Record turnout of rowers expected for 2024 Billy Webb Challenge in Whanganui

Rowers will compete on the Whanganui River on Sunday in the 2024 Billy Webb Challenge. Photo / NZME

A record 50 boats will hit the Whanganui River on Sunday for the 2024 Rigtec Billy Webb Challenge.

This was the event’s highest boat turnout to date, said former New Zealand rowing world champion Philippa Baker-Hogan, who took over as event manager last year.

Baker-Hogan said it would be “quite a sight”.

The event will start and finish adjacent to the Union Boat Club, near the Paddle Steamer Waimarie launch area, on Sunday, January 21, starting at 11am.

Attracting plenty of local interest, the race is part of Property Brokers Whanganui Vintage Weekend and also falls on Wellington Anniversary Weekend.

The event commemorates New Zealand’s first professional single sculling world champion William “Billy” Webb’s defence of his world title on the Whanganui River in 1908, before 25,000 spectators.

Former New Zealand rowing world champion and Rowing NZ’s international pathway lead Fiona Bourke will attend, along with Rigtec Engineering owner Mark Webb.

Having become the event’s primary sponsor in 2020, it is Mark Webb’s second time in attendance. Covid-19 restrictions made international travel impossible while being based in Holland, he said. The 2022 Billy Webb was also cancelled due to the virus.

In 2018, Mark Webb bought Rigtec Engineering, a professional rowing equipment fabrication company, not realising he was Billy Webb’s great-nephew.

“I was reading All Sports Magazine one day and I saw an advert for the Billy Webb Challenge in there. I knew we had a rower in the family so I followed it up with Heather Powell, who takes part in running the event and she does all the family tree and things like that. From that, we worked out that I was a direct descendant of Billy Webb,” he said.

Mark has the commercial rights to Billy Webb’s name and owns the trademark to protect it for his family.

“On a personal level, it is very nice as a family member to have Billy Webb as someone for me to look up to, and it is really nice to support the event for rowing and New Zealand,” he said.

Young rowers will compete for the new Mahe Drysdale Junior Trophy, named after New Zealand’s double Olympic men’s single scull gold medallist and five-time world champion. The trophy will be awarded to the top prognostic U18 female or male.

With prognostic rowing, anyone had a chance to take on some really fast rowers, Baker-Hogan said.

“You could have an Olympic champion and a novice rower competing in the same race and, based on their projected time, the novice rower could beat the Olympic champion.”

Baker-Hogan said there would be a high standard of men’s, women’s and junior rowing this weekend with “good competition” for all three trophies.

Next year, Baker-Hogan expects to get “elite rock-New Zealand-rollers” and internationals to attend the event with the support of Rowing New Zealand.

“Really keen to build this to get over 100 boats on the water in the next couple of years,” she said.

To enter or find out more about the event, head to https://billywebbchallenge.co.nz/.

Entries close on Thursday, January 18, at 5pm.