The Maadi Cup is the largest secondary school sporting event in New Zealand, and this year Burnside High School made a splash with their impressive performance.

 The annual event, which took place at Lake Karapiro in Cambridge, saw Burnside High School's rowing team compete against some of the best squads from around the country.

The Burnside rowing squad had a strong showing throughout the competition, with our under-15 girls winning the B final in both the double featuring Mila Wood and Jessica Rankin and the quad featuring Mila Wood, Neela Katene, Jessica Rankin, Olivia Wesley and coxed by Abbie Maye. These results place both boats as the 9th ranked in the country. Additionally, the under-17 girls performed very well in a difficult age group, with their quad, made up of Sam Rankin, Poppy Knight, Olivia Moriarty, Katy Mitchell and cox Abbie Maye, placing a very respectable 6th in the B final. As well as this, both of their doubles also placed very well in their respective B finals. All around the squad, many personal best times were gained. Particularly impressive are those of Morgan Fryer going 8:03.56 in his single, and the under-18 double of Max Wallace and Emmanuel Landon-Lane achieving a 7:23.35; both of which are squad bests for the season.

As well as the rowing, the squad all found it nice to be able to participate in the usual social events and activities between schools and around the lake. These include buying merch, meeting celebrities like Emma Twigg, and participating in the iconic uniform swap and parade. Special mention to novice rower Riley McMorran who got the top score on our generous sponsor Shick Construction’s Virtual Digger Simulator. The whole squad also enjoyed a delicious dinner on the last night, which was a perfect way to wrap up an exhausting week.

The success of Burnside High School's rowing team at the Maadi Cup is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all the students, as well as the support of their new coaches for the season, Molly Meates, Rob Meates, and Phoebe Collier. The team's achievement is also a reflection of Burnside High School's commitment to fostering a culture of excellence and promoting participation in sports and other extracurricular activities.

Rowing is a demanding and challenging sport that requires a great deal of discipline and perseverance. It is inspiring to see the squad rise to the occasion and compete at such a high level. The squad overcame many challenges to get to Maadi this season with a wave of Covid-19 sweeping through the squad only a few weeks prior, which prevented several members from travelling. Regardless of this, the entire squad could feel the overwhelming support from back home as well as from the many families who made the journey up to Cambridge.

Congratulations to the whole squad on their outstanding performance at the Maadi Cup and we look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future including those seniors who have raced their last race for Burnside (Emmanuel Landon-Lane, Katy Mitchell, Sam Rankin, Lottie Carey and Max Wallace) but will hopefully continue rowing for a club or University next season. And we’re always looking for more keen rowers so we encourage you to come along to our give-it-a-go day before the next season in Term 3 and give the best sport in the world a try!

Thanks again to all the parents, coaches, teachers, and supporters for everything they have done this season and we’ll see you all again next season.