As we approach the penultimate regatta of the season, many eyes will turn towards the women’s eights as one of the most hotly contested races at the Meridian South Island Rowing Championships. With this regatta to likely be a close predictor of the New Zealand Rowing Championships, crews will look to draw a line in the sand and solidify their positions as favourites.
Dunstan Arm Rowing Club / Cure Boat Club Composite
While composite crews have their strengths and weaknesses, this crew appears to have gelled especially well, winning the women’s premier eight at the Canterbury Championships. Strengthened with the New Zealand Universities Team rower Millie Scott in the five seat, the experience in this eight will be hard to overcome. Admirably stroked by the young U17 Dunstan rower Ruby Smith, this epic win in the women’s premier eight speaks volumes about the Dunstan Arm program, with such a young stroke seat able to keep a cool head and secure the win. Helped with the experience of several provincial-level rowers, these eight look to be difficult to beat should they row the same combination this coming week. This crew will be very hard to beat but not impossible.
Avon Rowing Club
Perhaps one of the most successful club programs in the country in recent years, Avon Rowing Club has continued to function as a hub for athletes after school who wish to look to go onto national team pathways. It would be a surprise not to see Avon in the mix, with their strong first-place finish in the preliminary round of the women’s premier eight. Their slower fourth-place finish in the A-final at the Canterbury Championships resulted from having to boat a four for that race due to crew unavailability, meaning their final result is anything but a reliable indicator of their speed.
A strong crew comprised mostly of several regional representatives shows the depth in this eight, as well as redcoat winner Phoebe Collier, New Zealand Universities representative Jessica Tavendale and New Zealand U19 representative in the junior women’s four Alice Ferguson bolster this crew’s ranks. Typical of strong Avon crews in the past, there is a wealth of international and domestic experience, with several Maadi Cup medallists from their junior days.
School Crews
While some schools typically enter their first eight into this event, it is unlikely that we will see this at the New Zealand Rowing Championships. With a hugely impressive second-place finish from the St Margaret’s College first eight, as well as the bronze medal finish from Rangi Ruru Girls School, one can hardly look beyond these two crews to take the junior title. The likes of St Margaret’s and Rangi Ruru will likely have their heads turned towards the Levin-Jubilee, the prize for the girls U18 eight at the Maadi Cup.
Predictions
With their previous success in the women’s eight, Avon looks once again to be the strong favourites. However, it would be foolish to discount the Dunstan Arm/University of Canterbury composite crew, as they do bring provincial experience throughout their eight. With school crews unlikely to enter again, I would pick Avon to win the women’s premier eight due to their pedigree in this class and the international experience in the boat.
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