Novice women’s rowing remains one of the most wildly unpredictable categories at any New Zealand regatta. Rowers in their first year tend to improve dramatically, and any distances between the South Island and North Island Championships to now may have already been made up. Nevertheless, it remains an exciting watch with events swinging the way of any crew on their day.

Women’s Double

Winners out of the North Island, and one of the only true ‘club’ crews amidst a field of schoolgirl crews, the North Shore double of Morris and Sinclair placed first at the North Island Championships, improving their placing of fourth at the previous Christmas Regatta. With the regatta being held at Lake Kārapiro this year, we should expect to see North Shore field this strong combination again. While not the fastest double in the heats, North Shore managed to put a three-second margin over second place: quite a decent gap. Proving the unpredictability of Novice racing, Morris and Sinclair have been there and thereabouts in terms of placing on the podium, falling short of first place a few times until the recent North Island champs. I would expect the combination from Hamilton Rowing Club to enter the event as well, seeing Lake Kārapiro is right on their doorstep. Paki and Paki were impressive in the heats, posting one of the quickest times and impressing in the final, three seconds behind the North Shore combination. I wouldn’t expect too many entries from the South Island, if any due to the lack of entries for this event at the South Island Championships. If I had to guess, I would not be surpirsed if the field comprised entirely of North Island entries, as the trip to the opposite island tends to be quite rare for Novice crews.

Women’s Coxed Quad

Of all the clubs in the North Island that I would expect to field a schoolgirl Novice quad at the NZ Championships, it would be Aramoho Whanganui. The Axel Dickinson-led club has moved from strength to strength in recent times, firmly establishing itself as one of the country’s top sculling clubs. Strong results for Aramoho’s novice quad this season have seen them place second in the event at the Christmas Regatta, following up with the second fastest time in the heats at the North Island Championships (where the A-final was cancelled). I have no doubt that should they choose to enter the event, they will be strong contenders for the overall title and definitely one to make the podium. Like the women’s double, I would not be surprised to see the Hamilton Rowing Club double of Paki and Paki row in the coxed quad, along with Crouch and Smith. Hamilton posted the fastest time in the heats by a significant margin over the aforementioned Aramoho, a gap of over 11 seconds. Out of the South Island, I would expect Avon to add to their deep pedigree in women’s sculling by sending their South Island Champs winning quad up to Lake Kārapiro. Galvan, Ford, Prinsloo, and Williamson impressed in the A-final, rowing out to a ten second margin over second placed Whakatipu Rowing Club. This Avon crew has been in fine form this season; at the Canterbury Championships, the crew rowed up a grade to the intermediate level, and managed to place a respectable fourth in the A-final despite being surrounded by more experienced crews. Training in such a competitive club environment wil have helped build a strong base for Avon to step up to the NZ Championships, and they would be my favourite to win the event.

Women’s Coxed Four

For the third time, I have to mention Hamilton Rowing Club’s combination in the Novice four. At this point, undoubtedly the fastest Novice women’s four in the North Island by over ten seconds, the crew comprises almost a carbon copy of their successful quad, except for the swap of Crouch for Moore. Just a few days ago, the crew raced at the Auckland Championships (the rebranded Junior regatta), placing second not too far behind the leaders in Waikato Dio. While they did place second at this regatta, I would still back them to be the fastest Novice four; holding a 15-second gap on Waikato Dio at the North Island Championships, I see no reason why the crew would experience a random dip in form, thus I would back them to take on the South Island’s fastest novice crews. The repetitions don’t stop there – the crew from the South Island, whom I would back to perform in this event, is the Avon Rowing Club four, who are made up of the exact same four who row the quad. Unbeaten when rowing in the Novice category this season, this crew is likely the country’s fastest women’s Novice four at this point in time. At the Canterbury championships, they had an almost 20-second margin over second place – something quite unfathomable for most events – and at the South Island Championships, they pulled ahead to a four-second margin ahead of a top girls’ programme in Rangi Ruru. I would expect Avon to win this event, and likely by some margin seeing as they have been consistently the fastest in the South Island, and likely New Zealand as well.

Women’s Eight

An event difficult to predict for Novice crews, the women’s eight is often only contested by some of the larger clubs in the country. Counties-Manukau have impressed me this season, winning the Novice eight at the North Island Championships with a revitalised change in strategy, it appears. The club were impressive last year, developing strong Novice talent which saw Zara Blackie go from Novice into the North Island women’s sculling squad by the end of the season. With the success they had last year in sending Novice rowers to the NZ Championships, I would be surprised if they chose to omit this event from their calendar again. There is every chance North Shore will make a surprise appearance and enter their Novice eight as well, seeing as the NZ Championships are in the North Island this year. Their Novice eight performed well at the North Island Championships, placing third, an improvement from their Christmas Regatta performance, where they came in a tight sixth, where places 4-6 were separated by a mere two seconds. In any case, if their trajectory continues on this path, there is no reason why they couldn’t pose a serious challenge to the other crew from the North Island. I doubt there will be a South Island entry for this event, as it is quite an effort to race Novice crews cross-Island at the NZ Championships. The plethora of South Island novice eights makes it more a likely case that the crews will be biding their time and waiting for Maadi before they peak in the season.