Coach Kelsey Stubbs in the foreground, with the winning team of novice girls eight and four rowers. Photo / Warren Buckland
A trip to the south has ended in a stunning medal haul for the Hawke's Bay Rowing Club.
The 2022 Rocket Foods New Zealand Rowing Championships were held at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel.
The Hawke's Bay novice girls eight-team were able to nab gold, as were the women's novice four and the senior boys' double sculls team.
The women's novice double and women's intermediate two were able to win a bronze medal each too to round off a successful competition.
Oscar Ruston said he and his rowing partner James Brott had a lot of confidence going into the finals for the senior boy double sculls.
"We had a lot of confidence going into the race because we won our heat in the semis. So we had heaps of confidence and we just took it into the race".
He said he has previously won the under-18s single sculls at the secondary school championship, the Maadi Cup, and has been successful in North Island events.
He is currently attending trials for the U23 New Zealand rowing team.
Hawke's Bay Rowing coach Kelsey Stubbs said the club had to rapidly adapt after the event venue was switched from Lake Karapiro to Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel two weeks out.
"We had two weeks to sort our lives out and get some crews down there."
She said they ended up with a squad of 21 athletes, less than they originally wanted to take due to cost and Covid.
She said Covid restrictions made viewing the races tenser as she couldn't be as close to the action.
"Last year we were able to bike from the 1000m mark to scream at them and watch them as they go down, but now you only get kind of a glimpse of 250 metres maybe of them rowing past you. Otherwise, you are watching the live stream."
She said the national competition was a new level of difficulty up from the cancelled 2022 North Island Championships.
"Nationals are definitely harder, because the South Island crews are just crazy, absolutely mad. It's quite exciting and very nerve-wracking."
She said it was awesome to have the club's novice girls crews win the eight- and four-person categories for the second year in a row.
"Holding that national title is really amazing, to be able to hold that and keep it for two years so far."
The girls who won the title last year went up to the intermediate grade, making this year's squad a brand new set of champions.
She said the South Island stint was a good opportunity for the squads to feel out how the venue would be for the Maadi Cup, if it goes ahead.
The 2022 Aon Maadi Cup will be held at Lake Ruataniwha from March 28 to April 2.
Paunovic moved to Havelock North with her family from Croatia seven years ago.