With the New Zealand Rowing Championships just around the corner, clubs from across the North Island are taking to Lake Karapiro one last time for the penultimate major event of the season: North Island Rowing Championships. With school teams also thrown into the mix, there could be fierce competition for major finals for this fiercely contested event.
Waikato Rowing Club
This preview would be incomplete without highlighting the squad from Waikato Rowing Club. Its evergrowing pool of talent has seen them filling the top of the table at the end of last year, with highlights including securing a second-place finish in both the senior coxless four and premier pair at KRI Christmas Regatta in December. Rising stars Zach Brownlee and Dylan McConnell recently joined the ranks at Waikato following their extraordinary final season at Hamilton Boys High School, which saw them achieve gold across the U18 events, including the pair, Springbok four and titular Maadi Cup eight. These two have already begun to make their mark in the senior categories, securing silver in the senior pair at last year’s Nationals as well as a fourth-place finish in the senior four alongside Ethan Steyn and William Milne. The pair have continued their successes this season, with recent achievements including finishing as runners-up in the premier pair behind North Shore Rowing Club’s Matt Macdonald and Ollie Maclean. With Brownlee and McConnell representing only a fraction of the club’s talent, Waikato are likely to be key contenders ahead of this weekend.
North Shore Rowing Club
Also pining for those top spots is the squad from North Shore, who are starting the year in a very strong position following their performances at Christmas Regatta. Blake Bradshaw and Brahm Erdmann, and Tadhg Farac and James Brown finished first and third, respectively, in the senior pair before Farac, Bradshaw and Brown combined forces, along with Callum Booth, to also take home the win in the senior coxless four. Such domination in multiple boat categories is no easy feat, and is not to be taken lightly. North Shore will be hoping to build upon their successes at last year’s National Championships in the lead up to the main event. And after finishing two spots shy of a medal in this event last year, the team will be readying for their chance at redemption.
Prediction
It’s important to note that with the addition of school teams, there may be some unexpected entries as the categories adjust for increasing numbers. However, I feel strongly that it would take short of a miracle for these two clubs to be far from the top spots in both the premier and senior events. The promising record of results makes me inclined to pip North Shore ahead of Waikato at this stage, but these squads have had weeks away from competition to put in some serious training hours, so it is certainly possible that the tables may have turned.
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