Columba rowers won gold at the recent SISS Rowing Championships and are preparing for the New Zealand Secondary School Championships later this month.

The weekend in Twizel saw one of the most successful South Island Secondary School (SISS) regattas for the Columba rowing squad.

Completed over three days, the SISS regatta is the last major event in the lead-up to Maadi Cup, the pinnacle of school rowing in NZ. Columba completed some exceptional racing, coming away with four gold medals and South Island titles in a range of events.

Columba’s first gold of the regatta was won in the U18 double sculls on Saturday afternoon, as Millie and Briar completed a very well-executed race to earn the title of South Island champions. This was soon followed by the U17 Quadruple sculls combination of Charli,  Bridgette, Jendi Sara, and cox, Isabella.  They stuck to their plan and rowed well in the slightly windy conditions, earning Columba another gold. 

On Sunday morning, the U15 octuple sculls sought to back up their victory at the South Island Club Championships. 

Despite missing a few usual crew members, the octuple won in superb fashion and have set themselves up well for Maadi Cup. This crew consisted of Matilda, Isla, Taylor, Delilah, Georgia,  Emma, Hannah, Alice, and Isabella.  Columba’s final gold came from the U18 Quadruple Sculls crew of Briar, Millie, Jendi, Bridgette,  and Isabella. These girls led from the beginning and did well to hold off other fast crews from Whakatipu, Craighead, and Rangi Ruru.

The rowing squad is now preparing for Maadi Cup in a week, and can’t wait for the season’s final regatta. Thanks to Pen and John for the photographs. 

Bridgette