The 2022-2023 season has kicked off!
On the weekend of October 8-9, South Island Rowing welcomed competitors from across NZ to Lake Ruataniwha for our first two regattas of the season. The regattas saw a return to racing for Robbie Manson, representing Wairau RC in the single and also racing in Marlborough colours for their Interprov team. It was great to see plenty of NZ age group representatives competing as well, including recent U23 World Champ silver medallists Will Gilbert (CAN) and Flynn Watson (CAN).
Chief Umpire Geoff Taggart reports on the action below, with images kindly supplied by Sharron Bennett and Gendie Woods (Cure BC).
Concept 2 R2K Singles Regatta
With snow on the hills and a chilly -3 degree frost, the regatta got under way with clear skies and flat water. There were good fields in some categories necessitating more than one heat. As the finals progressed it was obvious to the spectators and competitors who had been putting the hard yards in over the winter. The pace was a bit hot for some with a couple having a swim in the girls U16 1X.
Timaru’s Elsie Talbot and Wakatipu’s Marley King-Smith were the big winners in the U19 age group with each taking home a set of sculls thanks to Concept 2. A rower to watch this year could be Twizel’s Luka Mains-Upson in the U15 1X after his 13 second win over the rest of the field. Perhaps a little local knowledge I wonder!
Mainland Inter-Provincial Championships
Auckland crews joined their Southern counterparts for this regatta even though they weren’t able to compete for the Ruataniwha Trophy.
As the afternoon wore on conditions at the start became a bit lumpy but by then the small boat races had been completed but some found the head wind a challenge. A spectacle at the end of the first day’s racing was the U20 and Open Mixed eights over 2000m.
Sunday dawned fine and calm with perfect water. As racing progressed and the points tallied it became apparent we were in for an exciting finish. With one race to go the points table had Canterbury on 74 and Otago on 73. After Bryah Moriarty and Freddy Todhunter (CAN) won the final race in the Women’s U20 2x, Canterbury retained the Ruataniwha trophy. Final points were Canterbury 79, Otago 74, Marlborough 30 and Southland 12. In an interesting side points table where Auckland were included, the final result was a draw between Canterbury and Auckland with 59 points each.
A final comment from an Auckland rower “Hate the cold and frost but love the scenery and the perfect water”.
