‘Underdogs’ Shirley Boys’ in familiar territory
The Christchurch school feels right at home with success in their grasp.
semifinals alongside his teammate Jake Luthi
after winning their heat. Photo: Cory Brown
Supporters of Christchurch’s Shirley Boys’ High School say they’re the underdogs coming into a competition dominated by North Island schools.
Hamilton Boys’ High School has won the Aon Maadi Cup seven times in the past decade, but Shirley Boys’ parent fundraising organiser, promoter, and “loudest cheerleader” Lee-Ann Venis said Tirau, where they are staying, has “taken the boys in as their sons”.
She said it was safe to say that they felt in familiar territory rowing at this year’s Maadi Cup at Lake Karapiro.
Their over-15 lightweight double sculls, captained by James Alexander and Jake Luthi, are in the semi-finals, after winning their heat in a time of 6:58.77.
Alexander, 17, said the team came up from Christchurch on Saturday at six in the morning in preparation for the secondary school rowing championships.
On their peak sessions, the school’s team of 27 train two times a day, six days a week.
It’s the school’s fourth year at the event.
“We mainly just started with novice rowing, but this is the first year that we’ve actually got school rowers at every age event,” Alexander said.
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