With a smaller field than the men’s senior single, the competition will be fiercer within the group for the coveted title of fastest senior single sculler. Interestingly, half of the field this year is made up of the defending champions and powerhouse of the North Island, Waikato Rowing Club. Boasting a vast eight entries in this event into a field of 16, Waikato have stacked their 2025 hand.
An extremely competitive event at the top level of club sculling, competition will be faster and fiercer than most. Among the 16 scullers, three stand out in particular: Olivia Key, Charlize Tutbury, and Naomi Robertson.
Olivia Key
Exclusively racing at the open and premier grade so far this season, we have yet to see Key contest with the other senior single members. Placing third in the A-final of the women’s premier single at the South Island Rowing Championships behind Olympian Shannon Cox and New Zealand trans-Tasman representative Madison Neale, Key has already made a name for herself as worthy of racing amongst the best of New Zealand scullers in the premier grade. Exclusively racing the premier single at the South Island Championships, Key and her coaching team have eyed up one event to try and win – the women’s senior single. Key has already enjoyed success from her junior days, having won a bronze medal in the highly competitive U18 double. She was also a silver medallist in the premier quad, senior quad plus double at the 2024 New Zealand Rowing Championships so there is no doubt that Key brings a ferocious level of racing to her crew boats. Competing for the first time in a single at the New Zealand Rowing Championships, she will be looking to claim gold, a colour which has proved elusive at previous Nationals Championships.
Charlize Tutbury
The North Island champion in the women’s senior single, Tutbury is one of the more experienced scullers on show this week. Representing New Zealand in the U21 Trans-Tasman team against Australia, Tutbury brings international experience which many others may not have. As well as being the North Island champion in the senior single, Tutbury is also champion in the open eight and senior quad. Interestingly, Tutbury is listed as Waikato 4 on the programme. Provincial representative for Waikato, Tutbury has claimed first place in the Inter-provincial regattas against the top athletes of each province in a mix of sweeping and sculling events. Tutbury managed to make the B-final of the women’s premier single at the North Island Championships which shows the serious speed that she brings to the competition. However, this should be taken with a pinch of salt, as Tutbury has already proved herself in the North Island, and will be looking to take a consecutive win for the Waikato Rowing Club
Naomi Robertson
Champion of the South Island in the senior single, Robertson has cemented herself as one to watch this week as she looks to top the podium once again. Robertson has interestingly only raced in the single once this season, at the South Island Championships a few weeks ago; her season so far has been focused on other boat classes such as the quad, where she placed first at the Marlborough Championships. A member of the New Zealand U19 Coastal Rowing team, Robertson already has international experience although not in the typical sense of calm flat waters. Last season, Robertson’s season was more sweep-focused, as she took home a silver in the club eight and a bronze in the club coxless four at the New Zealand Rowing Championships. Robertson has had a meteoric rise, having risen from a novice in 2023 to compete for the women’s senior single champion title this week.
Predictions
While this event is significantly more difficult to predict than the larger crew boats, Key will likely take the win this week. She already has experience winning nationally, and her races in the premier single help back that up. Second and third will be a close-fought battle, and it is likely that one of the Waikato scullers not mentioned in this article will come into contention for a podium position, as their huge entry makes it unlikely that they won’t place exceptionally well.
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