Is there any better year to round off a year of rowing than at Lake Karāpiro? With eight lanes stretching across the picturesque waters and the sun shining, there was no shortage of exciting racing at this year’s Karāpiro Christmas Regatta, and the junior boys categories were no exception.
Hamilton Boys High School
Sweeping the field with wins across almost every age category was Hamilton Boys High School. Starting with the seniors asserting their dominance with first-place finishes in the Under-18 eight, four and pairs events, Hamilton Boys have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with this season. The success of their performances extends all the way down to their first-year athletes at Under-15 level, who also took home wins in both their eight and octuple sculls finals. As runners-up in both the Under-17 and Under-16 eights as well, the depth of the talent in across their squads is very apparent and the appearance of multiple Hamilton crews in several finals only cements this further.
Westlake Boys High School
Also making waves are the boys from Westlake Boys High School, who also secured a win in every age category; topping the coxed fours events at Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 level, as well as taking home a confident win in the Under-17 eight by around two and a half lengths. Their Under-15 and Under-16 eights weren’t far behind them with second and third-place finishes, respectively, in their finals, as well as the Under-18 coxed four who finished just behind the crew from Hamilton.
Auckland Grammar / Tauranga Boys College / Whakatane High School
Some honorable mentions are also needed, the first being for Auckland Grammar School. Their Under-16 coxed eight crew, coached by Tim Zouch and Waldo Singleton, pulled off an impressive win in the Under-16 eights events, crossing the line around two lengths ahead of the rest of the group.
Tauranga Boys College also had a successful weekend, taking home a very comfortable win in the Under-15 coxed quadruple sculls final, leaving an almost twenty second gap between them and the runners-up. TBC’s McConnochie also topped the Under-18 single sculls category.
The final team in need of highlighting is the Under-17 squad from Whakatane High School, who’s Travis Talpos and Alex Iremonger put up a great fight to steal a win in the Under-17 double sculls by half a length; with their teammates Ash Schutz and Leon Mahy finishing third in the same race. These crews, both coached by Graham Watt, joined forces in the Under-17 coxed quadruple sculls event, along with cox Hamish McPherson, to pull off a multiple-length win with plenty of clear water between them and the rest of the crews.
Livestream footage from Karāpiro Christmas Regatta is available to watch on YouTube, excluding Under-15 events.
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