Secondary school rowers feature in weekend regattas

​Many of New Zealand’s leading secondary school rowers were in action over the weekend at the Cambridge Town Cup on Lake Karapiro and at the South Island Rowing Championships at Lake Ruataniwha. 


Over 3500 senior and secondary school athletes competed across the country at the Cambridge Town Cup Regatta and Meridian South Island Rowing Championships held in the North and South Islands respectively, two weeks out from the Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships and two months until the 2016 Maadi Cup, also on Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel. 


At the school level at the South Island regatta, the U15 boys coxed quad was won by Blenheim Rowing Club ahead of Otago Rowing Club and St Thomas of Canterbury who were locked in a battle in the final stages of the race.


Veronica Wall won gold in the club single and then joined her crewmates to win bronze in the women’s club quad. At sixteen years old the Ashburton Rowing Club and Ashburton College athlete is one to watch, also entering the women’s open single scull finishing sixth.


In the south the girls U19 eight was won convincingly by St Margaret’s College in 7:03.40 with Rangi Ruru Girls in second and Christchurch Girls’ High School finishing in third. 


St Andrew’s College won the boys U19 eight over North End and Avon.


The North Island Cambridge Town Cup was raced over three days with 2273 rowers representing 50 clubs or organisations.


The largest event at the Cambridge Town Cup was the girls U17 women’s double, contested by a total of 53 crews, which was won by St Peters’ Jasmine Brake and Lily Butler racing as Cambridge Rowing Club. The girls claimed first in the A final of this event in a time of 7:47.69 winning comfortably ahead of crews from Hauraki Plains Rowing Club and Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club.


The boys U18 eight was won by Auckland Grammar School in 6:03.88 just over two seconds clear of Westlake Boys’ High School with Hamilton Boys’ High School coming in third. 


Auckland Diocesan won the girls U18 eight by 10 seconds signalling their form as they look towards Maadi in early April. St Peter’s Cambridge and Epsom Girls Grammar claimed second and third.

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