South Island Secondary Schools writes the final chapter before athletes from the North Island ascend on Ruataniwha to finish the book that has been the 2025/26 season. For some athletes, this will be the end of the road, and for others, they will have booked a ticket to the Maadi regatta. For the young athletes I will be covering here, this is their last chance to rewrite the history books and become South Island champions. I will break down this preview of the U18 girls into a few categories to cover athletes across both sweeping and sculling.
Coxed Eights
The Levin Jubilee Cup: what everyone competing in the girls’ U18 eight wants to get their hands on, and a strong performance over this weekend will put you in very good standing. Throughout this season, we have seen crews compete in age-group events alongside premier events. I am sure that the best crews will all be out to play when it comes to finals on Sunday. As is the case most of the time, the U18 eight will be decided by one of the perennial favourites. At the recent South Island Championships, in the U19 eight, the top three comprised Christchurch Girls High, St Andrew’s College and St Margaret’s, with Rangi Ruru also showing what they are made of in the premier eight.
The girls’ U18 eight holds itself as the pinnacle of schoolgirl sweeping in this country, and all of the big crews are out to play in the South Island Secondary School Championships again. St Margaret’s stormed home for the victory, a mere ten seconds ahead of St Andrew’s, who claimed silver. St Margaret’s seems to be doing all things correctly out of the Avon Club, but they must be wary of the might of Rangi Ruru and not count their chickens just yet. Rangi Ruru have chosen to keep their powder dry thus far this season and have been throwing it down with the best of the best in the premier eight. I can see this event at the South Island Championship coming down to a two-horse tango between these two schools. St Margaret’s have a few crew members returning from their Levin Jubilee winning crew of 2025, and this might give them enough to hold off the always fast girls from Rangi. Poppy Blakely is an athlete from St Margaret’s who I think could have a stunning regatta. She sat in the three-seat of St Margaret’s boat last year as a U16, and that experience will be invaluable in the run-in through this regatta and into Maadi. As for the Rangi Ruru athletes, Amelia Jones is the pick of their crop for me. Jones already has experience striking the Rangi U18 eight, leading them to bronze at last year’s Maadi Regatta as a U15 nonetheless. Now, as a U16, Jones sits in the six-seat in both the U16 and U17 coxed eights, as well as the four-seat of the U18 contingent. With more experience comes a seat in the engine room. Along with the bronze in the premier eight, she also seized silver in the U17 eight and claimed gold in the U16 eight to start the year. Jones will be wanting to guarantee this form continues as the South Island Secondary Schools kick into gear. Surely Amelia Jones will be the name on selectors’ lips when it comes to higher honours both this year and beyond.
Fours and Pairs
As the season draws towards its crescendo, crews competing in the girls U18 pair and coxed four will be looking towards lifting the Gary Robertson Cup and the Dawn Cup when the Maadi Regatta comes around. Although the smaller boats when analysing sweeping events, they are just as important and competitive. Like the eight, Rangi Ruru have been targeting the premier events thus far in the season for both the pair and the four. When it comes to South Island Secondary Schools, this will bring a whole new element of competition. At the recent South Island Champs, with no Rangi Ruru, the pair was won by a St Andrew’s crew who were but half a second ahead of St Margaret’s College. The rest of the field was clear of Christchurch Girls High in bronze. The pick of the athletes from the St Andrew’s pair is the stroke seat, Saylor Hedgcock. Hedgcock also featured in the coxed four, and her experience on strokeside for all three U18 events will be invaluable when the school look to glory at these South Island Championships. The Rangi Ruru pair, who finished fourth in the premier event, had Tallulah Nelson in the bow – one of the finest female sweepers in the country. Nelson won multiple medals in U18 events at the 2025 Maadi Regatta and will want to carry that form into this year’s Maadi Regatta. Nelson is a South Island representative, and I can see why. I’m sure she won’t be harming her reputation as this year’s South Island Secondary Schools rolls around.
