Brand new outfits for outstanding efforts
A whole new set of Red Coats get handed out on the final day of racing at Ruataniwha.
There were six Red Coats lined up on coathangers on the dais. But even that many weren’t enough to supply the newest members of New Zealand rowing’s prestigious club.
Avon had just won the Men’s Premier Eight, seven of the crew winning the treasured jacket for the first time.
The scenes of camaraderie were special.
There were similar celebrations in the Waikato Women’s Eight that held off an Avon draft selection to claim the title.
Four of that crew, Tessa White Parsons, Tegan O’Dwyer, Isabel Melville and cox Oliver Duncan were about to receive their Red Coats for the first time as well.
It wasn’t Sam Voss’ first, but it could well be her last.
“Just needing a bit of a reset...I might take a bit of time away.”
She was holding back tears.
“I love this sport, it’s been everything to me for so long now, I’m never going to let it go but it’s just time to take a seat somewhere else on the other side of it.”
For 6m 59.55sec she held up the bow seat to beat an Avon draft selection by just under a length.
Waikato's Premier Women's Eight, four new Red Coats and a day to remember forever. Picture: Sharron Bennett Photography
In the men’s race, the club crews shut the draft boats out of the medals completely, Avon #1 home in 6.16.20, Waikato second in 6.19.35 and the Avon #2 crew crossing in 6.23.87.
Waikato and Dunstan Arm shut the draft crews out of the top two medals in the Men’s Premier Quad but the draft selections were too strong in the Women’s Premier Quad, with the Ashburton combination taking the title home to Lake Hood.
Ben Taylor, Oliver Welch, Flynn Watson and Zach Rumble made it two in a row in the Men’s Four, retaining the Boss Rooster.
Oliver Welch, Zach Rumble, Flynn Watson and Ben Taylor with their second coat of Avon-coloured paint on the Boss Rooster trophy. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
Avon, again and again
Avon’s dominance of the sweep events in the Senior grade is unquestionable.
Women’s Eight: Gold.
Men’s Eight: Gold, silver.
Women’s Four: Gold, bronze.
Men’s Four: Gold, silver.
Women’s Pair: Gold, silver
Men’s Pair: Bronze.
Wait, what?
Well yes, North Shore got up in a traffic-jam finish to take that title. Blake Bradshaw and Ethan Blight spent their college years at University of Washington. They are proud Huskies. They’re also proud North Shore rowers, with Ethan having to make a big sacrifice to make their combination work.
“ I offered to switch sides, to my detriment,” said Ethan. “My God, it was hard. [But Blake] made my life swapping to stroke side after ten years of bow side as seamless as it could be. Proud to do it for North Shore, it’s been a long time coming. I swapped to Shore back in 2020 from St Kents and yeah, it's a privilege to row for the club...always very grateful to put on the Swan, especially in the 151st year.”
Blake Bradshaw put two swans on in the same day, once with North Shore and a second time to win the School of Origin race in a Westlake Boys rowsuit.
Blake Bradshaw and Ethan Blight held off a fast-charging pack to win the Men’s Senior Pair. Photo: Sharron Bennett
Purple Haze
Cure had an exceptional regatta, and nothing underlined that more than victory for their Women’s Intermediate Eight. To borrow a line from the commentary: The Purple Haze.
The Purple Haze hurtled down the track in 7.06.19, 22 seconds up on the rest of the field.
Coxswain Annabelle Scott reckons she was in tears with 500m to go.
“It’s been a very turbulent season with injuries and then at the start of the week we weren’t sure if we were going to get to row [it] because we’ve got seven Inty girls, but Montana from Auckland has kindly stepped in so we could race.”
Montana is Montana Maaelopa, out of St Kentigern College and heading to Ohio State University.
Cure were uncatchable in the final of the Intermediate Women’s Eight. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Kapai Waihopai
We mentioned Waihopai at the beginning of the week. They had high hopes for young sculler Charlotte Klein after she won the Intermediate Single at South Islands. Charlotte had a tough row in the semifinals and didn’t make the A Final. But her doubles partner Caitlin Whitaker did. She went on to win in 9.44.83.
