Rowers across the country will travel this coming week to battle on the storied waters of Lake Karapiro. Among the most keenly anticipated events is the girl’s U18 eight, competing for the Levin Jubilee Cup. The 2025 Maadi Regatta will mark the 44th edition of the Levin Jubilee Cup, featuring once again several of the foremost schools in New Zealand girls’ rowing.
This article will cover four schools that have a strong chance of medalling, and potentially winning the Jubilee Cup. Two will be selected from the North Island and two from the South Island.
North Island Schools
Waikato Diocesan School
One of the powerhouses of schoolgirl rowing in recent times, and certainly many people’s favourites to win this year’s Levin Jubilee, is Waikato Diocesan School. While the school have only won this event thrice in the past, there is no understating their dominance this season across multiple sweep oar categories. This fast Waikato crew have placed first in all U18 eight A-Finals this season, except when they raced the open eight categories. What is more impressive is the range of ability across this eight. Within the eight, crew members are also champions in the U18 single, U18 coxed four, U17 coxed four, and bronze medallists in the U18 pair. The accolades in this boat are a testament to the program that Waikato Dio have built up in recent years, which huge success in sculling and sweeping events, which is rare for large school programmes. Aside from their success in other boat classes, their time in the U18 eight A-Final at the North Island Secondary Schools Regatta saw them more than a boat length clear of second place. The times across the North and South Islands varied quite significantly, so we have no comparison to draw there. However, going off the margins in the North Island, Waikato Dio will likely be the favourites to win the event; at this point in time, their gap to second will be extremely difficult to close.
Westlake Girls High School
Two-time winners of the Levin Jubilee in 1989 and 1990, Westlake Girls will be looking to add their name to the illustrious history of New Zealand rowing. Favourites for many to win the U18 coxed four, and U18 pair, Westlake have showed throughout this season their potential for speed. With crew members placing second in the U18 four and first by a significant margin in the U18 pair, it will be whether or not the rest of the crew can rise to the challenge alongside some very strong rowers in the eight. Varied success throughout the season has forced this eight to be shrouded in some doubt regarding whether they can perform at Maadi, but if results are anything to go by, they were the winners of the U18 eight at Head of the Harbour, third at the Auckland Championships, and of course, recently second at the North Island Secondary Schools. Like many other U18 eights this season, they appear to have been slowly building speed, perhaps in hopes of peaking at the right time. While it is not uncommon for this to happen, it is undoubtedly unconventional; many crews hope to stamp their place as the ones to catch come Maadi. While their slightly inconsistent results across the season have led to doubters, there is still a strong hope for them to gain a medalling position this Maadi – especially on North Island home waters.
South Island Schools
Rangi Ruru Girls School
And so we come to the most successful school in this history of the girls U18 Eight. With 18 wins in the event, more than double that of second place, Rangi Ruru are a true force to be reckoned with. With their most recent victory in this event being in 2023, the memories of winning one of the illustrious New Zealand trophies will still be fresh in many of their coaches minds. With a few members of their U17 eight in the crew, this is a relatively young outfit compared to the rest of the field, who will be likely fielding their fastest and older rowers. However, accolades in this boat are not short either. Stroked by triple gold medallist across the U16, U17, and U18 eights, Amelia Jones, the crew are in the hands of a capable athlete who knows what it feels like to win. Several members of the crew also finished with a silver medal in the girl’s U18 four, which shows that they do have the pedigree to compete, not just in the eights. Having raced in the premier eight events at club regattas throughout the season, the girls will have had the rare opportunity to race against New Zealand Elite Team members, some of whom will have been fresh off their Paris 2024 success. The competition this has provided will have strengthened the mental resolve of the crew, knowing that they can compete at not only the highest levels of schoolgirl rowing but also club racing. The champions of the South Island will be looking to win the Levin Jubilee once again, and take down the favoured giants of the North in the process.
St Margaret’s College
The second most successful school in the history of this event, St Margaret’s College have won the Levin Jubillee seven times across its 44 year existence. Serial winners of this event in the 2010’s, with four of those seasons spent as champions, St Margaret’s will be looking to repeat the success of 2019, their most recent win. Champions of the South Island in the U18 four and U18 pair, the crew have the experience to win events at the highest level; their silver medal in the eight was an extremely close second behind Rangi Ruru. A painstakingly close 0.2-second margin saw them just edged out in the A-Final, having won the previous day’s heat by a much more comfortable distance. If this is anything to go by, their result in the A-Final should be taken with a pinch of salt, as crew members have dominated the other sweep events throughout the season. The same crew which won gold in the U18 four won silver in the premier coxless four earlier in the season; an unparalleled achievement thus far in terms of schoolgirl success in premier events. Throughout the season, St Margaret’s have consistently been the fastest U18 eight except for their latest A-Final result. A hugely impressive crew, they will likely be challenging for more than a medal come Maadi, as they certainly have the skill to win. Coming into the Maadi Regatta as runners-up in the South Island will likely not have shaken things up too much in the St Margaret’s camp, but they now know that they are not unbeatable.
Predictions
If I had to predict the winner, I would say Waikato Diocesan. Their times and margins in the North Island have been exceptionally good, and it will be difficult for anyone to mount a serious challenge to their success thus far. Second place is a much more competitive medal, with all three remaining crews in strong contention to win it. However, I would say that St Margaret’s will likely take second place, as they have been consistently the faster U18 eight on the South Island this season. Third place is also challenging to choose between the champions of the South Island and runners-up in the North. Based on their experience and accolades in the boat, I would have to pick Rangi Ruru to win the bronze, with Westlake likely not far back on the pace. With the difficulty of predicting results, this year will probably be one of the closer races, especially for the minor medals.
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