This article was written before the release of the entry draw due to the late release of supplementary entries.
Rounding out the first half of the competitive season, Karāpiro Christmas Regatta is set to be even bigger, with more events and crews to squeeze into the schedule across the four days. There is sure to be no shortage of racing thrills for those enjoying the sun on the banks.
Waikato Rowing Club
It will be no surprise to many readers to see Waikato Rowing Club pinned as front-runners for the weekend ahead. Following an impressive set of national medals at last season’s New Zealand Rowing Championships, and already dominating events taking place in the North Island so far this season, Waikato have firmly proven to their competition that they are even more of a force to be reckoned with. With international representative and national title holders amongst their ranks, such as Tegan O’Dwyer and Isobel Eliadis-Watson, to name only a few, the club is bursting at the seams with talent and grit. Waikato are here, and hungry for wins.
North Shore Rowing Club
After a no-show from the club at the recent Club Regatta, North Shore Rowing Club may be the ones to break the wall of red, yellow and green this weekend. North Shore had a successful previous season in their senior categories – securing fourth in both the senior coxed eight and coxless four at the New Zealand Championships back in February. Having not seen much from North Shore yet this season, we still don’t have a good idea of what this year’s women’s squad has to offer. Spectators and athletes alike will be keen to see how they match up amongst the competition over the weekend ahead.
School Crews
Hoping to challenge themselves amongst the club rowers, we’ve seen an increase in schools placing their crews in the open events. Given their spectacular performance in the Girls’ Under-18 eight at Club Regatta, Baradene College could be a group up for the challenge. Baradene’s top crew, led by coxswain Amelia McNaughton, pulled off a spectacular win against crews from the likes of Westlake Girls’ High School. A repeat of their gutsy performance in this Open category could show just how much speed they have to offer against this field.
Another school crew that would be far from out of place in this event would be Waikato Diocesan School. Not unlike previous years, Waikato Diocesan have started the season strong. A testament to the talent in their squad, their coxless four of Amy Bryant, Kate Slyfield, Victoria Melville, and Alexandra Hull, took the win at Memorial Regatta. Slyfield and Hull then followed up by also being named champions in the coxed eight. After facing the might of Waikato later in the month at Club Regatta, the crew was unable to retain their titles, but did finish in a very respectable fourth position in both events. No doubt this will have only fuelled Waikato Diocesan’s performance ahead of the weekend, and they will be hungry to return victorious.
Predictions
Based on the recent results and sheer dominance of their races, I have to pin Waikato as likely leaders ahead of this weekend; however, for the sake of exciting racing, I am keen to see where the more unexpected crews can fare. Could Baradene continue to surge into the top spots, or will North Shore come through and give Waikato a run for their victorious reign?
