Nelson Rowing Club has returned from the South Island Club Championships in Twizel with an impressive haul of results, reaching 27 A finals and 17 B finals after what club captain Kylie Johnson describes as an arduous 11-hour journey to Lake Ruataniwha.
A group of 71 members made the trip, a turnout Kylie says reflects the strength of the club’s current squad.
“It’s one of the biggest squads we’ve had in many years, thanks in part to 22 new novice rowers joining the team. It’s a big travel commitment to get that many rowers down there, as well as seven coaches and an array of parents. To perform how they did against crews that train and compete there regularly was fantastic.”
Ollie Hawkins and Ryan Flintoft claimed silver in the men’s club pairs, followed shortly by another silver from the masters quartet of Chris Brooks, Tony Crosbie, Colin Brown and Kelvin Maker.
Rosa Armstrong delivered a strong regatta, earning bronze in the senior women’s singles before teaming up with Grace Straker to secure bronze in the senior women’s pairs. George Moloney added to the tally with bronze in the men’s singles.
Kylie says the results give the club strong momentum heading into the second half of the season.
“We now have 11 seniors travelling to the National Club Champs in Cambridge on March 18, which is an excellent result. Our secondary school rowers are now focused on the South Island Secondary Schools Championships in early March, and then the New Zealand Secondary Schools Maadi Regatta, both back in Twizel.”