Coach Scott Cundall was walking down the road in the boat park with a big smile on his face.
He was sure it was the club’s first medal at the New Zealand Championships in over 10 years.
Waihopai is the second southernmost rowing club in New Zealand, Awarua Rowing Club in Bluff is the Southernmost club. Five metres north of Waihopai is the third southernmost rowing club in New Zealand. That’s Invercargill. Their sculler Mia Brown just missed out on the final too. Maybe next year.
Caitlin Whitaker, who is studying at University of Canterbury, brought home Waihopai’s first national medal in more than a decade in the Intermediate Single. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
A shout out to the volunteers
He calls her “the Minder.”
She says she’s “his Mentor”.
Although what are you going to teach a man of 101 years old?
Chris Longbottom ( “only my enemies call me Christine”) has been living in Twizel for 30 years, after coming to the town in the 1990s to teach at the local high school.
Fred Strachan is a more recent arrival. He’s been here for just 20 years.
Given the 10-year advantage she holds over Fred as a local, and of course having a teaching qualification, Chris is both Mentor and Minder.
“I applied for a couple of jobs and the Twizel one came up...I was offered a job over the phone without having to have an interview. I jumped into it really quickly because I don't do interviews.”
Yes, Chris, is a bit reluctant about being interviewed. She’s not overly keen on volunteering her life story, even when I say the reason I want to talk to her is because she is a volunteer - one of the army of people that have kept this regatta running all week.
Life in Twizel has suited Chris perfectly.
“By the time I'd been here a year, I realised that I love mountain biking, kayaking, tramping, skiing. Everything I loved was here.
“And then I got into rowing with Ness McIver!”
Ness is Twizel born and bred. She can still taste the dust and diesel from when the town was the hub for one of the biggest earthmoving projects in the world – the Upper Waitaki Hydro scheme.
The progression from rower to volunteer can be a little bit like a frog sitting in a slow-boiling pot.
“Ness and I rowed a few years together, from Blenheim to Invercargill, and then we started coaching the school kids and then went to coaching Masters which we still do now,” says Chris.
And as her engagement with the sport grew, so did the volunteering.
She’s done heaps for Twizel Rowing Club, especially with its new crop of kids from the high school. There’s lots of work to be found in the local community and beyond. Some fancy, like staffing the Salmon and Wine festival, some not so pretty like picking up all the rubbish at the Summer Sounds event on New Year’s Eve.
She’s honoured that Fred was able to be at the naming of the club’s new boat recently. Although she nearly forgot to mention it’s called the Chris Longbottom.
Chris and Fred get on like a house on fire, mostly.
“He actually taught me to row a single, which was interesting, we had a few arguments and then been friends ever since.”
“Now that he's got to almost 102...I get him on and off his scooter down to rowing, do his gardening and just make sure he's okay.”
Keeping Fred connected to the home of South Island rowing is important.
“Even though he can't see the races, he does listen to the commentary, and of course he knows so many people...he meets up with his friends here,” says Chris.
There’s just one problem. His scooter keeps breaking down. If there’s something Minder Mentor would love to do for Fred it would be this:
“We'd make sure he had a decent scooter so that first of all he's safe and two, we don't have to keep an eye on him all the time. He needs a robust scooter...good tyres, good motor. Something reliable for his safety and his enjoyment.”
Maybe we need another volunteer to help Fred Strachan get the scooter he needs. After all, he himself has been a great Minder and Mentor to rowing.
Chris (top right) with Fred. Good arguments, good banter, great mates.
Major National Club Awards:
Centennial Oar (overall champion club) : Waikato Rowing Club
Centennial Scull: Waikato Rowing Club
Hallyburton Johnstone Rose Bowl: Canterbury Rowing Association
Accolades
Rowing New Zealand announced its annual list of awards at the end of the regatta.
Female of the Year – Lucy Spoors & Brooke Francis (Gold W2x – Paris Olympics)
Male of the Year – Logan Ullrich – (Silver M4- Paris Olympics, Winner Xmas Regatta single)
Coach of the Year – James Coote – (W2x Gold Paris Olympics)
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He coxed New Zealand's world champion eight in 1982 and '83.
