Captain of Rowing, William Milne, reports on the year on the water.

Following in the wake of a very successful 2022 season, which started later due to COVID-19, we decided to experiment and start our new 2023 season in November, a bit later than usual.This meant an extra two months rest for the boys, but also a two-to-three month head start for other schools that were starting their campaigns in August and September. The HBHS squad set off on their first five-day camp at Mangakino in early December, to start building their fitness and technique to prepare for their first regatta of the season, the Christmas Regatta, at Lake Karapiro.

After the regatta, we trained on the river and had the occasional row on Lake Karapiro or Lake Maraetai. Months passed and we found ourselves getting stronger, fitter, faster, and before we knew it we were at the Christmas Regatta. Following that, the squad was disbanded over the holidays to do our intense, individual training before coming back together in early January to complete the infamous 2000 metre erg test.

With the holidays over we completed a 2km erg test. This was a good test to see who had done their holiday training and who hadn't. With erg scores in, it was time to select the crews. Through a number of sets of seat racing taking place over multiple days at our training camp in Mangakino, the senior squads were formed, with the junior squad having their crews selected based on erg scores and coaches estimations. Crews were formed and the first signs of quality rowing shone through. It was time to take on our opponents that had such a head start on us at the first major regattas for the season.

Our next regatta was the North Island Club Championships. This regatta includes rowers from clubs, outside of school ages, making it the greatest challenge of the season at that point. Regardless, the squad proved themselves on the race course and conquered their opponents with the entire programme walking away with five gold and four bronze medals. This was a great achievement for our crews as we had managed to get on the same level as other schools and clubs with much less training. With the last major regattas of the season approaching we once again returned to training, only this time with more determination to prove ourselves burning inside us.

The last training rows for the season are where we kick into overdrive. Rows are longer, more intense and more frequent, coaches expect nothing below the absolute best and most importantly, the goals that we set at the start of the season were creeping up on us. This section of the season would be the decider of whether or not we would be successful at the Maadi Cup.

North Island Secondary Schools was the toughest regatta of the season so far with all of the North Island schools racing. It proved to be very competitive and a good challenge. This was the regatta for the boys to prove that we were on everyone else's level, even after a later start. Over the two days out at Lake Karapiro, our boys were able to race hard and fast. The school had a successful weekend bringing home four gold and one bronze medal. This gave the boys confidence in the lead-up to Maadi and made everyone more eager to do well.

This was followed a few weeks later with the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships (Maadi Cup). This was the last regatta of the season and it was time to show the results of hundreds of dedicated hours of training out on the race course. The first few days of the heats flew by and before we knew it, the two days of finals had come around. We had raced well in the previous days but we knew that both junior and senior competitions were strong. Over the two day period we raced 13 A finals and came away with one gold, one bronze and three silver medals. Our Under 18 Eight fought hard to win the Maadi Cup but were only just beaten by 0.06 of a second in an exciting and nail-biting finish.

This was the end of the season. There were mixed feelings floating around the boys, some were happy and some were disappointed, but considering our circumstances, we had an amazing season and left absolutely everything out there on the course in every race.

I congratulate all of the boys that participated this season and for their unmatched dedication, perseverance and hard work. I would like to give a huge thanks to Mrs Hassall, Mr and Mrs Ross, all of the coaches, all the families that made this season happen and our sponsors; Mainfreight, Lodge Real Estate, The Property Group, Schick Civil Construction, Waikato Ssangyong, Leisurecom, Saronic boats, Black Pearl Fibreglass, Work & Play, Hudson, and the Grassroots Trust. This season would not have been possible without you all.