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Alice Denyer Drives Waikato Diocesan to Maadi Dominance
Waikato Diocesan. The all-girls school brought home no less than six gold, four silver and one bronze medal – highlighted by victory in the Levin Jubilee Cup, which formed a rousing finale to six exhilarating days of action at Lake Ruataniwha.
In a further illustration of the strength of their performance, Waikato Diocesan amassed 43 points in the Star Trophy to be crowned the leading secondary school at the 2026 Maadi Regatta.
Director of Rowing Alice Denyer was immensely proud of the accomplishments of the 60-strong rowing squad. “It still hasn’t quite sunk in,” she said. “Winning the Star Trophy was never the goal - we were focused on our processes, and the result was a by-product of that. For a school of around 700 students, it’s a remarkable outcome. And it’s not just about those who raced at Maadi, but every member of the squad who helped drive our standards.
“The girls have been incredible to work with. There’s something very special about being in an all-female environment. I feel privileged and empowered to help other young women grow and succeed.”
Since taking on the role of Director of Rowing at the Hamilton-based school in January 2023, the English-raised coach has reinforced a winning culture, building on its proud rowing tradition.
Alice’s personal journey in the sport began aged 10 at Marlow Rowing Club in England. A talented athlete, she won national schools medals, later claimed a European Junior title in the women’s single sculls, and trialled for the GB U23 squad before injury brought her competitive career to a premature end.
She transitioned into coaching at Dulwich College – an all-boys school in London – where she quickly found her passion for developing athletes. “I loved the competitive component of rowing and I missed participating,” she explains. “Rowing gave me the structure I needed to be a better human, and I loved seeing what the sport could do for other kids and giving back. Even today, the backbone of my love of coaching is watching rowers achieve something they never thought possible and seeing them grow into confident human beings.”
In her first year at Dulwich College, she guided their U14 Octuplets crew to gold at the National Schools Championships and later coached Alfie Brown and Patrick Craig who were selected for the GB Junior squad and James Doran, who all went on to represent the senior GB squad.
After seven seasons at Dulwich, Denyer relocated to Auckland in late 2019 with her partner, George, taking up a role at Mt Albert Grammar School. The move presented challenges, with fewer resources and a very different structure, but she embraced the opportunity. Despite operating on limited means, she helped lift the programme’s profile, guiding crews to notable successes, including a first-ever A Final in the girls’ U18 eight at Maadi.
“It is such a warm, culturally diverse, great big behemoth of a school and I loved my time at MAGS,” explains Alice. “The biggest success was improving the fleet and culturally changing how rowing was perceived at the school and getting students who made the First XI hockey and football teams wanting to be part of the rowing squad.”
Attracted by the prospect of working for an all-girls’ school with a rich rowing tradition, and following the birth of her first child, son Barnaby, she started the new position facing a fresh set of challenges.
“Rather than teaching at a co-ed school, I was now at an all-girls’ school,” she said. “We also trained on a very fast-flowing Waikato River rather than a tidal piece of saltwater (the Whau River at MAGS). But I’d never been somewhere where the group was so driven to succeed. There was an unspoken hunger and desire to do their best.
“In other rowing programmes, I always felt it was me pushing performance standards, but here it was the girls showing me the way forward. It was challenging and confronting at the beginning, and I felt a lot of pressure to bring the best version of myself to training every day.”
A self-confessed “rowing nerd” who embraces any opportunity to enhance her rowing knowledge she worked tirelessly to upskill.
Adopting an “athlete-first” coaching philosophy, Alice spent much of her first year at Waikato Diocesan observing the programme. Her biggest learning during this time was the need to better align the novice, U16 and senior squads into one unit and also strengthen ties between the school and Waikato Rowing Club.
Alice identified 2025 as a “momentum shift” for the group, as the school secured three gold and two silver medals at that year’s Maadi Regatta.
Alice celebrating Angalla Carney's success in the single sculls on the podium at last year's Maadi Regatta. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
“We had an awesome group of seniors driving the whole club, working towards some very specific goals,” she adds. “The challenge in 2026 was continuing to work hard while allowing more space to enjoy it, and everyone bought into that from the first camp of the year at Lake Mangakino last October.”
Supported by an outstanding group of coaches led by Rochelle Saunders (novices), Pat Peoples (U16) and Matt Adam, who was instrumental in the success of the seniors during the 2025-26 campaign, Alice also identified Rowing Manager Rebecca Stuart for her pivotal role.
“Rebecca worked tirelessly on the logistics and pastoral care of our girls, and the club’s success would not have happened without her support,” explains Alice.
