will cost about $1,800 per person, which includes transport (flights, buses and three minivans), meals, accommodation and regatta entry fees.
 
Students are expected to cover their own costs. However a benefactor (a rowing old boy's mother) usually helps about four boys per year with part of the cost). There is also a Headmaster’s hardship fund that families can apply for. Boys are encouraged to find individual sponsorship to help with their rowing costs. Extensive fundraising also helps keep costs down.

Hamilton have three vehicles with trailers which left to Wellington on Tuesday. The boats are then loaded on to the ferry and hauled across the South Island. It costs anywhere between $200 and $400 to transport a vehicle on the Interislander ferry. Hamilton Boys’ will also assist some of the moving of Hamilton Girls’ boats.
 
Hamilton is staying at the High Country Lodge in the centre of Twizel, in dormitory accommodation.

Teachers at school supply the boys with homework. The boys have had to approach staff to ensure they will have work to do. The team manager helps monitor the boys’ school work, though Hamilton also places onus on the senior boys to organise themselves.
 
Hamilton’s training for the event has been intense. From September until the end of March, junior crews train about six hours per week, which includes on water and land training, plus fitness work in their own time. Seniors commit eight hours to training. Additionally three week- long camps in January, July and October and six weekends are spent at Mangakino.