Columba rowers packed up and drove to Twizel last Friday night for the first regatta of the season - Aoraki 2021. Races are held over 1000m (instead of the usual 2000m) so it was a great place for our beginner rowers to have their first race.

Twenty-three Columba rowers took part in the Aoraki regatta last weekend in Twizel.  This was the first regatta of the season and the first regatta for our novice rowers.  Under the Level 2 guidelines, Columba was designated space in Zone 1 - which meant getting boats on and off the water in the same zone and only catching a glimpse of the crews as they passed the finish line. 

The regatta began with the 50% Novice/Senior fours - Columba came 1st, 3rd and 7th in this race. Thank you to the seniors for being so patient with the novice rowers in this race and well done to the novice rowers for keeping up with the seniors. This was followed up by all of the other crews gaining first-third place in most other races.  Finals day: crews raced over 500m (due to the rough water), then back out to 1000m before being called off just as our senior pairs headed out on the water. 

Well done to all of the rowers on a fabulous weekend.  Your performance on and off the water was fantastic and a reflection of all the hard work you have been putting into your training. Upcoming regattas for this group include the Dunstan regatta and Otago Championships in early December.