The Girls’ U18 Eight is typically dominated by South Island schools, as evidenced by the previous six Maadi Cups, which have been won by schools from this half of New Zealand. The older girl’s eights in 2025’s Maadi Regatta had Rangi Ruru as the winners of the Girls U17 Eight and St Margaret’s College as the Girls U18 Eight winners in the Levin Jubilee Cup. However, this season has been short, giving little to gauge the early contenders. As this year’s regattas take shape, the Christmas regatta will likely feature all the big girls’ schools, such as Auckland Diocesan School for Girls, Baradene College, Epsom Girls Grammar and Waikato Diocesan School for Girls. This assumption is based mainly on the Girls U17 eight from last Maadi Regatta. However, before examining the previous year’s results, the use of ‘row downs’ should be considered, as these may indicate athletes missing from this year’s feature. Many of these athletes row their final years of school as U17s, being young for their year group, as they are born in the early months of the year (January, February, March, and in some cases, April).
Epsom Girls Grammar
One of the leading contenders from the 2025 Secondary School Nationals, as a squad that produced a silver medal in the Girls U17 Eight at the Maadi Regatta, a specific retention of pedigree will be expected. Unfortunately, many of the crew have not returned this season, as they were ‘row downs’ who were in their last year of school in 2025. And while numbers remain high, Epsom has never won the Jubilee Cup; they last came close in 2019, finishing fourth in the event. Looking at Epsom this season, they have raced the Women’s Club Eight at the Memorial Regatta, placing first. But the squad has had little comparison against other schools so far. With several large girls’ schools having a legacy in the U18 Eights, it’s time for a strong school like Epsom to take charge.
Waikato Diocesan School
Things are looking promising for this Hamilton-based school, which rounded out its 2025 school season with a second place in the Jubilee Cup. This result brought the school close to its fourth Levin Jubilee Cup win, a feat only two other schools have accomplished: Rangi Ruru and St Margaret’s. Waikato Diocesan last won the event in 2014, but has come close several times; however, things may be different this year as newly appointed head coach Matt Adam takes the reins of the squad, a name that should be widely recognised. Matt coached the triumphant Jubilee Cup crew at St Margaret’s in 2025, going on to lead the U19 women’s Four campaign to Lithuania. Success is undeniable for the school this season. However, as mentioned, results are hard to predict this far into the season. The school has gone against the Waikato Rowing Club in the Women’s Open Eights, finishing more than 30 seconds off the leading crew. However, rowers Amy Bryant and Kate Slyfield had a competitive race in the Women’s Open Pair, finishing only seconds behind Rowing New Zealand athletes in the performance hub.
Auckland Diocesan School for Girls
Another school well familiar with winning the Levin Jubilee Cup, a feat they last achieved consecutively in the 2016 and 2017 Maadi Regattas. With the last season’s performance in mind, the school was able to recapture some of its strength in numbers, producing a U17 team that placed fourth and fifth in the U18 girls’ eight race. And momentum appears to be on the ‘up’ for the squad, as recent results indicate favour as they beat the Epsom Girls crew at a more informal regatta, the Mercer Club Regatta. Despite this, little is known about how they compare to rival schools outside of the Auckland circuit. Namely, Waikato Diocesan.
Predictions
It looks to be Auckland’s year, with several strong schools reemerging for their Jubilee Cup wager. While they finished 2025 with no podium in the Eight, having four seconds off a third-place podium finish, in the U17 Eight, Diocesan, retaining much of their crew, has the numbers. Strength is created from squad depth, a trait they also demonstrated in the prior season. The misplaced hope from missing the podium could also be the shifting determination to regain their success. Establishing an early flair in the Firls’ Eight is the confidence any crew should need in such an unpredictable event.
