School Rowing

Why choose rowing as a sport for your teen?

Rowing is an incredibly rewarding sport for both boys and girls. It does involve real commitment but it is a very social sport, involving many people and with our members benefitting from being part of a crew. It's also worth noting that rowing is one of the two biggest sports in NZ, alongside Rugby, with New Zealand one of the top rowing nations internationally. Rowing NZ receives significant support from the Government and there are fantastic opportunities to achieve scholarships for offshore education.

What our school rowers say....

"If you enjoy the sport there is a solid pathway to being competitive and also to continue with the sport long after your school years...  if you row through school it is a badge of honour that you will have with you your whole life."

Marley King-Smith, Whakatipu Rowing Club Committee High School Advocate

"Being a coxswain is both one of the easiest and hardest jobs in the boat. Easy because you have the least physically demanding job and you can 'just sit there' but hard because you are right there with them but can’t make the boat go faster. 

"As a coxswain you have to help your coach and crew to be the best that they can be. You have to use your voice and support your crew both in and out of the boat. You have to be able to motivate your crew but also be straight forward.

"Being a coxswain involves a lot of confidence to speak up and if you lack in that trait rowing can 100% help you gain it. Another extremely important trait a coxswain needs is honesty, honesty with your crew on how the boat feels and personal feelings within the crew.

"It’s a big commitment but once you know the feeling of working together as a team to achieve your little goals of just balancing the boat and/or a huge goal of winning a South Island or Maadi title, you will leave trainings and regattas always wanting more, both little wins and big."

Emily Howick, High School Coxswain