Westlake Girls Rowing is a successful and established sport and once again the team enjoyed another strong season, earning several medals at the Auckland and North Island Secondary School Championship before winning gold and silver at the New Zealand Secondary School Championships last March. A month earlier at the traditional Lake Pupuke, Head of Harbour regatta, Westlake Girls won 9 medals across all age groups, including medals in the Under 16, Under 17 and the showcase event of the regatta, the Under 18 eight. At the North Island Secondary Schools Championship rewarded the Under18 Novice 4+ with gold and then two weeks later the crew won silver at the New Zealand Secondary School Championship. However, the standout performance of the year came from the Under 15 4+ who finished the season on an impressive note, winning silver at the North Island Championship and then gold at the New Zealand Secondary School Championship on Lake Karapiro.
PROGRAMME:
The rowing season begins in September with Spring Camp and concludes in March at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship. Learn to Row is offered to beginners and it is an excellent programme for novice rowers to get started. The 8-week coaching sessions begin in June and run through winter so students are ready to sign up for Spring Camp at Karapiro during the first week of the September school holidays. Senior Students begin off season training in June.
Rowing is run by the Rowing Society and they start every season with an Open Day for parents to learn more about the programme including cost, commitment and the event schedule. This takes place in Spring.
REGISTRATION
For more information, or to register for this activity, please go to “CLIPBOARD”. It is a NEW platform to view All Westlake Girls Sports and it is located on the Student and Parent Portals or just contact the Manager.
Rowing Contact:
Ian Bright – Head of Rowing
P: 09 489 4169 Ext 764
E: ibright@westlakegirls.school.nz
What can you expect from rowing
Rowing is a unique high intensity sport, and perhaps the ultimate team sport. This means that the girls work together and support each other. While it is important that the girls enjoy their rowing, we also expect them to work hard, be committed and have a good attitude towards each other. The competitive summer rowing season runs from September to March or April depending on the timing of the final regatta for the season (Maadi Cup). Winter training begins late May early June each year, this training is optional and winter commitments take priority through to the end of winter sport. Once winter sport is complete the number of training sessions steadily increase from September to March in preparation for the North Island Secondary Schools Championships (NISS) and for selected girls, the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships (Maadi Cup Regatta).
For parents, the sport of rowing is also quite demanding, but can be extremely fulfilling. You can expect to be a taxi driver, help out at events and assist in fundraising. Further, the demands of rowing provide healthy challenges to your daughter, so they may need some guidance to become self-reliant in an intense sporting environment. As a parent you will also become a member of a much larger family and develop new friendships with other parents.
We have a Facebook page for past and present rowers, and all friends of Westlake Rowing. You can find it HERE.
