Message from Rowing New Zealand and New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Association President

Message from

Simon Peterson

CEO, NZ Rowing

Janey Wackrow

President, NZSSRA

ROWING NZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND THE NEW ZEALAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS ROWING ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

The 2021 season has been an eventful one for Secondary School Rowing. After the cancellation of the 2020 Aon Maadi Cup, rowing Membership at Secondary School level has rebounded successfully despite the ongoing effects of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. This week will see the highest number of athletes ever attending, with 2458 (2615 including reserves) competitors set to take to the water for the 2021 Aon Maadi Cup, the pinnacle rowing event on the New Zealand school calendar. It is wonderful to see so many schools from across the country converge on Lake Karapiro and create such a colourful display of school pride, sporting excellence, and perseverance in the face of adversity. 2021 has certainly been an unusual year with the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics still on the horizon. Many of our current elite rowers also raced at this regatta, sparking a dream of representing NZ on the world stage. Some athletes competing at this regatta may aspire to follow in the footsteps of these rowers and whether it is Olympic ambitions, junior or under 23 representative honours they will no doubt remember that their time started at the Aon Maadi Cup, a wonderful festival of rowing. Rowing NZ and the NZSSRA want to thank Aon for their continued support of the Aon Maadi Cup and incredible commitment to rowing in New Zealand. The longevity and importance of Aon’s support cannot be underestimated, this support has been incredibly valuable and part of the ongoing success and development of New Zealand’s young rowers. The Aon Maadi Cup would not be possible without the large number of volunteers that give up a significant amount of time to ensure that this regatta continues to be a success. Rowing NZ and NZSSRA pass on their thanks to the team at Karapiro Rowing Inc. who work year round to maintain this fantastic facility here at Lake Karapiro. A special thanks to the coaches, parents and other volunteers who are up in the early morning and who give-up so much time on weekends, who support school training camps and provide a positive environment for the athletes to thrive and flourish as rowers and people. Finally, to the athletes competing, you can very proud to have represented your school at this prestigious event and we wish you the best of luck for the week ahead!

NZSSRA OFFICE BEARERS

President: Janey Wackrow Board Members: Andrew Carr-Smith, Gus Scott, Leith Menzies, Trudy Keys

Schools Committee:

Chairperson: Bruce Tong NZSSRA Board Rep: Janey Wackrow NZRA CEO: Simon Peterson Elected Members: Lauren Farnden, Scott Wilson Appointed Members: Richard Dykes, Cathy Ewing Manager: Sonya Walker

NZSSRA Life Members:

Garry Carr-Smith Jack Collin Father Earl Crotty (SM) Brother Terence Costello John Drummond Leslie Saywood Fred Strachan (QSM) John O'Connor