As Nationals rapidly approaches, the race for the men’s club quadruple sculls is heating up ahead of the South Island Rowing Championships, with favourites beginning to emerge towards the end of last year, hinting at potential frontrunners ahead of this weekend.
Canterbury Rowing Club
Extending their winning margin at the recent Canterbury Championships, Tim Chapman, Sam Clarke, Liam Collins, and Noa Visser of Canterbury RC continue their winning ways following their Club Coxless Quad victory at the Otago Championships. Clarke, Chapman and Visser were able to secure a silver medal in this event at last year’s South Island Championships, a feat they will be hoping to match or even better this time around. Clarke also joined Visser again at the University Champs, representing Canterbury and Otago Universities, respectively. Clarke had a particularly successful run, securing gold in the intermediate four, quad and single. Both Clarke and Chapman also represented Canterbury at the Mainland Interprovincial Championships, with Chapman managing an impressive feat, not dropping below third position across his five events. With no shortage of experience in the boat, this crew is a common favourite to secure yet another victory in this event.
Dunstan Arm Rowing Club
Hot on the heels of Canterbury are Dunstan Arm RC, whose Dylan Acton, Ben Thompson, Jacob Harrison, and Max Smith one-upped their Otago Championships third-place finish to secure the runner-up position at Canterbury Championships. Despite his novice status, Acton has made a significant contribution to this boat, guided by his teammates’ racing experience. The team already has several Island and National medals to their names, with the most significant contributor being Thompson’s double bronze from the New Zealand Championships across the intermediate coxed quad and double, along with his club coxless quad gold from the South Island Championships last season. Given this crew’s recent performances and Dunstan Arm’s strong sculling reputation, it would be surprising to see this crew slip from medal positions.
Oamaru Rowing Club
Starting strong with a second-place finish at Otago Championships, Patrick Spillane, Stuart Isbister, Ralph Henderson and Kouper Lynch of Oamaru RC were uncharacteristically out of the running at the Canterbury Championships, a performance which is no accurate indication of the strength of this crew. The team has more than enough experience between them and a series of strong results to back them going into this competition. To name a few, Isbister holds onto a bronze medal for last year’s South Island Championships, a testament to his sculling competence in the U18 coxed quad event. Spillane also represented Otago at Mainland Interprovincials, securing second in both the U20 coxless quad and coxed eight, as well as a third-place finish in the U20 double sculls. With no shortage of ability or drive amongst this crew, they will be keen to see where they can look to re-establish themselves in the order of these coxless quads again this weekend.
Prediction
I can say with some certainty that Canterbury are highly likely to be amongst the top contenders for victory in the Coxless Quad event; however, Dunstan Arm have shown consistent improvement, which could put significant pressure on the crew and predict a fierce fight for the title of South Island champion.
