On 16th March, 19 rowers and 4 coxswains travelled from Hamilton to Twizel to compete in the 2024 AON Maadi Regatta, NZ’s largest rowing regatta and the National Championships for school rowing.

With racing due to start on Monday, the rowers spent the weekend getting out onto the beautiful Lake Ruataniwha for some practice in their different boats and some group run sessions to ensure they were acclimatising to the drier alpine air.

Monday’s race schedule saw seven HGHS crews take to the water. The U17 Coxed 4, Amelia Kepa in the U16 Single and the second U17 quad all finished fourth in their heats and went through to the repechage races. The Novice 8 finished third in their heat and also went through to the repechage. Bella McCarthy came 6th in her U17 singles race, an impressive performance with singles racing being a new experience for her. The first U17 Quad went straight through to the semi-finals after finishing second in their heat, but the performance of the day came from the U15 Coxed 4 who comfortably won their heat and went straight through to the semi-finals.

Tuesday was a big day of racing, some girls had three races. HGHS started the day off strong with the U15 Coxed 8 straight through to the A final after coming 2nd in their race. Both the U17 Doubles and the Novice 4 narrowly missed out on the A final but went through to the repechage later in the week. In the last few races of the day the U17 4 qualified for the B final, the U16 Single went through to the semi-finals, the Novice 8 made it to the finals and we had our first and only knockout of the day for the U17 Quad.

Wednesday and Thursday were quieter days but saw more success on the water. On Wednesday, the U15 4 qualified for the B final and the U16 Double and both U17 Doubles secured a place in the semi-finals. Thursday was the day of the doubles. The two HGHS U17 Doubles went head-to-head in the semi-final with both crews securing places in the B final. The U16 Double also qualified for the B final in their race.

Friday saw the start of finals; HGHS had two boats in A finals and three in B finals. First up was the U17 Coxed 4 in their B final finishing in 6th place, and Amelia Kepa recorded 7th place in her B final in the U16 Single. The Novice 8 raced out of their skins in the A final finishing in 5th place with a huge PB of 7:11:46 making them the top North Island school. After placing second in the B final, the U17 Coxed Quad secured a national top 10 position. In the final race of Friday’s schedule for HGHS, the U15 Four finished an agonising 4th place in their A final, just missing out on a medal.

HGHS had five crews involved on the final race day, one in an A final, four in B finals. Our U15 Eight finished in 8th place in their A final, our two U17 Doubles crews finished 4th and 6th respectively in the B final and our Novice Coxed 4 and U16 Double finished in 6th place in the B final.

Congratulations to all the girls who took part in a big week of racing and conducted themselves so well when representing HGHS, either on the water or in public spaces. A huge thank you to our house parents and coaches who travelled with the team - cooking, transporting, doing washing, supporting and looking after our athletes. Thanks also to the army of supporters who kept us well supplied with baking and cheered loudly from the riverbanks. Special mention to Pylat Senior, Zoe Middlemiss and Sophia Todd who rowed their final races for HGHS at the Maadi Regatta, thank you for your contribution to our sport.