Waimea College ready for Maadi success

Waimea College may not be a name traditionally associated with rowing, but three of the school’s students are looking to change that during the Maadi Regatta.

The week-long national secondary school rowing championships are held on Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge, and involve more than 2000 pupils from 120 schools.

Among them are three students from Waimea College in Richmond, Nelson:  single sculler Kaitlyn Wehner, and duo Sam Johnston and Sean Ducray.

Wehner will compete in the girls’ U17 single scull, and Johnston and Ducray the boys’ U17 and U18 doubles, and U18 coxless pair.

Gus Shirley, head of PE at Waimea College, said the students proved that “hard work pays off,” and determined students at a school without a strong rowing tradition could compete at a national level.

Johnston and Ducray had been encouraging friends in their year to start.

“These boys have created a bit of a pathway for rowing.”

Shirley said the sport demanded a big commitment, and all three students’ other sporting interests had to take a back seat.

Waimea’s rowers are under the wing of Nelson Rowing Club at the regatta, and head coach Rachel Arbuckle said they were very excited.

Training-wise, they had a “big, heavy week” two weeks out from Maadi, but a lighter week immediately before the national championships.
Having started preparation in September, they were keen to get on the water.

Results from the lead-up to Maadi are promising.

Johnston and Ducray’s last regatta was the NZ Club Championships in mid-February.

They narrowly missed a medal in the men’s U19 double when four crews crossed the line at the same time.

Arbuckle said it was a spectacular race.

In early February, Wehner made the A finals for the girls’ U17 and U18 singles at the South Island Championships, putting her in the top eight for both races.

Arbuckle acknowledged Maadi could be exciting and overwhelming for young rowers, but the boys come in with two years of experience.

That includes gold medals from the U16 double sculls in 2012.

It is Wehner’s second Maadi Regatta.

“They’re much more experienced now, so they really know what to expect,” said Arbuckle.

For a South Island crew, transport is an important part of the planning.

Waimea’s skiffs made the long trip to Karapiro on a trailer shared with Marlborough Girls’ College, and arrived on Thursday afternoon.

The rowers flew up on Saturday morning and spent the day settling in, although light rowing was planned for Sunday.

The regatta begins today, with the Waimea College rowers competing in four of the 140 heats.