The Men’s Club Eight is typically one of the most challenging events to win at any regatta, seeing as the crews often include seasoned club rowers, as well as talented U17 and U18 rowers from one of the big boat sweep programs littered throughout the North Island. This preview will break down the event into potential entries from different regions.
Auckland
The entries from Auckland will likely account for the majority of the A-final of this event. The form school at the moment for the Club Eight is King’s College, with their mixed crew winning the event by two seconds over the experienced U19 crew from North Shore. King’s College are also the holders of this event from 2025, where their U17 crew won impressively over several other much-favoured crews. While the King’s entry into the Club Eight will likely not be their ‘First Eight’, it will definitely include a mix of rowers who have pushed their way into the ‘Second Eight’, and possibly with some U18’s from the first eight, like we saw happen at the Christmas Regatta. North Shore is another crew to watch for the event, as their fresh look U19 Eight is similarly filled with schoolboy success. Filled with rowers from King’s, St Peter’s, and Westlake, the combination is no stranger to big boat sweep rowing. Just two seconds back on King’s at the Christmas Regatta, the new year’s break will have been a good time for the club to refocus and make adjustments to ensure they gain an edge in the event in 2026. Looking across the field of purely ‘club’ crews, North Shore are for sure my form crew to watch in this event come the NZ Championships later in the year. Auckland Grammar are a crew that did not enter the Club Eight at the Christmas Regatta, but a school that I’m expecting will enter the event for sure. With their squad depth improving and results far stronger as a consequence, I would expect them to enter a mixed eight, like King’s, into the event to maximise big-boat experience for those rowers missing out on the first eight. Auckland Grammar have placed strongly at the early regattas of the season, impressing with their first and second mixed crews. The Club Eight event represents a fantastic opportunity for Grammar to test the waters with a potential second eight combination come the Maadi Cup.
Entries from Auckland will likely account for a large share of the A-final in this year’s Club Eight, as several of the traditional ‘big boat’ schools are experiencing resurgences in their programs. Auckland Grammar in particular has impressed this season in the Eight, and one can hardly look beyond King’s College as an example of squad building in the Eights with what they have managed to achieve since the 23/24 season.
Waikato
Waikato Rowing Club are the one club in New Zealand that you would be wise never to write off. A stronghold for New Zealand elites and juniors, Waikato have one of the most incredible squad depths in the country. Their Eight’s program has been consistently one of the best in the country, and it showed at the Christmas Regatta, being only three seconds behind two of the current fastest club eights in the country. I would expect them to enter a similar, if not the exact same crew for the North Island Championships, as they are typically a club that sticks to crew combinations, especially for the Club event.
Out of the Waikato region, I would also expect an entry from Hamilton Boys High School, despite them not entering the event at the Christmas Regatta. Hamilton Boys need no introduction as the most wildly successful schoolboy sweep program in the whole of the country. An entry from Hamilton Boys would likely see a mix of their U17 and U18 rowers, and there may even be the possibility for two entries from Hamilton Boys in this event. I would not be surprised to see a second eight filled with U16/17/18 rowers as a potential second entry for the Maadi Cup later in the season.
Prediction
I would expect King’s to win the event, seeing as they not only won it last year but proved their strength again at Christmas, beating North Shore and a fast Shore School crew. However, this comes with the caveat that King’s enter a ‘true’ second eight, not one mixed with rowers throughout the squad. North Shore will be close to King’s, and may even topple them, seeing as the Club Eight looks to be a priority boat for the club-grade rowers this season. Auckland Grammar/Hamilton Boys/Waikato will be left to jostle for third place, but I would expect Auckland Grammar to win this particular fight, given their impressive past results.
