From Flatwater to Fast Lane: Jacob and Millie’s Beach Sprint Success
Just two weeks after attending their first beach sprints coastal rowing training camp, Cashmere High School students Jacob Haley and Millie Brooks achieved the improbable, winning the U18 mixed double title at the 2026 NZ Beach Sprint Championships.
Now the Christchurch teenagers are encouraging other young rowers to give the fast-paced discipline a go ahead of its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Keen to introduce more school-age rowers to the fast-paced, high-adrenaline discipline, Beach Sprints New Zealand Director David Vallance organised two two-day training camps at Orewa Beach in Auckland in April. Supported by beach sprint world champions Emma Twigg and Matt Dunham, who served as mentors, the camps proved irresistible to both Jacob and Millie.
After missing selection for the New Zealand Under-19 flatwater rowing squad, the 18-year-old Millie was looking for a fresh challenge.
“After not making it through trials I felt like I needed a bit of a change when my mum run into another mum of a friend who had done beach sprints,” recalls Millie, who took up rowing as a Year 9 student and claimed three medals - including a gold in the Women’s U18 quad - at the 2026 Maadi Regatta.
“She thought I would love it, so I headed north for the camp. It was amazing, I had so much fun and it was much less stressful than normal flatwater rowing. I personally love hanging out at the beach and this made it for such a cool experience.”
Jacob, a B finalist in both the U17 single and U17 pairs at the 2026 Maadi Regatta, was intrigued after reading a flyer promoting the camp.
“I’d heard a little bit about it and thought it would be something fun to do,” explains Jacob, 16. “I also thought if I like beach sprints racing, I could then enter nationals which was coming up two weeks later at Orewa Beach.”
The two-day camp introduced participants to beach starts and finishes, slalom skills and tactics, rowing in surf conditions, transitions in and out of the boat, beach sprinting, race strategy, equipment handling and safety.
Jacob says the camp gave him the skills and confidence to compete at the NZ Beach Sprint Championships and he took inspiration from the presence of Emma and Matt.
“I got so much out the camp,” he says. “It was extremely motivating to be taught by the best of the best. They explained everything clearly and supported us the whole way.”
Millie also found the camp a huge learning experience because beach sprints present very different challenges to flatwater rowing.
“The technique and how to turn a coastal rowing boat is quite different and learning to manoeuvre around a buoy took a lot of trial and error,” she explains. “It also is quite different because you are running into a boat. I was not the best at the start, but I found everyone at the camp was very helpful.”
Millie and Jacob were so inspired by the holiday programme both committed to competing at the Rowing NZ Beach Sprints Championships at Orewa Beach in late April.
Teaming up in the U18 mixed double, the Cashmere High School duo were stunned to take a gold medal and a national title just two weeks after first sitting in a coastal rowing boat.
“I was not expecting at all to win gold,” explains Millie. “We were just stoked to make the semifinals. We just went out there in the final left it all out there.”
Jacob was also surprised to come away with gold.
With races lasting just two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes, Vallance compares beach sprints to T20 cricket or rugby sevens - a shorter, faster and more spectator-friendly version of the traditional sport. Athletes sprint down the beach, leap into a boat, navigate a slalom course around buoys before racing back to shore, jumping out to sprint across the finish line. Combined with music and a beachside atmosphere, it creates a much more relaxed and engaging event.
“To some extent to do deliver your best at a rowing race it is about executing to the millimetre of your perfect race, so there is a lot of pressure to deliver,” explains David. “But with beach sprints because of the variables such as surf conditions where a wave can change the outcome of a race, it removes some of the pressure to execute every stroke perfectly.
“The sport has the same atmosphere whether it is at a World Championships or a club regatta and because the rowers are all located in one area of the beach there is a lot more engagement between participants than at a traditional rowing regatta.”
David was delighted that the holiday programmes in April attracted more than 30 young rowers from across New Zealand, including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.
“I would say 80 percent of the kids who attended the holiday programme went on to compete at nationals, which was fantastic,” he explains. “Millie and Jacob adapted quickly but the main thing was we had so much engagement and all of them become such passionate advocates of beach sprint racing,”
David Vallance, far right, with a bunch of passionate Beach Sprint rowers and supporters after a successful 2026 Beach Sprint Finals event held back in April at Orewa Beach.
Both Millie and Jacob intend to continue competing in beach sprints, with both calling on others to give the sport a crack.
“It was such a cool experience; I want to get my other rowing friends involved,” explains Millie. “With the music playing, it is a nice change of scene and less stressful.
Jacob adds: "It's given me the chance to learn new skills in a fun environment while meeting rowers from schools across the country."
***Forthcoming School Holiday Beach Sprints Holiday Camps take place below
Holiday Camp 1. Tuesday/Wednesday 6/7 October – Orewa Beach, Auckland
Holiday Camp 2. Wednesday/Thursday 2/3 December – Scarborough Beach, Christchurch
Holiday Camp 3. Monday/Tuesday 11/12 January – Orewa Beach, Auckland
Holiday Camp 4. Tuesday/Wednesday 13/14 April 2027 – Orewa Beach, Auckland
***For more information go to www.beachsprintsnz.co.nz or email info@beachsprintsnz.co.nz
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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From Flatwater to Fast Lane: Jacob and Millie’s Beach Sprint Success
Just two weeks after attending their first beach sprints coastal rowing training camp, Cashmere High School students Jacob Haley and Millie Brooks achieved the improbable, winning the U18 mixed double title at the 2026 NZ Beach Sprint Championships.
