Rowing: Ashburton club gets top award

The three-year-old Ashburton Rowing Club has been named New Zealand's Rowing Club of the Year.

Club coach Murray Jackson said he was delighted to hear the news.

The award acknowledged the club's work in pulling resources together to get a clubhouse built and developing its course at Lake Hood.

Canterbury Rowing Association regional manager John Wylie said the Ashburton club was nominated by Canterbury Rowing, and won the award ahead of clubs nominated by the other nine rowing districts around New Zealand.

Club members raised $47,180 over eight months for the building of the club's new shed, and gave about 1500 hours worth of labour to the project.

Wylie said for a club to have come so far just three years after it was first established was a great feat.

To have equipment purchased, the rowing shed built and crews shining through at national level was a massive achievement.

The boys' under-19 coxless pair was first in the Otago championships, the men's club four was first at the Canterbury championships, and the men's under-19 coxed four was third at the national championships.

Canterbury took out two of the three awards handed out at the national meeting, with Christine Moffat of the Timaru Rowing Club named New Zealand's volunteer of the year, and also receiving a Rowing New Zealand service award.

Colin Shields of the Wellington Rowing Association was named administrator of the year.

- nzpa