Cover image: @rowing.pictureshow on Instagram
With less than two weeks until the highly anticipated return to Lake Ruataniwha for Maadi Regatta and the season finale, tensions ran high as crews took to the water under dark clouds and heavy rain for NISS
Perhaps pathetic fallacy was at play at Lake Kārapiro for the dramatic racing that would take place across the fours and eights events. Roaring crowds and crews leaving it all on the line was truly a sight to be seen.
Coxed Fours
Dominating the field, Hamilton Boys’ High School took home three of the five available gold medals at U15, U16 and U18 level, with their U17 squad slipping down to fourth behind Sacred Heart College, Auckland, who took bronze. Ahead of them, St Kentigern College and Westlake Boys High School securing silver and gold respectively.
A nail-biting U17 final concluded Westlake Boys’ cox Wigglewsworth calling a move that saw the crew surge ahead of St Kents only three strokes before the finish line.
King’s College also secured their share of decoration, taking home silver in the U15 and U16 boys finals, whilst Cambridge High School scored both the gold and silver in the women’s Novice race alongside a championship title in the U15 event.
Other notable performances include Westlake Girls High School who took home a colourful haul with a gold for their U16s, a silver in the U18 final and a bronze at U17 level.
Eights
Commanding performances from Waikato Diocesan School saw them sweep up gold in the U15, U16 and U18 girls finals. Epsom Girls Grammar School cleaned up the majority of the remaining medals with consistent, patient and powerful performances securing their silver in the U15 and U17 eights, as well as bronze in the U16 and Novice events.
Thrilling nose-to-nose battles in the boys races concluded with Westlake Boys, Hamilton Boys and King’s College collecting the majority of medals. Hamilton Boys’ U15 and U18 boats took home gold, whilst their U16 and U17s had to settle for bronze. Westlake Boys secured silver across the U15, U16 and U17 finals, as King’s College captured a bronze at U15 level and gold in the novice and U16 finals.
A stunning finish from St Peter’s in the U17 final brought a striking end to a long-fought tussle with Westlake Boys, with only half a second separating the two crews at the finish line.
Livestream footage of the racing at North and South Island Secondary School Championships is available at rowinghub.co.nz/livestream.
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