Waikato Diocesan also claimed a major coup with the introduction of triple Olympic medallist and five-time world champion Kerri Williams to assist with the senior squad.
“Kerri is one of the most humble people I have ever met, and she has this wonderful way of making you feel like an equal, even though she is a rowing goddess! What she does well is translate coaching into feel. Occasionally she hops into a pair or an eight and has this great way of bringing out the best in people. I’m sure it is this, along with her incredible competitiveness, that made her such a successful rower.”
"Rowing Goddess" Kerri Williams far right, pictured with the Waikato Dio Squad. Photo: Dave Mills Photography.
Implementing a “well-balanced” approach to rowing has reaped rewards this year, combining a relentless competitive drive with a more enjoyable team culture. Good-natured banter has been encouraged to build trust and rapport, while the annual “Killerthon” scavenger hunt - featuring a series of challenges in fancy dress - has been another highlight.
Performances throughout the season continued to build, but at the 2026 Maadi Regatta, all expectations were surpassed as the Waikato Diocesan crews not only claimed gold in the Levin Jubilee Cup, but also in the U18 Pair, U17 Coxed Four and Pair, U16 Eight and U15 Eight in a formidable display of depth.
Waikato Dio's Maadi Regatta gold-winning U18 Pair. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
Alice, who gave birth to her second child, daughter Esmé, just days before the North Island Secondary Schools Rowing Championships in early March, added: “At the start of the season, I would never have dreamed we would achieve what we did at Maadi. We wanted to be competitive in the big boats, but everything was a by-product of each squad working tirelessly towards those goals.”
Believing her strengths lie in explaining the technical components of rowing and building strong athlete relationships, Alice does not see 2026 as a full stop for Waikato Diocesan.
“I always want us to try to be better, and the challenge for next season is how we continue to achieve in a more sustainable way,” she said. “There has been a real hunger within our walls to make the green and white proud. What we are always trying to do is leave the rowing suit in a better place than we found it. We might not always end up in the middle of the podium, but I always want us to be part of the conversation.”
Steve Landells
Steve Landells is an experienced communications specialist and sportswriter with more than 25 years' experience. He is currently a proud dad of a rower who competes for St Peter's College, Auckland.
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Alice Denyer Drives Waikato Diocesan to Maadi Dominance
Waikato Diocesan. The all-girls school brought home no less than six gold, four silver and one bronze medal – highlighted by victory in the Levin Jubilee Cup, which formed a rousing finale to six exhilarating days of action at Lake Ruataniwha.
In a further illustration of the strength of their performance, Waikato Diocesan amassed 43 points in the Star Trophy to be crowned the leading secondary school at the 2026 Maadi Regatta.
Director of Rowing Alice Denyer was immensely proud of the accomplishments of the 60-strong rowing squad. “It still hasn’t quite sunk in,” she said. “Winning the Star Trophy was never the goal - we were focused on our processes, and the result was a by-product of that. For a school of around 700 students, it’s a remarkable outcome. And it’s not just about those who raced at Maadi, but every member of the squad who helped drive our standards.
“The girls have been incredible to work with. There’s something very special about being in an all-female environment. I feel privileged and empowered to help other young women grow and succeed.”
Since taking on the role of Director of Rowing at the Hamilton-based school in January 2023, the English-raised coach has reinforced a winning culture, building on its proud rowing tradition.
Alice’s personal journey in the sport began aged 10 at Marlow Rowing Club in England. A talented athlete, she won national schools medals, later claimed a European Junior title in the women’s single sculls, and trialled for the GB U23 squad before injury brought her competitive career to a premature end.
She transitioned into coaching at Dulwich College – an all-boys school in London – where she quickly found her passion for developing athletes. “I loved the competitive component of rowing and I missed participating,” she explains. “Rowing gave me the structure I needed to be a better human, and I loved seeing what the sport could do for other kids and giving back. Even today, the backbone of my love of coaching is watching rowers achieve something they never thought possible and seeing them grow into confident human beings.”
In her first year at Dulwich College, she guided their U14 Octuplets crew to gold at the National Schools Championships and later coached Alfie Brown and Patrick Craig who were selected for the GB Junior squad and James Doran, who all went on to represent the senior GB squad.
After seven seasons at Dulwich, Denyer relocated to Auckland in late 2019 with her partner, George, taking up a role at Mt Albert Grammar School. The move presented challenges, with fewer resources and a very different structure, but she embraced the opportunity. Despite operating on limited means, she helped lift the programme’s profile, guiding crews to notable successes, including a first-ever A Final in the girls’ U18 eight at Maadi.