When it comes to the U18 four, your front runners include St Margaret’s, Rangi and Christchurch Girls High. The crew I have chosen to highlight is the silver medalist from January’s South Island Champs, Cashmere High School. Cashmere are known as a sculling school, and the ladies are showing they can do both in pursuit of the Dawn Cup. Zoe Clarke and Millie Brooks sit in the stern pair of the Cashmere crew, setting the rhythm of this crew up perfectly. Silver medalists in the senior pair, they have eyes only for the podium at this regatta. The four is always one of the most thrilling races, and I am sure that will continue this year. Look out for stripes of Cashmere as the U18 Four makes its way down the track.
Single Sculls
Best female school-age single sculler in the South Island. That’s the title one athlete will walk away with at the conclusion of the weekend’s racing. Researching the event, there were immediately three favourites I saw for this event: Eleri Clare from Cashmere High School, Isla Moffett from Ashburton College and Scout Phiskie from St Margaret’s.
A U16 sculler out of Ashburton, performing well in age groups older than hers, and coached by Justin Wall. We’ve seen it before, haven’t we? In 2016, Veronica Wall did the unthinkable, winning the U16, U17 and U18 singles titles at the Maadi Regatta. Could Isla Moffett do the same ten years on? She won the U16 single last year at the Maadi Regatta, so she could well be on to repeat history here. A silver in the club single, along with gold in the U17 quad and silver in the club quad, saw a very strong start to 2026 for Moffett at the South Island Champs. Standing in her way is the premier single champion from the earlier South Island Champs, Eleri Clare. Clare didn’t just become a premier champion that day; she beat former New Zealand Elite, Shannon Cox, by a whopping ten seconds. The pair later teamed up to win the premier double. Clare is also a member of the aforementioned Cashmere High School U18 coxed four and the U17 single victor at the 2025 Maadi Regatta. Clearly, she possesses quite the pedigree to take her to the New Zealand Junior Quad. The final athlete I have selected as a threat for the podium is the silver medal winner from that U17 Single Maadi Regatta race, Scout Phiskie from St Margaret’s. Phiskie came away from the South Island Champs with bronze in the club single. After being beaten by Clare last year, I’m sure Phiskie will be seeking vengeance when they are again competing for silverware. This event is heating up to be a great battle between some exceptional scullers, so be sure to look out for this one on your day sheets.
Quad and Double Sculls
Time to delve into the larger sculling classes – the girls U18 coxless quad and double. Both feature some excellent athletes and great crews vying for a spot on the podium. The front runner for the quad doubles up from the U18 Four: Cashmere High School. They were commanding winners in the U19 quad at the South Island Champs, with a margin of five seconds. In terms of competitors coming from that event, you’re looking for Otago Girls High School and Columba College. Outside of Cashmere, this could be anyone’s race. Columba were silver medal winners in the U17 four at last year’s Maadi Regatta and have been in inspiring form as scullers this year. A large part of that success is down to Nova Whiston and Anika Leyser, who bookend this crew.
For the U18 double, there are two outstanding crews standing out from the rest. Villa Maria have the combination of India Taylor and Nicola Schoeman returning from an impressive 2024/25 season, while Hillmorton High’s Jaimee Seddon and Rubybelle Ferguson are proving their worth as well. Having not raced each other at the South Island Championships, these two crews will be looking to lock horns when the South Island Secondary Schools kicks off. I am certain this event will not disappoint, with a few more unknown quantities showing what they can do come regatta time.
Predictions
As is always the case, the U18 events will bring a hiss and a roar as they are coming through the 2000m of hurt. Who will be leading into the Maadi Regatta as South Island Champions? And who will be wanting to find redemption? Here are my thoughts on the winners of each event.
Girls U18 Single; Gold – Eleri Clare (Cashmere High School), Silver – Isla Moffett (Asburton College), Bronze – Scout Phiskie (St Margaret’s College)
Girls U18 Double; Gold – Villa Maria College, Silver – Hillmorton High School, Bronze – Columba College
Girls U18 Pair; Gold – St Margaret’s College, Silver – St Andrew’s College, Bronze – Rangi Ruru Girls School
Girls U18 Quad; Gold – Cashmere High School, Silver – Otago Girls, Bronze – Columba College
Girls U18 Four; Gold – St Margaret’s College, Silver – Rangi Ruru Girls School, Bronze – Cashmere High School
Girls U18 Eight; Gold – Rangi Ruru Girls School, Silver – St Margaret’s College, Bronze – St Andrew’s College
