SPORT Rowing
MiC: Henry Smith Manager: Chris Sellars
families into the shed to have a look around while watching some fun and friendly racing. The club also took the opportunity to run some mixed eight crews with St Margaret’s College. Students from both schools drew names out of a hat and then raced in these crews, prompting fun and laughter as the crews battled for victory and bragging rights. The first major regatta of the season was the Otago Championships. It was the first regatta run under the Covid-19 traffic light system. All athletes were required to have a vaccine pass and each was given a wrist band to show that they had met the competition requirements. As was customary, the regatta was preceded by a week-long training camp in Twizel. This camp was the first opportunity for the coaches to test the boys and determine where they were ranked within the club. To maintain the philosophy of development and accountability, College entered crews in a wide variety of events, including the open men’s classes. This punt from the coaches resulted in excellent racing for the boys. With this regatta falling at the end of a long and very tiring training camp, some results on Sunday did not quite make the mark as some crews were struggling with fatigue. Nevertheless, there were some good performances and the boys left the regatta confident and enthusiastic for the Christmas training period. The Canterbury Championships was the next outing for the crews. As is standard for College rowing, a training camp is held before all major regattas in the school holidays. The January camp proved to be another resounding success, helping to shake the boys out of their holiday
mentality and reawaken their training desire. The boys worked exceedingly hard and were exhausted before we started the racing at the regatta. The results on the Saturday showed that the hard work in the training camp had paid off, with several top results, including a very impressive performance in the final of the open men’s eight when the 1st placed 3rd. The following week, the boys were back in Twizel for the South Island Championships. In the week preceding this regatta, New Zealand was placed into ‘red’ under the Covid-19 traffic light system. As a result, each school and or club was separated from one another and spaced evenly along the length of Lake Ruataniwha. These changes presented a huge change for both the boys and the coaches, but, in true College style, we quickly learnt how to adapt to this new environment and manage this new norm. With all the changes that were happening at this regatta, it was pleasing to see several good performances over the the weekend. Special mention must go to the U15 octuple scull who came 1st in the U15 Octuple Sculls event and the U16 eight, U17 eight and U19 eight, who all recorded close 2nd- place finishes. The U18 1st eight again competed in the open men’s grade. After a 3rd-place finish in the heat, the final was not run because of time constraints so the crew finished 3rd overall – a pleasing return for this crew considering all the upheaval. On a pleasing note, the boys’ performances seemed to do them the world of good as when the club returned to the Kerr’s Reach boatshed, a more focused and determined group of boys arrived ready to train.
Coaches: Tony O’Connor, Malcolm McIntyre, Jimmy Healy, Will Satch, Nathan Luff, Liam O’Leary The 2021–22 rowing season will live long in the minds of those who have been part of it. It was a season filled with new experiences, norms and firsts, as we learnt to live and operate within the new parameters required under Covid-19. That included living in bubbles, restrictions on movements, extended time away in Twizel, and boys being ruled out from racing because of Covid-19. This season had it all. However, more importantly, it should also be remembered for the final race of the season – the race that showed that through perseverance and determination you could overcome everything. Again, the early season focus was taken off winning, and instead placed on development and accountability. With a strong group of U18s, the coaching team aimed to build on the previous season’s experience and integrated the U17s into a senior squad system consisting of both. In each session, the boys were boated in different combinations and these crews were trained side by side to simulate racing conditions. The purpose of this system was to promote healthy competition among the boys, as well as develop a group that was adaptable to rowing in different boats and was very skilled. The racing season began properly in November with the annual Pennant regattas returning to racing at Kerr’s Reach after being raced in Ashburton for the better part of the last decade. This was a welcome opportunity for the club to have its open day and welcome friends and
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Register 2022 Sport
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