Wanaka rowers achieved “remarkable” success at this year’s Aon Maadi Cup regatta on Lake Karapiro with one gold medal and more rowers than ever making it into semis and finals.

New Zealand’s largest rowing regatta, the Aon Maadi Cup alternates between Cambridge and Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel and this year more than 2,600 students participated in the national school rowing championships with around 8,000 spectators, coaches and crew supporters watching the six day event (March 22-27).

“It was the best performance for MAC [Mount Aspiring College] by far,” Wanaka Rowing Club coach David Ayers said.

MAC rowers have been going from strength to strength, he said. 

Covid-19 restrictions meant last year’s event was cancelled but in 2019 MAC rowers won two medals - gold in novice U18 girls quad and silver in U16 girls quad - but as wonderful as that was, it paled beside this year’s success.

Gold medal winning crew (L-R) Neve Faed, Bella Sarginson, Emily Findlay and Pipi Horan with coxswain Thomas Mitchell and coaches Matt Rickard and Dave Ayres (slightly obscured). PHOTO: Bex Sarginson

This year’s squad of 10 rowers made more semis, A and B Finals than ever before and the girls’ U17 coxed quadruple sculls absolutely dominated its race to win by an enormous eight seconds, David said.

“It was massive. They led from start to finish. The speed they were going... for under 17 girls it was quite remarkable,” he said.

The U17 champions are Pipi Horan, Emily Findlay, Bella Sarginson and Neve Faed with cox Thomas Mitchell in his first competitive season.

MAC’s U17 girls coxed quad celebrates their win. PHOTO: Bex Sarginson

Pipped into fourth place in “a really tough final” for the the girls’ U17 double sculls were Pipi Horan and Emily Findlay who won their heat and semis but missed out on a podium finish by the narrowest of margins, David said.

Both girls have subsequently been selected to trial for the North vs. South U18 rowing squad.

Others to line up in A Finals races were Emily Findlay and Emma Stead, who joined forces to row eighth in the girls’ U18 double sculls and the girls’ U18 coxed quad sculls, of Emma Stead, Lyla Chamberlain, Ruby Boyd, Samara Goodall and cox Thomas Mitchell, who managed a very credible seventh. 

This result meant this crew was the third South Island crew to cross the finish line and, due to the Covid-19 cancellation of the South Island Secondary Schools Regatta, this crew took home the bronze medal for the South Island.

Emma Stead, who only recently relocated to Wanaka from Cambridge, was also placed seventh in the girls’ U18 single sculls B Final. 

Making their way into the semi-finals were Bella Sarginson and Aaron Maxwell. Rowing her first ever two kilometers single sculls race, Bella was placed a commendable eighth in the girls’ U17 single sculls and Aaron also rowed into eight place in the boys’ U18 single sculls setting a new personal best time by seven seconds. 

Aaron also teamed up with Tao Hawkey-Hight in the boys’ U18 double sculls and were placed seventh in their heat just missing out on progressing on to the repechage; Ruby Boyd was also placed sixth in the girls’ U16 single sculls heat. 

David said the rowing conditions were “literally perfect all week. There wasn’t a single race delayed because of the weather”.