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Brand new outfits for outstanding efforts
A whole new set of Red Coats get handed out on the final day of racing at Ruataniwha.
There were six Red Coats lined up on coathangers on the dais. But even that many weren’t enough to supply the newest members of New Zealand rowing’s prestigious club.
Avon had just won the Men’s Premier Eight, seven of the crew winning the treasured jacket for the first time.
The scenes of camaraderie were special.
There were similar celebrations in the Waikato Women’s Eight that held off an Avon draft selection to claim the title.
Four of that crew, Tessa White Parsons, Tegan O’Dwyer, Isabel Melville and cox Oliver Duncan were about to receive their Red Coats for the first time as well.
It wasn’t Sam Voss’ first, but it could well be her last.
“Just needing a bit of a reset...I might take a bit of time away.”
She was holding back tears.
“I love this sport, it’s been everything to me for so long now, I’m never going to let it go but it’s just time to take a seat somewhere else on the other side of it.”
For 6m 59.55sec she held up the bow seat to beat an Avon draft selection by just under a length.
Waikato's Premier Women's Eight, four new Red Coats and a day to remember forever. Picture: Sharron Bennett Photography
In the men’s race, the club crews shut the draft boats out of the medals completely, Avon #1 home in 6.16.20, Waikato second in 6.19.35 and the Avon #2 crew crossing in 6.23.87.
Waikato and Dunstan Arm shut the draft crews out of the top two medals in the Men’s Premier Quad but the draft selections were too strong in the Women’s Premier Quad, with the Ashburton combination taking the title home to Lake Hood.
Ben Taylor, Oliver Welch, Flynn Watson and Zach Rumble made it two in a row in the Men’s Four, retaining the Boss Rooster.
Oliver Welch, Zach Rumble, Flynn Watson and Ben Taylor with their second coat of Avon-coloured paint on the Boss Rooster trophy. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
Avon, again and again
Avon’s dominance of the sweep events in the Senior grade is unquestionable.
Women’s Eight: Gold.
Men’s Eight: Gold, silver.
Women’s Four: Gold, bronze.
Men’s Four: Gold, silver.
Women’s Pair: Gold, silver
Men’s Pair: Bronze.
Wait, what?
Well yes, North Shore got up in a traffic-jam finish to take that title. Blake Bradshaw and Ethan Blight spent their college years at University of Washington. They are proud Huskies. They’re also proud North Shore rowers, with Ethan having to make a big sacrifice to make their combination work.
“ I offered to switch sides, to my detriment,” said Ethan. “My God, it was hard. [But Blake] made my life swapping to stroke side after ten years of bow side as seamless as it could be. Proud to do it for North Shore, it’s been a long time coming. I swapped to Shore back in 2020 from St Kents and yeah, it's a privilege to row for the club...always very grateful to put on the Swan, especially in the 151st year.”
Blake Bradshaw put two swans on in the same day, once with North Shore and a second time to win the School of Origin race in a Westlake Boys rowsuit.
Blake Bradshaw and Ethan Blight held off a fast-charging pack to win the Men’s Senior Pair. Photo: Sharron Bennett
Purple Haze
Cure had an exceptional regatta, and nothing underlined that more than victory for their Women’s Intermediate Eight. To borrow a line from the commentary: The Purple Haze.
The Purple Haze hurtled down the track in 7.06.19, 22 seconds up on the rest of the field.
Coxswain Annabelle Scott reckons she was in tears with 500m to go.
“It’s been a very turbulent season with injuries and then at the start of the week we weren’t sure if we were going to get to row [it] because we’ve got seven Inty girls, but Montana from Auckland has kindly stepped in so we could race.”
Montana is Montana Maaelopa, out of St Kentigern College and heading to Ohio State University.
Cure were uncatchable in the final of the Intermediate Women’s Eight. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Kapai Waihopai
We mentioned Waihopai at the beginning of the week. They had high hopes for young sculler Charlotte Klein after she won the Intermediate Single at South Islands. Charlotte had a tough row in the semifinals and didn’t make the A Final. But her doubles partner Caitlin Whitaker did. She went on to win in 9.44.83.
