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Recent Rowing Regattas

Aon Junior Rowing Regatta

On Sunday 27 February, the School’s Rowing squad competed in the Aon Junior Regatta at Lake Karapiro against other schools from around the North Island. The squad aimed to work with intensity and precision as they were racing over 2000m for the first time this season.

Conditions were fast, with a strong tailwind throughout the day leading to quick times, and all age groups had to contend with a number of crew changes, with many rowers stepping up to fill the gaps. The junior crews, the Under 15 Octuple and the Under 16 Eight finished second in close racing, with the Novice Four finishing third. The Senior squad’s highlights were the heats of the Under 18 Pair finishing first and the Under 17 Eight coming in third after Westlake and Hamilton Boys High Schools.

The day’s final race was the Under 18 Eight race; they focused on a strong start and then rowed long and aggressive through the middle of the race. However, they were outpaced and finished fourth in a competitive final.

The squad now looks towards maximising training time as they build for the North Islands Secondary Schools Championships in a fortnight and for those who selected the Maadi cup at Lake Ruataniwha in four weeks.

Annual Head of Harbour Regatta

On Saturday 12 February the Auckland Grammar School Rowing Squad competed at the Auckland Secondary School Championships, otherwise known as the Head of Harbour regatta out at Lake Pupuke.

Normally run over one day, this year the regatta was meant to be run over two days due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. The seniors and the Under 18 Novice crews raced on the Saturday and had to manage strong winds and wet weather, which produced poor racing conditions, especially at the start line.

Fortunately, all of Saturday’s racing was completed, but all races on the Sunday (for the junior crews) were postponed due to high winds.

This was the first opportunity to provide racing, even if it was only over a 900m course instead of the normal 2km race. 

This regatta also acted as the inaugural race for the Novice squad, who secured solid results with the Novice Eight winning gold, the Novice Quad winning silver and the Novice Four winning bronze.

The Under 17 squad secured bronze in the Four and silver in the Quad. These results were superseded by what was the highlight of the day – first placing for the Under 17 Eight crew over Westlake Boys’ High School and King’s College.

For the Under 18 squad, the Pairs racing faced rough lake conditions, thus lending a mixture of results and a new-found appreciation for the value of coxswains. The Under 18 Double and Quad had strong results both finishing in second place.

The Under 18 Four crew saw an incredibly hard-fought battle between the First and Second Fours and Mount Albert Grammar School, with the top Grammar Four securing silver behind Mount Albert.

The final race of the day – the Under 18 Eight – was punctuated with a heavy head-wind. Off the start, Mount Albert Grammar School and Westlake Boys’ High School took an early lead, with the lighter-weight and technical Grammar crew struggling with the conditions. Although showing an impressive work-ethic and managing to pull back on the crews in front, the Under 18 Eight were able to secure third place.

Congratulations to the entire crew and to Masters in Charge Mr Campbell Lowe and Ms Marie Gaspar for their continued efforts.