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Off to Maadi on rowing’s greatest road trip
More than 160 schools are making their way to the NZ Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, and as Andy Hay reports, they are coming from all corners.
If there’s a line that sums up just how people are feeling ahead of the New Zealand Rowing Maadi Regatta it could be this: “Looking at the times for the North Island, it's really hard to gauge where we're placed.”
That’s Craighead Diocesan Head Coach Dean Milne just before he drives the trailer out of the Timaru Rowing Club and heads north for school rowing’s greatest road trip.
Ask any North Island coach, and they’ll probably be the same as far as times go in the South Island.
Yes, the annual guessing game about the time and distance that separates the schools from Te Ika-a-Maui and Te Waipounamu over 2000m is about to be answered when racing at the 78th Maadi Regatta begins on Monday.
The Milford sponsored livestream of the South and North Island Schools championships only adds to the intrigue. Different conditions across all times of the day make the rule of thumb that Karapiro is 10 seconds quicker than Ruataniwha virtually meaningless.
We’re all heading to the Waikato for the Big Reveal.
World Rowing’s big reveal this week may well dominate a few minibus discussions on the way to the regatta.
Rowing’s governing body has announced that repechages for all World and European events will be eliminated from 2025, some (as yet unspecified) boat classes will be dropped, and a Mixed Eight will be on the programme for this year’s World Championships in China as well as “positioning this new event as a strong contender for inclusion in the next Olympic Games.”
It’s another step in World Rowing’s aim to reinforce “its commitment to gender balance and innovation in the sport,” as well as ensuring that “Classic Rowing remains dynamic, competitive, and attractive to a broad audience.”
Two mixed senior events were offered at last month’s New Zealand Championships and so it seems only logical mixed events will become part of schools rowing.
So while you’re pondering the margins between the North and South Island schools, you might also have a think about the pairings that may one day emerge in the big eights races –imagine what that would do for the big city co-eds and a school like Whanganui High, Whanganui Collegiate or Cashmere?
For now though, it’s the Levin Jubilee and Maadi Cup that will attract the most attention in the big boat class.
Rangi Ruru and St Margaret’s basically live across the street from each other in Christchurch and just 0.15s separated them at South Islands.
St Bede’s, Christ’s, Christchurch Boys’, St Thomas of Canterbury and St Andrew’s are all within walking distance of each other in the city as well. There was a bit more separation at South Islands but that’s now two weeks under the bridge.
Waikato Diocesan led the charge at North Islands in the Girls’ U18 final, with Westlake Girls and Auckland Dio taking the other podium spots. Westlake, St Peter’s College, Hamilton Boys, Sacred Heart and King’s took the top five spots in the Boys’ 18 final.
Motueka High School began its first journey to the Maadi regatta when Brent and Shelley Smith loaded a couple of singles onto their ute, hooked up the caravan and their four kids for the drive to Karapiro.
The family moved back to Kaiteriteri in April last year after five years in Nelson.
Their two eldest kids, Murdoch (16) and Paedra (15), rowed for Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls.
Long-time rowing man Kevin Strickland helped the Smith’s with the paperwork.
“He's been awesome,” says Shelley. “We needed to sit under a club so he said, ‘Sit under my Tasman Coastal Rowing Club and I'll help getting the school registered.”
So then Shelley hit the internet.
“We all agreed on having a really cool rowsuit, so I found one online through some suppliers...a really nice black one, all black, so Kevin got that approved and yeah, so now we're a club of two.”
Soon to be four when their other two sons Thorne (13) and Kennedy (11) hit high school.
Murdoch put Motueka on the map in its first ever regatta, at South Islands, winning a silver in the U17 single and finishing sixth in the U18 A Final. Paedra will compete in the U16 Single at Karapiro this week.
Siblings Paedra (top) and Murdoch Smith from Maadi Regatta's newest school, Motueka High. Photos: Sharron Bennett.
Half an hour’s drive from the gates of Motueka High down SH60 to Richmond you’ll find Garin College.
The special character Catholic school only opened in 2002. In its short history Garin has had just two previous athletes at Maadi Regatta, Kristy Merrick in 2004 and Gabriel Callaghan in 2011. Meko Hardinge will now be their third.
He trains out of Nelson Rowing Club and is coached by Tony Crosbie, who set Meko a tough goal in the Under 18 single if he was going to make the trip north to Karapiro.
