As the all-important National Championships draw increasingly closer, crews are raring to see how they fare amongst the island’s best at this weekend’s North Island Club Championships. The women’s Club coxed eight has been an exciting and unpredictable category throughout the season, leaving this weekend an exciting opportunity for the athletes to see where they stand ahead of the season finale.
Waikato Diocesan School
No stranger to strong performances on the national stage, Waikato Diocesan School have sat comfortably amongst the top few spots throughout the season in this category. With a strong level of consistency, Waikato Dio began the season with fourth and third-place finishes, respectively, at Memorial Regatta days one and two before again finishing fourth at both Club and Christmas Regattas at Karāpiro later in the season. With only half a second separating them from third-place finishers from North Shore Rowing Club, Waikato Dio are by no means out of the running for the medal positions this weekend. Half of the crew came into this season already with an impressive record, including Charlotte Verry, Elizabeth Robson, Eve Wansbrough and Ruby Murray, who were all part of securing a gold medal for the club at Maadi Regatta last year in the Novice coxed eight category, following a silver only two weeks before at the North Island Secondary School Championships. These athletes now join Camryn Brownlee, Zara Hargreaves, Clover Macdonald, Stella Rayner and coxswain Kiri Ormsby in their hopes of securing another for the collection this weekend in an impressive step up from their previous Novice season.
Cambridge High School
A potentially unlikely wildcard, Cambridge High School have had an inconsistent season. Starting well with a win on Day two of Karāpiro Memorial Regatta, the crew of Olive MacDonald, Dana Fantom, Taylor Ewen, Mackenzie Lawton, Lily Cameron, Cate Kuggeleijn, Pippa Peacocke, and Sienna Ropiha were led by coxswain Maddy Peacocke to a respectable third-place finish at Club Regatta. Unfortunately, the crew ended the year with an unexpected ninth-place finish at Christmas Regatta, so their position going into this regatta is less clear, though the young crew does have a few years of junior national championships, which could prepare them to push for a higher placing potentially.
Whanganui Collegiate Rowing Club
Another crew whose late-season performances sent a shock through the field were Whanganui Collegiate Rowing Club. After not attending Memorial or Club Regattas, the crew surprised with wins in the Club eight at the Christmas Regatta and Open eight at Jury Cup. Led by Alex Pedley, the crew comprised of Eva van der Zouwe, Ottalie Morrah, Ruby Horner, Elizabeth Adrole, Emma Bullock, Alex Dreyer, Sophie Duncan, Alaska Humphrey has proven across these events they can pull out a winning performance when it is needed, a feat they will be keen to replicate in a bid to be crowned a surprising North Island champion team.
Predictions
With the women’s club categories remaining unpredictable, it is almost impossible to be confident in a winner across the various experienced North Island teams. Winners have varied from Hamilton Rowing Club and Epsom Girls Grammar to Whanganui Collegiate, however knowing the likes of Waikato Rowing Club and Waikato Diocesan, they have shown their capability to bring out a winning performance when needed in these major regattas so I will be keen to see how they can fare at this penultimate club event, despite not quite being able to push into the medal spots consistently so far.
