​The logistics of the Maadi Cup regatta

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.

---