The Women’s Senior Singles will be the first opportunity to gauge who’s who in the event, come Nationals. Up to this point in the North Island racing, we have only seen a preview of who may be a competitor at nationals. The last regatta many of these athletes would’ve rowed at would have been the Christmas Regatta, where a handful of Senior graded athletes were scattered across the Women’s Open Single and the Women’s premier single (where they raced athletes from RNZ and the development squad).
Waikato Rowing Club: Angalla Carney
A few notable entries come from Waikato Rowing Club. Famed single sculler from last year’s Maadi cup, winning the Girls U18 Single and then landing a spot in the Women’s Junior Quad at the U19 World Rowing Championships, Angalla Carney will be floating in the mix. Carney has already been in the single this season, racing the Premier Single at the Karapiro Christmas Regatta.
West End Rowing Club: Holly Chaafe
A rower with experience, Holly Chaafe, who started her novice year back in 2015/16, is no stranger to success in a single. With several Maadi medals in the boat – winning Club and U22 gold in the single in 2024, she is no doubt hungry for a Senior Single win. While Chaafe comes out of West End, a relatively small club, she has started this season with momentum, placing first in the B-final of the Premier Single at the Christmas Regatta and fastest behind the Rowing New Zealand and Development athletes.
Clifton Rowing Club: Isla Robinson
Isla, coming from Clifton Rowing Club in Whanganui, is a new rower in the singles circuit. Having had her Novice season in 2023/24, she has already progressed to a senior athlete in a short time, formerly at the University of Canterbury, and now a student at Southern Methodist University. While she may be absent from this regatta and back in the States, she’s already created a stir in the single circuit.
Porirua Rowing Club: Constance Stirling
Reprising her school success, Constance Stirling is a former Central RPC rower (the development program for high-performing athletes, disbanded in 2021). Alongside this, she has claimed multiple Maadi medals in her school career. Stirling’s last New Zealand Nationals was in 2019, as she has been in America at the University of Miami in the meantime. While Constance comes from a smaller club, Porirua Rowing Club from Wellington, her focus will remain on the single, come the business end of the season.
Waikato Rowing Club: Tegan O’Dwyer
Similar to Chaafe, Tegan O’Dwyer has already taken a whack at the Premier Single in this last regatta. Placing behind Chaafe and second fastest behind the New Zealand rowers, O’Dwyer has a breadth of results, including a red coat and a U18 Single bronze at her last Maadi. Alongside fellow Waikato Rowing Club Sculler Angalla Carney, it will all be dependent on what the club decides to boat, as both rowers are prominent forces in the eights and quads.
Notable Mentions
Waikato Rowing Club’s Amelia Barrel, a former U23 New Zealand rower, has already raced the single, placing third in the Women’s Open Single at the Christmas regatta. Maeve Lockett, another sculler from North Shore Rowing Club, placed fourth behind Robinson, Stirling and Barrel at the Christmas Regatta.
Predictions
While many of the aforementioned Women’s scullers raced between the Open Single and the Premier Single, all are eligible to race in the Senior category come North Island Rowing Champs. It is early days, no doubt, but with the momentum and American racing wisdom, Constance Stirling is my pick going forward, with many of the larger club athletes from Waikato or North Shore wrapped up in the larger boats in their programs. Additionally, with any Rowing New Zealand team aspirations, a successful single scull will be mandatory. Whatever happens, there will be high levels of contention and an eager set of heats to get out as the fastest sculler.
