Maadi rowers in it for long haul

JACK MALCOLM

Nelson Rowing Club members were up at the crack of dawn over the weekend as they started a trip to Karapiro on Saturday.

The team, consisting of students from across the region, were fundraising for the Maadi Cup by rowing the 701km they will have to travel later this year for the premier high school event.

Seven erg rowing machines were set up in a business space on Trafalgar Street, with teams racing over 100km each to raise money and for bragging rights.

Club captain Julie Johnson says it’s a significant cost to the club to take such a big team of about 50 athletes to the North Island, having to rent a bus for the two days of travel each way.

The day also acted as a training day for the rowers as they prepared for the South Island Club Champs in Twizel this weekend.

Speaking as the rowers crossed the halfway point on their journey, Julie joked that they had just made it to Bulls to stop off for a cup of coffee and had been tracking well to meet their goal.

“There’s five to seven in each team, and some have our coxswain, who don’t normally row, in them.

“Most of the time it’s been fiveto-10 [minute] stints each, but some of the boys have been getting on and busting out the kms.”

She says it was awesome to see the support from other club members coming down to lend a hand and help put some numbers on the board.

“We’ve had a few older rowers come back. A few parents have put on some kms, and a couple of masters have just been on.”

While it hadn’t been planned as a race, the seven teams had been matched evenly, and their competitiveness had taken hold as they looked to be the first across the finish line.

In between switching out rowers, someone would continue to use the machine while standing to eke out every metre they could.

“They were all a bit nervous, having never done it before, but they’re starting to get into it,” says Julie.

Any support for their Maadi Cup campaign would be greatly appreciated, with the club also holding raffles and accepting donations.