“We set some criteria for what he had to achieve to enable him to get to Maadi and be competitive,” says Tony. “One was at South Island Secondary Schools he had to either make an A final or B final, and his time in the B final had to be quicker than at least one person in the A final.”
Meko was fifth in the B Final. Tick.
The first athletes in the A Final all finished under 7.47.00. Eighth crossed in 8.00.56.
Meko’s B Final time was 7.59.63. Meko’s off to Maadi with less than a second to spare.
“He was down in the dumps a little bit directly after the races because he wasn't sure where he sat,” says Tony. “And as coaches we sort of considered what he'd achieved and then told him, he was really excited, his parents were excited for him as well...it's just a great opportunity for him.”
Meko Hardinge will be Garin College’s third ever athlete to attend Maadi Regatta after he met his coach’s threshold for attending by just under a second. Picture: Sharron Bennett Photography
Mereana Taylor was a coxswain at St Mary’s in Wellington when she competed at Maadi Regatta in 2015.
She reckons the gold-medal success of Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis at the Paris Olympics has had a big impact on uptake of the sport in the region.
Mereana’s coaching two school groups this week, 11 athletes from her alma mater and Anastasia Graham and Beatrix Baird-Smith from St Catherine’s College, which is attending its first Maadi.
Porirua Rowing Club coach Jono Debbage is also bringing up two school groups. Among them are U18 scullers Amelie Flowers and Mia Beaven, who will mark Tawa College’s first Maadi Regatta appearance since 2016.
It’s been a long personal journey back to Maadi for Ngaruawahia High School coach and former student Campbell Haggie.
He’s looking after his brother Charles’ grandson Kahu at the regatta. The black and green quarters were last at Maadi in 2019.
Before that? Possibly in the era when Campbell himself was rowing for the school.
“We got fifth in the Springbok Shield...early ‘70s or ‘69,” says Campbell.
Well, that’s more than 50 years ago. Their route to the U19 Four (as it was then) was unusual.
“We actually got disqualified from the U17 Four,” says Campbell. “We won our semifinal by over 500 metres...they said we were too good for that class and got kicked out of our final and we just had to row in the Springbok Shield...that’s what they did in those days.”
The boys from Ngaruawahia High School in Whanganui for the Maadi Regatta in 1971. Campbell Haggie is fourth from right and the little fella at the front is Alan Cotter, who went on to cox the New Zealand eight between 1978-80.
This Maadi Regatta will have even more significance than usual for Waipa District Mayor Susan O’Regan, whose daughter is in her novice year at Waikato Diocesan.
The arrival of the more than 160 schools like Craighead is unmissable from one the council’s offices just off the main street in Cambridge.
“It's a part of normal life to see rowing trailers stacked to the brim with boats, but there is a special excitement around Maadi because it is the pinnacle,” says Susan.
“It's more than just the trophies, it's the energy, the passion, the whole thing, so there is a specialness about Maadi.”
Get this. An economic impact study from Maadi in 2021 estimated the value to the area at more than $13million.
Compared with non-event days, attractions like Maadi boost hospitality by around 50 percent. Fuel and groceries transactions increase by up to 15%.
And you’ll struggle to find an empty hall, holiday park, marae or sports club putting up the more than 2250 athletes plus parent helpers, spectators and coaches for this year’s regatta.
But you will find empty pie warmers if you’re not quick enough. Leamington Bakery and Cafe loves Maadi Regatta. Manager Bea McKenzie reckons sales double for the week, and they get a big boost in off-site catering jobs as well.
Maadi cannot march on an empty stomach.
The Maadi Regatta parade is just one of the many highlights of a week that adds around $13m to the local economy. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
This will be Dean Milne’s 28th Maadi Regatta towing the Craighead trailer. He loves the drive there, going home, not so much.
“We are booked on the 2am Sunday morning ferry,” says Dean. “So as soon as the last boat goes on the trailer, we've got to get to Wellington just after midnight.”
And then there’s the long Sunday drive to Timaru with the prospect of work the next morning. After nearly 30 years of facing that cruel Monday morning, Dean’s making a change.
“This is the first year I've actually called in and said I'm not coming in on Monday, I'll be coming in on Tuesday. I normally go to work and you're drained and all that so I thought, ‘Ah bugger it, I'll have a day off and rest.”
Good call mahi man.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
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- Home
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- School Rowing
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- Off to Maadi...