Coach Scott Cundall was walking down the road in the boat park with a big smile on his face.
He was sure it was the club’s first medal at the New Zealand Championships in over 10 years.
Waihopai is the second southernmost rowing club in New Zealand, Awarua Rowing Club in Bluff is the Southernmost club. Five metres north of Waihopai is the third southernmost rowing club in New Zealand. That’s Invercargill. Their sculler Mia Brown just missed out on the final too. Maybe next year.
Caitlin Whitaker, who is studying at University of Canterbury, brought home Waihopai’s first national medal in more than a decade in the Intermediate Single. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
A shout out to the volunteers
He calls her “the Minder.”
She says she’s “his Mentor”.
Although what are you going to teach a man of 101 years old?
Chris Longbottom ( “only my enemies call me Christine”) has been living in Twizel for 30 years, after coming to the town in the 1990s to teach at the local high school.
Fred Strachan is a more recent arrival. He’s been here for just 20 years.
Given the 10-year advantage she holds over Fred as a local, and of course having a teaching qualification, Chris is both Mentor and Minder.
“I applied for a couple of jobs and the Twizel one came up...I was offered a job over the phone without having to have an interview. I jumped into it really quickly because I don't do interviews.”
Yes, Chris, is a bit reluctant about being interviewed. She’s not overly keen on volunteering her life story, even when I say the reason I want to talk to her is because she is a volunteer - one of the army of people that have kept this regatta running all week.
Life in Twizel has suited Chris perfectly.
“By the time I'd been here a year, I realised that I love mountain biking, kayaking, tramping, skiing. Everything I loved was here.
“And then I got into rowing with Ness McIver!”
Ness is Twizel born and bred. She can still taste the dust and diesel from when the town was the hub for one of the biggest earthmoving projects in the world – the Upper Waitaki Hydro scheme.
The progression from rower to volunteer can be a little bit like a frog sitting in a slow-boiling pot.
“Ness and I rowed a few years together, from Blenheim to Invercargill, and then we started coaching the school kids and then went to coaching Masters which we still do now,” says Chris.
And as her engagement with the sport grew, so did the volunteering.
She’s done heaps for Twizel Rowing Club, especially with its new crop of kids from the high school. There’s lots of work to be found in the local community and beyond. Some fancy, like staffing the Salmon and Wine festival, some not so pretty like picking up all the rubbish at the Summer Sounds event on New Year’s Eve.
She’s honoured that Fred was able to be at the naming of the club’s new boat recently. Although she nearly forgot to mention it’s called the Chris Longbottom.
Chris and Fred get on like a house on fire, mostly.
“He actually taught me to row a single, which was interesting, we had a few arguments and then been friends ever since.”
“Now that he's got to almost 102...I get him on and off his scooter down to rowing, do his gardening and just make sure he's okay.”
Keeping Fred connected to the home of South Island rowing is important.
“Even though he can't see the races, he does listen to the commentary, and of course he knows so many people...he meets up with his friends here,” says Chris.
There’s just one problem. His scooter keeps breaking down. If there’s something Minder Mentor would love to do for Fred it would be this:
“We'd make sure he had a decent scooter so that first of all he's safe and two, we don't have to keep an eye on him all the time. He needs a robust scooter...good tyres, good motor. Something reliable for his safety and his enjoyment.”
Maybe we need another volunteer to help Fred Strachan get the scooter he needs. After all, he himself has been a great Minder and Mentor to rowing.
Chris (top right) with Fred. Good arguments, good banter, great mates.
Major National Club Awards:
Centennial Oar (overall champion club) : Waikato Rowing Club
Centennial Scull: Waikato Rowing Club
Hallyburton Johnstone Rose Bowl: Canterbury Rowing Association
Accolades
Rowing New Zealand announced its annual list of awards at the end of the regatta.
Female of the Year – Lucy Spoors & Brooke Francis (Gold W2x – Paris Olympics)
Male of the Year – Logan Ullrich – (Silver M4- Paris Olympics, Winner Xmas Regatta single)
Coach of the Year – James Coote – (W2x Gold Paris Olympics)
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He coxed New Zealand's world champion eight in 1982 and '83.
