Coming out of three years of COVID, then the floods of 2023, and the fire at the Auckland clubhouse in 2024, it is fair to say that this is the first ‘normal’ rowing season for some time.

Caspar Hammond and Franklin Hamilton have been steadily building our club both in numbers and skill levels. They are both committed to a long view – it takes years to develop clubs for success, and what we saw this weekend indicated we are a year or two ahead of the plan.

We approached the North Island Champs at Karapiro with quiet confidence not quite sure how the boats would progress.  It didn’t take long to see that the Dio girls were out to show their pride and effort, winning three gold medals, two silver and four bronze medals. This is one of our best regattas for some time and we were thrilled with the successes.  Not all enjoyed their best row, but with a little luck and a lot of resilience, those things will come.

A very notable success was seen in the Under 15 category. We had two Under 15 coxed eights that made the A final. Dio won the gold by over a boat length and the second boat claimed a close fifth place. Our Under 18 Novice (new rowers) Coxed eights won gold along with the Under 16 coxed eight who also won gold. It is very notable and commendable that new rowers and our young up-and-coming rowers are achieving brilliant results and this is incredibly healthy for the future of the club.

Sybilla Thompson (13ED)  competed in the U18 sculls winning bronze in the A final, but she also rowed in the U18 coxed quad sculls winning silver, and won bronze in the U18 double sculls. Congratulations Sybilla!

The rowers selected for Maadi – the pinnacle rowing event for this year – will compete at Lake Karapiro for national medals at summer tournament next week. We wish the coaches and girls the best of luck as they take on the best boats in New Zealand. We also send our thanks to the parents who have provided unstinting commitment to support the crews and coaches throughout the season.  Kia kaha!