Off to Maadi on rowing’s greatest road trip
More than 160 schools are making their way to the NZ Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, and as Andy Hay reports, they are coming from all corners.
If there’s a line that sums up just how people are feeling ahead of the New Zealand Rowing Maadi Regatta it could be this: “Looking at the times for the North Island, it's really hard to gauge where we're placed.”
That’s Craighead Diocesan Head Coach Dean Milne just before he drives the trailer out of the Timaru Rowing Club and heads north for school rowing’s greatest road trip.
Ask any North Island coach, and they’ll probably be the same as far as times go in the South Island.
Yes, the annual guessing game about the time and distance that separates the schools from Te Ika-a-Maui and Te Waipounamu over 2000m is about to be answered when racing at the 78th Maadi Regatta begins on Monday.
The Milford sponsored livestream of the South and North Island Schools championships only adds to the intrigue. Different conditions across all times of the day make the rule of thumb that Karapiro is 10 seconds quicker than Ruataniwha virtually meaningless.
We’re all heading to the Waikato for the Big Reveal.
World Rowing’s big reveal this week may well dominate a few minibus discussions on the way to the regatta.
Rowing’s governing body has announced that repechages for all World and European events will be eliminated from 2025, some (as yet unspecified) boat classes will be dropped, and a Mixed Eight will be on the programme for this year’s World Championships in China as well as “positioning this new event as a strong contender for inclusion in the next Olympic Games.”
It’s another step in World Rowing’s aim to reinforce “its commitment to gender balance and innovation in the sport,” as well as ensuring that “Classic Rowing remains dynamic, competitive, and attractive to a broad audience.”
Two mixed senior events were offered at last month’s New Zealand Championships and so it seems only logical mixed events will become part of schools rowing.
So while you’re pondering the margins between the North and South Island schools, you might also have a think about the pairings that may one day emerge in the big eights races –imagine what that would do for the big city co-eds and a school like Whanganui High, Whanganui Collegiate or Cashmere?
For now though, it’s the Levin Jubilee and Maadi Cup that will attract the most attention in the big boat class.
Rangi Ruru and St Margaret’s basically live across the street from each other in Christchurch and just 0.15s separated them at South Islands.
St Bede’s, Christ’s, Christchurch Boys’, St Thomas of Canterbury and St Andrew’s are all within walking distance of each other in the city as well. There was a bit more separation at South Islands but that’s now two weeks under the bridge.
Waikato Diocesan led the charge at North Islands in the Girls’ U18 final, with Westlake Girls and Auckland Dio taking the other podium spots. Westlake, St Peter’s College, Hamilton Boys, Sacred Heart and King’s took the top five spots in the Boys’ 18 final.
Motueka High School began its first journey to the Maadi regatta when Brent and Shelley Smith loaded a couple of singles onto their ute, hooked up the caravan and their four kids for the drive to Karapiro.
The family moved back to Kaiteriteri in April last year after five years in Nelson.
Their two eldest kids, Murdoch (16) and Paedra (15), rowed for Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls.
Long-time rowing man Kevin Strickland helped the Smith’s with the paperwork.
“He's been awesome,” says Shelley. “We needed to sit under a club so he said, ‘Sit under my Tasman Coastal Rowing Club and I'll help getting the school registered.”
So then Shelley hit the internet.
“We all agreed on having a really cool rowsuit, so I found one online through some suppliers...a really nice black one, all black, so Kevin got that approved and yeah, so now we're a club of two.”
Soon to be four when their other two sons Thorne (13) and Kennedy (11) hit high school.
Murdoch put Motueka on the map in its first ever regatta, at South Islands, winning a silver in the U17 single and finishing sixth in the U18 A Final. Paedra will compete in the U16 Single at Karapiro this week.
Siblings Paedra (top) and Murdoch Smith from Maadi Regatta's newest school, Motueka High. Photos: Sharron Bennett.
Half an hour’s drive from the gates of Motueka High down SH60 to Richmond you’ll find Garin College.
The special character Catholic school only opened in 2002. In its short history Garin has had just two previous athletes at Maadi Regatta, Kristy Merrick in 2004 and Gabriel Callaghan in 2011. Meko Hardinge will now be their third.
He trains out of Nelson Rowing Club and is coached by Tony Crosbie, who set Meko a tough goal in the Under 18 single if he was going to make the trip north to Karapiro.
