| New Zealand | |
| Sport | Rowing |
| Formation date | 1887 |
| Affiliation | International Rowing Federation |
| Official website | |
| www.rowingnz.com | |
Rowing New Zealand is sport governing body for rowing in New Zealand. Its purpose is to provide leadership and support to enable an environment of success for the New Zealand rowing community. This includes secondary schools, clubs, masters, universities and high performance.[1]
Rowing New Zealand was originally founded as the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association on 16 March 1887. The New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association was formed by nine clubs in an effort to coordinate and regulate the sport of amateur rowing in New Zealand.[2]
In recent years Rowing New Zealand has had moderate success on the water, which has resulted in increased media interest in the sport of rowing and record participation at secondary school level. The aim is eventually to replicate the success of Great Britain and Australia on the water by the 2020 Olympics. This increase in the number of active rowers has been attributed in particular to Rob Waddell's gold medal victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. There have also been increases, particularly in the number of women rowers, since Georgina Evers-Swindell and Caroline Evers-Swindell won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
More recently, the 2008 Olympic trials gained intense public and media interest as previous Olympic champion Rob Waddell challenged current world champion Mahé Drysdale for the sole men’s single sculls spot. The trials began in March 2008 and the first two races of the trials were close, with each sculler winning one race. In the final race, Waddell suffered a repeat of his atrial fibrillation condition, resulting in Drysdale claiming the victory and the sole 2008 Olympic single sculls spot.[3] Rob Waddell will now be competing at the 2008 Olympics in the men's double sculls with Nathan Cohen.
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Currently there are 68 clubs affiliated to Rowing New Zealand. Clubs within New Zealand are affiliated to their regional rowing associations, which include the Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, East Coast, Marlborough, Otago, Southland, Waikato, Wanganui and Wellington Rowing Associations.
Other members affiliated with Rowing New Zealand include the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Association (NZSSRA), the New Zealand Universities Rowing Council, the New Zealand Rowing Race Officials Association, and Regional Performance Centres (RPCs). RPCs provide a pathway for rowers to compete for selection in national representative crews as well as providing a high performance training environment for rowers.[4]
National Club Championships - First held in 1888 and only fours and single sculls competed. Now it is held alternatively at Lake Karapiro, Cambridge, and Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel. The event is now held over 5 days and 60+ events are raced.
Masters Championships - These are held annually and a rower may compete as a masters rower from the beginning of the year during which he or she reaches the age of 27.
New Zealand University Championships - Are held annually and the top prizes include The Ashes (Overall NZU Rowing Champs Winners), the Tamaki Cup (Championship Women's Eight), the Paul Griffiths Cup (Championship Women's Four), and the Hebberley Shield (Championship Men's Eight).[5]
New Zealand Secondary School Championships (Maadi Cup) - The regatta is the largest school sports event in New Zealand and is held alternatively at Lake Karapiro, Cambridge, and Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel. 'Maadi Cup' is the name given to the regatta and the cup for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Boys' Under 18 Rowing Eights which is raced at the regatta. The top prizes at the regatta are the Maadi Cup, Springbok Shield, Levin Jubilee Cup, Dawn Cup and Star Trophy.[6]
Rowing New Zealand selects Elite, Development, Under 23, Under 21, Junior and Under 18 National Teams through selection camps and trials process. The Elite National Team represents New Zealand at the highest level of competition, either at the Olympic Games, World Championships or the Rowing World Cup. While the Olympics are held once every four years, the World Championships are held every year. The Rowing World Cup comprises 3 regattas held each year and overall winners are determined by points that are awarded to the top finishing boats at each event.
The Under 23 National Team competes at the Under 23 World Championship regatta each year while the Under 21 National Team competes at the Youth Cup Regatta in Australia. The Junior National Team competes at the Junior World Championships each year and the Under 18 crews from the North Island and the South Island are selected annually to compete against one another.
Rowing New Zealand successfully hosted the 2010 World Championship Regatta at Lake Karapiro, 12-19 September. New Zealand secured the rights to hold the 39th World Rowing Championship in 2006 and, in doing so, became one of only a handful of world rowing nations that have held more than one championship. At the official Closing Ceremony, FISA President Denis Oswald said: "I praise the Organising Committee for having staged such an outstanding event and I include all members of the Organising Committee and volunteers who have been so helpful and friendly to us. It won't take 32 years until we come back. Karapiro 2010 brought the World Championships to new standards and set a new model." The first time the event came to New Zealand was in 1978. The 2010 event joins the 1978 event as being considered by many of the rowing community worldwide as being amongst the greatest ever world championships.[7]
The 2005 World Championship Regatta was one of the most successful event for Rowing New Zealand and New Zealand sport when four gold medals were won within 45 minutes, making New Zealand the most successful country at the regatta. The four victories were:
*Mahé Drysdale in the men's single sculls.
*Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles in the women's coxless pair.
*George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle in the men's coxless pair.
*Caroline Evers-Swindell and Georgina Evers-Swindell in the women's double sculls.[8]
| World Championship Regatta | Event | Crew Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 - Cologne, Germany | Men’s single sculls | Rob Waddell |
| 1999 - St Catherine's, Canada | Men’s single sculls | Rob Waddell |
| 2002 - Sevilla, Spain | Women’s double sculls | Georgina Evers-Swindell , Caroline Evers-Swindell |
| 2003 - Milan, Italy | Women’s double sculls | Georgina Evers-Swindell , Caroline Evers-Swindell |
| 2005 - Gifu, Japan | Men's single sculls | Mahé Drysdale |
| 2005 - Gifu, Japan | Women's coxless pair | Juliette Haigh, Nicky Coles |
| 2005 - Gifu, Japan | Men's coxless pair | George Bridgewater, Nathan Twaddle |
| 2005 - Gifu, Japan | Women's double sculls | Georgina Evers-Swindell , Caroline Evers-Swindell |
| 2006 - Eton, England | Men’s single sculls | Mahé Drysdale |
| 2007 - Munich, Germany | Men’s single sculls | Mahé Drysdale |
| 2007 - Munich, Germany | Men’s coxless four | Hamish Bond, Eric Murray, James Dallinger, Carl Meyer |
| 2007 - Munich, Germany | Men’s lightweight single sculls | Duncan Grant |
| 2008 - Linz, Austria | Men’s lightweight single sculls | Duncan Grant[10] |
| 2009 - Poznan, Poland | Men’s single Sculls | Mahe Drysdale[11] |
| 2009 - Poznan, Poland | Men’s lightweight double sculls | Peter Taylor, Storm Uru[12] |
| 2009 - Poznan, Poland | Men's Coxless Pair | Eric Murray, Hamish Bond |
| 2010 - Lake Karapiro, New Zealand | Men’s double sculls | Nathan Cohen, Joseph Sullivan |
| 2010 - Lake Karapiro, New Zealand | Men's Coxless Pair | Eric Murray, Hamish Bond |
| 2010 - Lake Karapiro, New Zealand | Women's Coxless Pair | Juliette Haigh, Rebecca Scown |
| 2011 - Bled, Slovenia | Men’s single Sculls | Mahe Drysdale |
| 2011 - Bled, Slovenia | Men’s double sculls | Nathan Cohen, Joseph Sullivan |
| 2011 - Bled, Slovenia | Men's Coxless Pair | Eric Murray, Hamish Bond |
| 2011 - Bled, Slovenia | Women's Coxless Pair | Juliette Haigh, Rebecca Scown |