a long and very tiring training camp, some of the results on Sunday were not quite what everyone had hoped for as some crews were struggling with fatigue. Nevertheless, good performances were delivered and the boys left the regatta confident and enthusiastic for the Christmas training period. The Canterbury Championships was the next regatta for the crews. As is standard for College rowing, a training camp is held before all major regattas in the school holidays. This January camp proved to be another resounding success as it helped to ‘shake’ the boys out of their holiday mentality and reawaken their training desire. The boys worked exceedingly hard and were well and truly exhausted before we started racing at the regatta. The results achieved from the Saturday showed that the hard work of the boys in the preceding week’s training camp had paid off, with several top results, including very impressive performances in both the U18 boys pair and U18 boys four, with both crews finishing 2nd. The following week, the boys were back in Twizel for the South Island Championships. After the Canterbury Rowing Championships, a week earlier, there was a renewed edge to the training. After a solid week of training, it was pleasing to see several good performances over the weekend. Special mention must go to the U19 four, U19 2-, and U16 eight, who all recorded close 2nd-place finishes. On a pleasing note, the boys’ performances from the weekend seemed to do them the world of good. When the club returned to the Kerr’s Reach boat shed, a more focused and determined group of boys arrived ready to train. The South Island Secondary Schools regatta was the next big target on the regatta radar. It was the first time that the entire boat club had planned to attend a regatta this season, with 90 boys descending on Twizel. College produced several good performances, with five crews winning medals. The U15 octuple sculls again led the way, winning its
final by 6.5sec over a strong crew from Marlborough Boys’ College. Four other medals were won by College crews, with both the U18 four and U16 eight winning silver and the U17 eight and an U18 eight winning bronze. At the completion of this regatta, the 2023 Maadi squad stayed in Twizel to complete the final preparation for the 2023 NZ Secondary Schools Rowing Championships. This camp is a vital part of the College training programme and one that both the boys and coaches look forward to in order to make any finishing touches to our various crews. The 2023 New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, or Maadi Cup regatta for short, will be remembered for a myriad of reasons. From wonderful rowing to winning medals through to the logistical nightmare or transporting 65 people to Cambridge to race. In 2023, there was a return to normal numbers for College, with more than 54 athletes competing at this regatta. The Monday and Tuesday of ‘Maadi Week’ are designated heats days. These days contain a lot of stress, and, at times, tears, with some fields having more than 75 schools entered. Depending on the position a crew finishes in its heat, crews can find themselves eliminated from the regatta. The pressure was on the boys to perform. College’s performances were sound, with all crews progressing directly to the following rounds and several crews moving straight into the semi-finals or A finals. The U18 pair continued to show great promise, going bow ball to bow ball with Cashmere High School for the first half of the 2000m course, before moving away in the second half to win by a comfortable 6sec margin. Next up was the U17 eight. With boys from both the U16 and U17 age groups, this crew was truly in a developmental boat. As this was only the third time the crew had rowed together, the boys found the first 750m exceedingly fast. Having found a good rhythm and length, the crew worked through the field to finish
5th. Next up was the U15 octuple. This crew had been the form setters all season. After a slow start, the young boys found their rhythm and worked steadily through the field, eventually winning comfortably by more than 3sec. The U18 coxed four had been very consistent all season. The crew had high expectations. Unfortunately, the boys could not find their rhythm and try as they might, they could not close the gap to the leaders, finishing 5th. Early on Tuesday, the U16 eight lined up. The crew had progressed steadily all season and today proved to be no exception. The boys blasted out of the blocks, found a good rhythm, and set to work. After 1000m, it proved to be a two-horse race between the College crew and the crew from Christchurch Boys’ High School (CBHS). Unfortunately, as the two crews came to the sprint, the boys could not get past CBHS and had to settle for a very good 2nd place. In the final race of the heats programme, the U18A eight rowed a sound race, finishing 2nd to a very good crew from King’s College. This result was good enough for the crew to progress straight to the A final. It was a very pleasing result for the boys, as they had an inconsistent season and it ensured that College’s 39 years of having an eight race in the Maadi Cup final continued. A very satisfying achievement. As the end of the week drew nearer, the excitement was building. College had qualified 10 crews for finals and nine crews in either A or B finals. This meant that 45 out of the 56 boys were racing for medals or places. It was pleasing to see the way that Max Topham had fought hard all week to make it through to the D final for the U17 1x. The U17 1x had more than 80 participants and athletes were being eliminated from the outset. Max raced wonderfully in both the heats and quarter-finals to earn himself a place in the D final, finishing in a very good 4th place. The first crew up for College during the finals weekend was the U18 2-. The crew flew out of the block and by the halfway mark, it was a two-boat race between College
262
Christ’s College Canterbury
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting