Rowing: Huge effort pays off for Westlake Girls

The under-18 girls rowing teams start their race at Lake Pupuke on Saturday. Photo / Dean Purcell

Rowing is again very much flavour of the month after the virtual clean sweep at the Halberg Awards but, as those heading the programme at Westlake GHS can attest, success does not come cheap.

Head coach Anna Stanley watched with justified pride as her charges won the under-18 fours and eights at Saturday's CityWide Engineering-sponsored Head of the Harbour regatta on Lake Pupuke.

It was, for Stanley and the hard-working committee who get the girls on the water, an early return on their huge off-season investment. The two crews raced in new boats - worth around $70,000 - for the first time.

Rowing at WGHS - in a programme mirrored at many other schools around the country - caters for 43 young oarswomen (up from 28 and with 60 as next season's target) and their six coaches.

The rowers pay $2550 in fees (and about another $500 for uniform and associated costs), but this does not cover the budget which comes in at over $200,000.

The Rowing Society, mainly made up of parents, oversees the programme.

The school owns 23 boats of varying sizes and vintages. There would not be much change out of $500,000 to replace them.

The new eight is worth around $40,000. The four cost more than $25,000.

So fundraising and sponsorship play a big part in keeping the rowers afloat.

This season's begging bowl was first passed around at a trivia night last September where 370 supporters dug deep. Also in attendance were Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, who earlier this month were named New Zealand's champion sporting act of the past decade.

Jo Duggan, treasurer of the WGHS Rowing Society, says she is faced with a constant round of funding applications and sponsorship requests.

"Replacing equipment - boats and oars - is an ongoing cost," said Duggan who rowed when she was at Rangitoto College. Her daughter Shanice Duggan-Keefe is captain of the rowing team and the school's head girl.

Like her rowing mates, Shanice lives a disciplined life aimed at further success in her last two regattas before following many schoolboy and schoolgirl rowers into clubs.

With early morning starts - they're on the water by 5.40am - and late-night gym sessions, there is little time to socialise.

A number of the girls have formed friendships with fellow rowers from nearby WBHS with whom they completed the "eights double" at the Head of the Harbour for the first time since 1994.

Dean Flyger, head of sport at WGHS, reckons of all the sports he has been associated with, rowing is the hardest in which to win a medal.

Attention now turns to the North Island SS championships at Lake Karapiro, March 12-14, and the all-important Maadi Cup regatta, at Lake Ruataniwha, March 22-27.

"That will cost each girl $1600," said Duggan. "But it is money that has to be found. It is no different than what other schools are doing. We are just ensuring they have an even chance."

The winning WGHS eight on Saturday were, Teigan Kelly (stroke), Kim Connolly, Jess Douglas, Charlotte Dobier, Siale Mann, Katherine Mead, Duggan-Keefe, Amber Brierly and Sophie Dec Barnes (cox).