Rowing NZ has announced that the 2022 Rocket Foods New Zealand Rowing Championships will take place at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel from Monday 14th and Friday 18th (inclusive) of February 2022. South Island Rowing are excited to be in a position to host this regatta at the Meridian Rowing Centre.
With an already busy season, this will place our volunteer group under a little extra pressure. If you are interested in volunteering at this regatta head over to our volunteers page for more info OR jump straight into the SIR Team App and sign up for a role!
Read on for the full announcement from Rowing NZ (dated 25th Jan).
The decision to move the 2022 Rocket Foods New Zealand championships from Lake Karāpiro to Lake Ruataniwha has been made in consultation with both the Karāpiro Rowing Inc (KRI) and South Island Rowing Inc (SIR) operational committees and their respective Boards. The change in location was necessary as the KRI Board determined they were not able to deliver the Championships at Karāpiro due to the specific event management requirements as a result of Aotearoa New Zealand moving into Red on the Covid-19 Protection Framework.
Rowing New Zealand acknowledge that the decision to move the regatta at this late stage will create a lot of work for the North Island clubs in particular as they plan their trip South, however it was the desire of the RNZ Board and management to do all we could to offer rowers a New Zealand Championship this year.
We are very mindful of the current Covid -19 situation and SIR have a proven track record in the delivery of regattas that meet the Covid 19 Protection Framework (CPF). It should be noted that Rowing New Zealand and SIR will continue to monitor the spread of Omicron variant and should cases in the community impact our ability to deliver a safe and quality regatta, or the New Zealand Government change the current CPF settings, then cancellation of the regatta could still be a possibility.
Due to the Covid Red settings, this regatta will be run under the SIR Covid Red protocols, this will mean clubs/schools are split into 100 person zones, all participants will need to be fully vaccinated and there is no provision for spectators.
We would like to acknowledge the team at SIR for agreeing to take on the hosting of the regatta at such late notice and the work they have ahead in preparation for the regatta.
There will be a further communication tomorrow afternoon to give more operational detail that still needs to be worked through.
Mark Weatherall
General Manager – Community and Development