On Friday the 24th March, a squad of 12 excitable young STC men travelled up to Cambridge for the single biggest sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere - the Maadi Cup Regatta. 2,267 athletes from 113 secondary schools were to compete against each other over six days of racing at Lake Karapiro, all in the hope of claiming the most prestigious prize in New Zealand Rowing - a Maadi medal. Not since 2018 had STC managed to attain this most coveted of rewards, but this year proved to be our year. Flynn Grace and Noah Le Quellec, who were the South Island Champions, fought through heats and reps and made it to the A final where they powered through the course in a time of 7:17 to claim the bronze medal in the BU15 Double-Sculls. Glendowie took the gold, while Whakatipu took the silver. A fantastic race to watch, these boys showed true MANAWA spirit and fought to the very end.

The rest of the squad also did the college proud, with some exceptional performances during heats, repechages, and semis. Unfortunately, as it is with any high-stake competition, not everyone can take home a prize. There are only 156 medals at any given Maadi Regatta and with the sheer number of competitors the odds are most definitely not in anyone's favour. Nevertheless, we continued to show that STC is capable of pushing above its weight with most of our crews finishing in commendable positions, considering the size of the events we were entered in. Our results are as follows:

• BU15 2X = 3rd/31 crews
• BU15 4X+ = 8th/37 crews
• BU16 8+ = 9th/14 crews
• BU16 2X = 16th/39 crews
• BU18 1X = 37th/45 crews
• BU18 2X = 34th/37 crews

We finished in 45th place overall (out of 113 schools), tied with Diocesan School for Girls, Hillcrest High School, Hamilton Girls High School, and St John's College (Hamilton). The best placing STC has had in the past is 15th in 2010. We have not made the points table since 2018, so this is an achievement in-of-itself. This Maadi campaign saw us finish in front of schools like Shirley Boys High School and Roncalli College.

The future for STC Rowing continues to shine bright #watchthisspace.