“It is such a warm, culturally diverse, great big behemoth of a school and I loved my time at MAGS,” explains Alice. “The biggest success was improving the fleet and culturally changing how rowing was perceived at the school and getting students who made the First XI hockey and football teams wanting to be part of the rowing squad.”
Attracted by the prospect of working for an all-girls’ school with a rich rowing tradition, and following the birth of her first child, son Barnaby, she started the new position facing a fresh set of challenges.
“Rather than teaching at a co-ed school, I was now at an all-girls’ school,” she said. “We also trained on a very fast-flowing Waikato River rather than a tidal piece of saltwater (the Whau River at MAGS). But I’d never been somewhere where the group was so driven to succeed. There was an unspoken hunger and desire to do their best.
“In other rowing programmes, I always felt it was me pushing performance standards, but here it was the girls showing me the way forward. It was challenging and confronting at the beginning, and I felt a lot of pressure to bring the best version of myself to training every day.”
A self-confessed “rowing nerd” who embraces any opportunity to enhance her rowing knowledge she worked tirelessly to upskill.
Adopting an “athlete-first” coaching philosophy, Alice spent much of her first year at Waikato Diocesan observing the programme. Her biggest learning during this time was the need to better align the novice, U16 and senior squads into one unit and also strengthen ties between the school and Waikato Rowing Club.
Alice identified 2025 as a “momentum shift” for the group, as the school secured three gold and two silver medals at that year’s Maadi Regatta.
Alice celebrating Angalla Carney's success in the single sculls on the podium at last year's Maadi Regatta. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
“We had an awesome group of seniors driving the whole club, working towards some very specific goals,” she adds. “The challenge in 2026 was continuing to work hard while allowing more space to enjoy it, and everyone bought into that from the first camp of the year at Lake Mangakino last October.”
Supported by an outstanding group of coaches led by Rochelle Saunders (novices), Pat Peoples (U16) and Matt Adam, who was instrumental in the success of the seniors during the 2025-26 campaign, Alice also identified Rowing Manager Rebecca Stuart for her pivotal role.
“Rebecca worked tirelessly on the logistics and pastoral care of our girls, and the club’s success would not have happened without her support,” explains Alice.
Waikato Diocesan also claimed a major coup with the introduction of triple Olympic medallist and five-time world champion Kerri Williams to assist with the senior squad.
“Kerri is one of the most humble people I have ever met, and she has this wonderful way of making you feel like an equal, even though she is a rowing goddess! What she does well is translate coaching into feel. Occasionally she hops into a pair or an eight and has this great way of bringing out the best in people. I’m sure it is this, along with her incredible competitiveness, that made her such a successful rower.”
"Rowing Goddess" Kerri Williams far right, pictured with the Waikato Dio Squad. Photo: Dave Mills Photography.
Implementing a “well-balanced” approach to rowing has reaped rewards this year, combining a relentless competitive drive with a more enjoyable team culture. Good-natured banter has been encouraged to build trust and rapport, while the annual “Killerthon” scavenger hunt - featuring a series of challenges in fancy dress - has been another highlight.
Performances throughout the season continued to build, but at the 2026 Maadi Regatta, all expectations were surpassed as the Waikato Diocesan crews not only claimed gold in the Levin Jubilee Cup, but also in the U18 Pair, U17 Coxed Four and Pair, U16 Eight and U15 Eight in a formidable display of depth.
Waikato Dio's Maadi Regatta gold-winning U18 Pair. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
Alice, who gave birth to her second child, daughter Esmé, just days before the North Island Secondary Schools Rowing Championships in early March, added: “At the start of the season, I would never have dreamed we would achieve what we did at Maadi. We wanted to be competitive in the big boats, but everything was a by-product of each squad working tirelessly towards those goals.”
Believing her strengths lie in explaining the technical components of rowing and building strong athlete relationships, Alice does not see 2026 as a full stop for Waikato Diocesan.
“I always want us to try to be better, and the challenge for next season is how we continue to achieve in a more sustainable way,” she said. “There has been a real hunger within our walls to make the green and white proud. What we are always trying to do is leave the rowing suit in a better place than we found it. We might not always end up in the middle of the podium, but I always want us to be part of the conversation.”
Steve Landells
Steve Landells is an experienced communications specialist and sportswriter with more than 25 years' experience. He is currently a proud dad of a rower who competes for St Peter's College, Auckland.
