On Sunday 26 March, 21 students headed to Lake Ruger for the South Island Secondary Schools’ Dragon Boating regatta.

The crew was a mix of year groups and experience, and for two rowers it was their first time in the boat.

We competed in three different events; a 1km time trial with three turns, a 500m sprint and a 200m sprint. The competition was fierce and there was more paddling involved than we had experienced in all of our trainings put together. Despite the sore muscles and tiredness, the team kept giving 100% in every race and twice we came within one second of the Rangiora boat. 

As always, the students were positive representatives of Kaiapoi High School, with positive attitudes, sportsmanship and smiles.  We were also grateful to have so much family support to cheer us on.  We had a great day out and all enjoyed the experience, finishing 5th in all three of our events.

The crew would like to thank Reon Tiweka for his coaching and for being an outstanding sweep, and Hayley Newton for all of her organisation, both behind the scenes and on the day.