The pinnacle of schoolboys’ rowing in the South Island may be a sensitive subject coming towards the ‘business’ end of things. Some may say it’s an unusual year, with many schools having small numbers in their U18 cohorts and filling seats with their faster U17 boys. Nevertheless, racing should be a thrilling spectacle.
Single and Double Sculls
At the South Island Championships, there were no U19 double or single events, possibly due to the lack of entries. However, recent success for Aidan Bennett, the winner of the men’s club single at the New Zealand Rowing Championships, suggests he will be unmatched. Bennett deserves a highlight, no doubt, coming from Marlborough Boys College. He is a likely candidate for the New Zealand U19 team this year and has gone toe-to-toe with both club and senior-grade athletes all season. In my opinion, if he races the single, he will be the one to beat. Alexander Hattrell is another name to watch. The Bayfield High School rower raced the senior single, placing fifth, and the club single, placing second, at South Islands. However, it’s challenging to gauge any double combinations. Likely schools with some sculling repertoire this season have been Wakatipu High School, who has half of their winning U17 double from Maadi 2025, and Timaru Boys High School, doing well in the U17 events this season.
Quadruple Sculls
As mentioned previously, it’s been hard to get a gauge on the sculling events, but Wakatipu High School were our most recent victors in the U19 coxed quad at the South Island Champs (winning by a bowball, mind you). Christ College were the next fastest school crew, though still six seconds behind Wakatipu. But with Wakatipu placing a very similar crew in the U17 quad, who were comfortably beaten by Timaru Boys, they are clearly not clear frontrunners. Timaru have also targeted their U17 four and eight and have the U17 single winner of George Talbot in this crew. But, with a four-boat entry limit at Secondary Schools, Timaru may not be able to take a dash in the U18 quad. Ultimately, we may have to wait until boats hit the water to see who’s present and who’s competitive.
Pairs and Fours
The three sweep schools have been very quiet about their possible pair entries; St Bedes have been the only school confident enough to show their hand. Their combo of Carter Connolly and James Franken won comfortably in the A-final. The two are also U17 rowers and won the U17 four, eight and U19 eight this past regatta, too. Two seconds behind them came the St Andrew’s College entry: Tadhg Molony and Oliver Barker. However, aside from those two contingents, no one else has really shown up. This may leave St Andrew’s with the opportunity to focus their two rowers in this event.
Despite every other school’s best effort, the four title has been as good as taken by the Christchurch Boys High crew of Hugo Parnham, Reuben Fifield, Mathew Behrnes and Charlie Greenslade. Credit is due to these four boys. No one else has come close all season, and the four of them have remained in the crew since December. Back then, they won by a very comfortable seven seconds. But most recently, they only won by three seconds over Christ College in the men’s U19 four at the South Island Champs, suggesting their competitors are slowly closing the gap. Regardless, besides Christs, no one has come close all season, and it seems extremely unlikely they’ll be toppled. Just like the pair, a minuscule amount of fuss has been made in the event.
Coxed Eights
The eight may be a sensitive subject for the schoolboys this season. For the most part, the boys’ sweep events have been mixed results from regatta to regatta, with Christchurch Boys High School, Christ College and St Bedes having shining moments across the season. Evidently, these three are the challengers. Earlier in the season, it looked like a shoo-in for Christchurch Boys. The school, who haven’t won the Maadi Cup since 2019, were the fastest performing boys crew in December’s Otago Championships. But this last regatta devastates any attempt in this streak, as St Bedes snuck in for a win. This St Bedes crew is a fully U17 lineup, and also won that age group eight last regatta. Carter and James are both powerhouses in the crew. Carter, in particular, was one of the oarsmen in the silver-medal-winning U18 eight at Maadi last year.