“We set some criteria for what he had to achieve to enable him to get to Maadi and be competitive,” says Tony. “One was at South Island Secondary Schools he had to either make an A final or B final, and his time in the B final had to be quicker than at least one person in the A final.”
Meko was fifth in the B Final. Tick.
The first athletes in the A Final all finished under 7.47.00. Eighth crossed in 8.00.56.
Meko’s B Final time was 7.59.63. Meko’s off to Maadi with less than a second to spare.
“He was down in the dumps a little bit directly after the races because he wasn't sure where he sat,” says Tony. “And as coaches we sort of considered what he'd achieved and then told him, he was really excited, his parents were excited for him as well...it's just a great opportunity for him.”
Meko Hardinge will be Garin College’s third ever athlete to attend Maadi Regatta after he met his coach’s threshold for attending by just under a second. Picture: Sharron Bennett Photography
Mereana Taylor was a coxswain at St Mary’s in Wellington when she competed at Maadi Regatta in 2015.
She reckons the gold-medal success of Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis at the Paris Olympics has had a big impact on uptake of the sport in the region.
Mereana’s coaching two school groups this week, 11 athletes from her alma mater and Anastasia Graham and Beatrix Baird-Smith from St Catherine’s College, which is attending its first Maadi.
Porirua Rowing Club coach Jono Debbage is also bringing up two school groups. Among them are U18 scullers Amelie Flowers and Mia Beaven, who will mark Tawa College’s first Maadi Regatta appearance since 2016.
It’s been a long personal journey back to Maadi for Ngaruawahia High School coach and former student Campbell Haggie.
He’s looking after his brother Charles’ grandson Kahu at the regatta. The black and green quarters were last at Maadi in 2019.
Before that? Possibly in the era when Campbell himself was rowing for the school.
“We got fifth in the Springbok Shield...early ‘70s or ‘69,” says Campbell.
Well, that’s more than 50 years ago. Their route to the U19 Four (as it was then) was unusual.
“We actually got disqualified from the U17 Four,” says Campbell. “We won our semifinal by over 500 metres...they said we were too good for that class and got kicked out of our final and we just had to row in the Springbok Shield...that’s what they did in those days.”
The boys from Ngaruawahia High School in Whanganui for the Maadi Regatta in 1971. Campbell Haggie is fourth from right and the little fella at the front is Alan Cotter, who went on to cox the New Zealand eight between 1978-80.
This Maadi Regatta will have even more significance than usual for Waipa District Mayor Susan O’Regan, whose daughter is in her novice year at Waikato Diocesan.
The arrival of the more than 160 schools like Craighead is unmissable from one the council’s offices just off the main street in Cambridge.
“It's a part of normal life to see rowing trailers stacked to the brim with boats, but there is a special excitement around Maadi because it is the pinnacle,” says Susan.
“It's more than just the trophies, it's the energy, the passion, the whole thing, so there is a specialness about Maadi.”
Get this. An economic impact study from Maadi in 2021 estimated the value to the area at more than $13million.
Compared with non-event days, attractions like Maadi boost hospitality by around 50 percent. Fuel and groceries transactions increase by up to 15%.
And you’ll struggle to find an empty hall, holiday park, marae or sports club putting up the more than 2250 athletes plus parent helpers, spectators and coaches for this year’s regatta.
But you will find empty pie warmers if you’re not quick enough. Leamington Bakery and Cafe loves Maadi Regatta. Manager Bea McKenzie reckons sales double for the week, and they get a big boost in off-site catering jobs as well.
Maadi cannot march on an empty stomach.
The Maadi Regatta parade is just one of the many highlights of a week that adds around $13m to the local economy. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
This will be Dean Milne’s 28th Maadi Regatta towing the Craighead trailer. He loves the drive there, going home, not so much.
“We are booked on the 2am Sunday morning ferry,” says Dean. “So as soon as the last boat goes on the trailer, we've got to get to Wellington just after midnight.”
And then there’s the long Sunday drive to Timaru with the prospect of work the next morning. After nearly 30 years of facing that cruel Monday morning, Dean’s making a change.
“This is the first year I've actually called in and said I'm not coming in on Monday, I'll be coming in on Tuesday. I normally go to work and you're drained and all that so I thought, ‘Ah bugger it, I'll have a day off and rest.”
Good call mahi man.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
