We have reached the pinnacle of the New Zealand rowing season, and it is time for crews to show the speed they have been perfecting all season long. The banks of Karāpiro are ready to witness the fight and tussle down 2000 metres to find the next champions in men’s club events at the New Zealand National Rowing Championships. These events could be contested by many athletes, from school age through to seasoned veterans. The week of racing is sure to bring some fierce competition across each event. I consider the club scene one of my favourites, as it can really be quite the spectacle, and I don’t see that changing this year. Look out for your usual favourites in Avon and Waikato, but the beauty of club racing is that you are always open to some ‘smaller’ clubs showing their best and redefining the status quo.

George Nilsson – Auckland Rowing Club

The Tāmaki River is home to one of the North Island’s best male club athletes. George Nilsson is honing his craft in the red and black of Auckland Rowing Club, after making the move up from Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club. He has always been prodigious across both sweeping and sculling, whether that was at Whanganui Collegiate as a school boy, or across the two clubs he has spent time at since leaving school. Nilsson showed true speed in his first North Island Championships in the red and black row suit, taking home gold in the club single, silver in the club coxless four, and then A-Finals appearances in both the club eight and senior four. With a busy programme at the North Island Championships, although I like his chances across the board, for me, his best chances are in the single scull. He will want to continue the form he has shown in the lead-up to the crescendo as he takes his skills to Karāpiro for Nationals. Nilsson found some extra speed over the Christmas break as he improved on his results from the Christmas Regatta, so he will want to find another gear again here to replicate gold in the single. Nilsson’s biggest competition will likely come from school-age competitors from the South Island. The club coxless four will be the other event I would target if I were Nilsson. At the recent North Island Championships, ARC were sandwiched between Waikato Club crews and just ahead of a fast North Shore crew. I expect the coxless four at Nationals to bring just as fast and as furious racing. Whatever Nilsson is to enter this week of racing, I see him right near the front.

James Brake – North Shore Rowing Club

Rowing in New Zealand has always been a sport that has revolved around family. That certainly runs true when it comes to the next athlete I want to showcase for the club events at this year’s Nationals. James Brake, younger brother of Olympian Michael, is no slouch himself. Brake has had a long yet beautiful career, and as he comes into the 2026 Nationals, he will be looking to add more silverware. This follows a strong performance at North Island Championships, where Brake and his North Shore crew finished with a silver medal in the club eight, fourth in the club coxless four and had the A-Final for both the club pair and the open eight, which was eventually cancelled. Brake will be wanting to find even more speed as the week of Nationals heats up. Like many New Zealand athletes these days, Brake has tried his hand at beach sprints, which brings another invaluable skill to the navy blue of North Shore. His experience and skill sets Brake up to be an athlete to beat across the sweeping events of the next week. For this year, Brake’s best opportunity is in the coxed eight, which is littered with fine athletes. One other member I would keep your eyes on in that crew is Jacob Avery; the young coxswain who will be looking to gain another red coat if the opportunity presents itself. Brake’s expertise and technique in the bow pair of the eight will set it up beautifully to fly down the course. Watch out as Brake will make the swans of North Shore fly. Overall, Brake and the North Shore club crews are frontrunners for finals day when the sweeping events come down the track.

Barney Evans – Avon Rowing Club

Men’s club events; they are usually for seasoned athletes who have gone through the years and know what the sport of rowing will bring them. Avon Rowing Club is truly one of the finest clubs in the country, and one of their strongest club event athletes is a novice. Barney Evans is in their first year of rowing and has already taken the sport by storm. Evans has had an exceptional 2025/2026 season thus far and will want to cap it off perfectly at this year’s Nationals. At the recent South Island Championships, Evans, along with his fellow Avon athletes, had a perfect regatta; three events, three gold medals. Can he replicate this form once the North Island athletes enter the fray? Evans paired with Noah le Quellec for the club coxless pair, who himself could well have been the athlete I chose to highlight from Avon. The pair’s biggest competitors from the south will come in the form of the Wairau Rowing Club combination, with whom they have been trading blows this season. Look out for another bout between these two when the spectacle moves to the waters of Lake Karāpiro. Across the other two events Evans has been targeting this year, the club eight and club coxless four have been more straightforward, but I do not expect this to remain the case as the North Island competitors come to dampen the Avon parade. As a novice athlete, I see Evans only improving as the seasons go by, and I can see this being just the beginning for him. Ultimately, I would be very surprised if we didn’t see Evans feature on the podium at least once this week, a result as a novice which would be truly astounding. Avon have yet another gem on their hands.

Tim Chapman – Canterbury Rowing Club

The final athlete I am highlighting for the men’s club events is a sculling gentleman by the name of Tim Chapman. Chapman rows out of the Canterbury Rowing Club and has had a beautiful season thus far, and will be wanting to seal it off with more podium finishes at these Nationals. At the recent South Island Championships, donning the white and red row suit, Chapman won silver in both the club double and the club coxless quad and had a very respectable A-Final showing in the club single. Chapman has shown this technique down south as a prodigious sculler and will have the North Island athletes wary as he makes his way to Nationals. In the club double, Chapman and his partner Sam Clarke have been having fierce battles with Dunstan Arm Rowing Club and expect these to continue as the arena moves to the Waikato. As well as the double, I know Chapman will be wanting to find another gear in both the quad and the single and try sneak himself onto the podium for all three. Chapman is yet to find the podium at a Nationals, and I see 2026 as the year he gets that monkey off his back. A strong camp on the Waimakariri River recently will have put the Canterbury Club crews in good stead and ready to find the form needed to continue their good run off South Island Championships. Listen out for Chapman’s name over the loudspeaker over the week, I know he will be one to keep an ear out for. Chapman’s white and red row suit will be near the front of the club sculling events; he will be rearing to shake up the waters.

Notable Mentions

As it is with club events, there are many more athletes and crews I wish I could have touched on. I will leave you with a few more who I think could do something at these New Zealand Championships. Another athlete from the Waikato Rowing Club factory I would keep an eye on is Alex Laurenson across the sculling events this week. From Dunstan Arm Rowing Club, I like the look of Dylan Acton, again an extremely impressive sculler out of Clyde. Atanas Alipiev is another sculler I want to watch this week, coming down the track in the light blue of Clifton Rowing Club. These are the chosen few I have written about, but I am sure there will be many who will be looking to prove their worth as genuine threats across the board in men’s club events.

Predictions

Finally, it is time for me to put my money where my mouth is and say who I think will leave Lake Karāpiro as New Zealand Champion of the respective men’s club events. For my predictions, I am not going to include school-age crews due to the fact that they may not choose to even compete at this regatta. Whoever takes out these events will not have it easy – I predict many a fight for gold coming from these events.

Men’s Club Single – George Nilsson (Auckland Rowing Club)

Men’s Club Double Sculls – Dunstan Arm Rowing Club

Men’s Club Coxless Pair – Avon Rowing Club

Men’s Club Coxless Four – Waikato Rowing Club

Men’s Club Coxless Quad – Wairau Rowing Club

Men’s Club Eight – North Shore Rowing Club