Whanganui schools battled fiercely and very bravely, but the quality of this prestigious event was
highlighted in our courageous rowers coming away with two silver medals only, both to Wanganui Collegiate girls crews. The Under 16 Girls 8 of Charlotte McKinley, Catherine Pearce, Lydia McLean, Maggie O'Leary-Noyer, Chloe Lennox, Maddie Maclean, Charlotte Rob, Mandy Gundry and coxswain Emma Whight took it to their generally larger opponents in the 8 lane finals field from the start; the only real way smaller rowers can take on bigger crews in my opinion and in perhaps the closest finish of the regatta, lost by only .12 secs on the line, just a tad over what Mahe won by in Rio.
The Collegiate Under 18 Novice Girls Double of Georgia Kerins and Grace Hogan was very similar, swapping a narrow lead down the course a few times in a battle royal with the tenacious Fookes sisters of Rotorua who had won the club novice title in Twizel in mid-February and beaten Kerins and Hogan by less then a second at the North Island champs two weeks prior. The Fookes sisters won the final surge across the line .35 seconds ahead in another nail-biting final for Collegiate.
With the biggest contingent from Whanganui, Collegiate came away from the regatta win 12 credible A finals from its 28 starts, the two silver medals and three close 4th placings.
Whanganui High School, with 13 starts came away with two A finals, three B finals and three C finals.
WHS's Over 15 Lightweight Double of Jonty Thomson and Levi Carroll tried to go out with the favourites and fought hard for their 5th place and the Boys Under 18 Double of Cameron Lawrence and Ben Tijsen-Cox bravely lead out the field and battled late in the race but couldn't quite stay with the pace, finishing 7th in the end.
Niamh Monk, the young under 16 single sculler finished 12th overall, gaining the
same place with her quad mates Zeah Brewer, Jaimee Bridger, Ella Dudley and cox Niamh Mullany and will be the better for it in 2018. Cullinane's best prospects of Kurt Browning and Xavier Mohr did well to gain a Maadi A final and would have learnt from that pressure and experience, although struggled to stay with the hot rating and pace, finishing back in 8th place. Whanganui Girls College and Nga Tawa Diocesan School should have learnt from the Maadi experience but will need the support of their clubs and coaches to do the much needed winter preparation to compete stronger in 2018.
Another step in Whanganui rowing proudly getting our next Rebecca Scown or Chris Harris in the New Zealand rowing team was the announcement that three Collegiate rowers have been offered Under 18 North Island Trials - the talented young Catherine Pearce, He-Mari Simon and Jamie Harris.
Regardless if they make that step this year, they will inspire others and learn significantly
from the experience.
A final observation is the very fine balance, even at a school level, of getting them to the finals in the best shape of their life without over training or racing them. Its not by accident that rowers at the highest international level very rarely compete in more then one event and our very own Rebecca Scown and her partner were the first NZ Olympians ever to race two events at an Olympics in Rio.
A 2000 metre rowing race is among the most physically punishing of sporting endeavours, with the race lasting between 5.5 minutes and 8 minutes, depending on the boat type, with rowers on a tightrope balance to sustain racing at 98-110% VO2max, between 15-20 mmol lactate, which in simple terms is an unbearable burn through the body as compared to a professional marathoner who races at 85-90% and about 4 mmol, but over a much longer time period.
This acidosis simply can't be tolerated too often, without rest and recovery, so that it can be stressed to the same or greater level again and to achieve maximum performance.
I've had a quick survey of a few Maadi rowers and the number of times they raced down the course and a couple of our rowers raced 16 races each, that's 32km over 5 days in 5 different events, one making 4 A Finals and the other 2 A Finals, but neither winning a medal.
In comparison, a top Hamilton Boys High rower, who had his experience coach very worried due to possibly over racing, raced 11 races but still made 4 A finals and won 3 gold and 1 bronze medal.
The most outstanding athlete at the regatta, Veronica Hall of Ashburton raced 13 races but won 4 gold medals and the top two St Andrews rowers, who ultimately won the Maadi Cup raced only 6 races total and won 2 gold and 1 silver medal.
Valuable experience for next years Maadi can be made for the future and the battles raced on the tracks by those leaving school this year will be valuable at many stages in these young people's futures.
With masters rowers off to the Legion Regatta at Lake Karapiro this Sunday in preparation for the 2017 World Masters Rowing events at Lake Karapiro April 24-28, I'll profile them next week.