Now the Christchurch teenagers are encouraging other young rowers to give the fast-paced discipline a go ahead of its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Keen to introduce more school-age rowers to the fast-paced, high-adrenaline discipline, Beach Sprints New Zealand Director David Vallance organised two two-day training camps at Orewa Beach in Auckland in April. Supported by beach sprint world champions Emma Twigg and Matt Dunham, who served as mentors, the camps proved irresistible to both Jacob and Millie.
After missing selection for the New Zealand Under-19 flatwater rowing squad, the 18-year-old Millie was looking for a fresh challenge.
“After not making it through trials I felt like I needed a bit of a change when my mum run into another mum of a friend who had done beach sprints,” recalls Millie, who took up rowing as a Year 9 student and claimed three medals - including a gold in the Women’s U18 quad - at the 2026 Maadi Regatta.
“She thought I would love it, so I headed north for the camp. It was amazing, I had so much fun and it was much less stressful than normal flatwater rowing. I personally love hanging out at the beach and this made it for such a cool experience.”
Jacob, a B finalist in both the U17 single and U17 pairs at the 2026 Maadi Regatta, was intrigued after reading a flyer promoting the camp.
“I’d heard a little bit about it and thought it would be something fun to do,” explains Jacob, 16. “I also thought if I like beach sprints racing, I could then enter nationals which was coming up two weeks later at Orewa Beach.”
The two-day camp introduced participants to beach starts and finishes, slalom skills and tactics, rowing in surf conditions, transitions in and out of the boat, beach sprinting, race strategy, equipment handling and safety.
Jacob says the camp gave him the skills and confidence to compete at the NZ Beach Sprint Championships and he took inspiration from the presence of Emma and Matt.
“I got so much out the camp,” he says. “It was extremely motivating to be taught by the best of the best. They explained everything clearly and supported us the whole way.”
Millie also found the camp a huge learning experience because beach sprints present very different challenges to flatwater rowing.
“The technique and how to turn a coastal rowing boat is quite different and learning to manoeuvre around a buoy took a lot of trial and error,” she explains. “It also is quite different because you are running into a boat. I was not the best at the start, but I found everyone at the camp was very helpful.”
Millie and Jacob were so inspired by the holiday programme both committed to competing at the Rowing NZ Beach Sprints Championships at Orewa Beach in late April.
Teaming up in the U18 mixed double, the Cashmere High School duo were stunned to take a gold medal and a national title just two weeks after first sitting in a coastal rowing boat.
“I was not expecting at all to win gold,” explains Millie. “We were just stoked to make the semifinals. We just went out there in the final left it all out there.”
Jacob was also surprised to come away with gold.
With races lasting just two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes, Vallance compares beach sprints to T20 cricket or rugby sevens - a shorter, faster and more spectator-friendly version of the traditional sport. Athletes sprint down the beach, leap into a boat, navigate a slalom course around buoys before racing back to shore, jumping out to sprint across the finish line. Combined with music and a beachside atmosphere, it creates a much more relaxed and engaging event.
“To some extent to do deliver your best at a rowing race it is about executing to the millimetre of your perfect race, so there is a lot of pressure to deliver,” explains David. “But with beach sprints because of the variables such as surf conditions where a wave can change the outcome of a race, it removes some of the pressure to execute every stroke perfectly.
“The sport has the same atmosphere whether it is at a World Championships or a club regatta and because the rowers are all located in one area of the beach there is a lot more engagement between participants than at a traditional rowing regatta.”
David was delighted that the holiday programmes in April attracted more than 30 young rowers from across New Zealand, including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.
“I would say 80 percent of the kids who attended the holiday programme went on to compete at nationals, which was fantastic,” he explains. “Millie and Jacob adapted quickly but the main thing was we had so much engagement and all of them become such passionate advocates of beach sprint racing,”
David Vallance, far right, with a bunch of passionate Beach Sprint rowers and supporters after a successful 2026 Beach Sprint Finals event held back in April at Orewa Beach.
Both Millie and Jacob intend to continue competing in beach sprints, with both calling on others to give the sport a crack.
“It was such a cool experience; I want to get my other rowing friends involved,” explains Millie. “With the music playing, it is a nice change of scene and less stressful.
Jacob adds: "It's given me the chance to learn new skills in a fun environment while meeting rowers from schools across the country."
***Forthcoming School Holiday Beach Sprints Holiday Camps take place below
Holiday Camp 1. Tuesday/Wednesday 6/7 October – Orewa Beach, Auckland
Holiday Camp 2. Wednesday/Thursday 2/3 December – Scarborough Beach, Christchurch
Holiday Camp 3. Monday/Tuesday 11/12 January – Orewa Beach, Auckland
Holiday Camp 4. Tuesday/Wednesday 13/14 April 2027 – Orewa Beach, Auckland
***For more information go to www.beachsprintsnz.co.nz or email info@beachsprintsnz.co.nz
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.
