Successful week for Nelson rowers

Nelson Rowing Club has returned from the 2021 Rocket Foods New Zealand Rowing Champs at Twizel with an impressive haul off five gold, four silver and four bronze medals.

The national pinnacle regatta attracted 880 competitors from across the country.

The event was put on hold due to Alert Level two, so after a nervous wait, the regatta eventually got underway with a condensed program of rowing over three days instead of the scheduled five.

Nelson Rowing Club had a team of 20 rowers down at Lake Ruataniwha and went into Finals Day on Saturday with all rowers making an A or B Final.

A highlight of the regatta was the Women's Premier Coxless Quad Sculls.

Nelson-based US scholarship rower Gabby Hannen, along with World Champion Lightweight rower Zoe McBride, Ashlee Rowe and Katie Lush made up the composite crew who put in a silver medal winning performance.

Luke Brady won gold in the Men's U22 Single Sculls, a silver in the Men's U22 Double Sculls and teamed up with a Bay of Plenty crew to win another silver in the Men's Premier Coxless Quad Sculls.

At the end of the regatta, Brady was named as a triallist for the NZ U23 and Winter Training Squads.

The Club’s College rowers were in amazing form and collected the rest of the Club’s medals.

Nicole Campbell had a sensational regatta with two golds and one bronze medal.

She started the day on a high with the Women's Club Coxless Quad Sculls crew of Lucy Munro, Macy Kappely and Sophie Hawkins to win the event in a nail biter of a finish that saw only half a second separating the first and third boats.

Campbell’s second gold medal came with a convincing win in the Womens Club Single Sculls and she rounded out her day with a bronze medal with Macy Kappely in the Womens Club Double Sculls.

Macy’s sister Millie Kappely also took to the podium to accept a bronze medal with Hawkins in the Womens Intermediate Double Sculls in the closest finish of the regatta with 0.01 separating the silver and bronze boats.

For the men, Bryce Stace and Flynn Mercer also had a fantastic week, both finishing the regatta with three medals – one of each colour.

Stace won gold in the Mens Club Coxless Quad Sculls with Jack Burrows, Ollie Ransom and Rico Fraser, a silver in the Mens Intermediate Coxed Quad Sculls with Burrows, Buster Jennings, Flynn Mercer and cox Charlie Parker, and together Stace and Mercer won bronze in the Mens Intermediate Double Sculls.

Mercer won his gold medal by joining forces with Jennings and the Blenheim crew to win the Mens Intermediate Coxed Eight.

Head Coach Tim Babbage says he couldn’t be more pleased.

“Although there was so much uncertainty at the start of the week, I was very proud that our rowers held their composure and once they were on the water, all their dedicated hard training paid off.”

Nelson Rowing Club always welcomes new members so if you are interested in giving rowing a go (regardless of age or ability), contact the Club’s Administrator at [email protected] for further information.