The Christmas spirit was on display at this year’s Christmas Regatta, held at Lake Karapiro in mid-December.

With over 2600 rowers (including Australian clubs) competing in club and age group events over a three-day period, the regatta was a wonderful testing ground for coaches to assess where crews were at for medal regattas in the new year.

The conditions over the three days saw temperatures in the high 20s with the water conditions being pristine with little wind. The heat meant rowers had to carefully manage hydration and time in the sun to ensure they were able to last the long and demanding days.

On the Friday, the heats for the age group events were held with Whakatāne Rowing Club fielding crews in the Boys U16, Boys U18, and Girls U16 categories.

Stand out performances from the age group racing came from the U16 quad of Adam Albert-May, Callum Hughes, Luka Hagger, Finn Madsen and cox Rhianna Rowe who placed second in their heat to make the A Final where they placed third.

In U16 double scull, Adam combined with Kohl van den Anker to place second in their heat, making the A Final and coming a commendable fourth.

Senior rowers also put in a dominant performance to finish first in their heat and proceed to the A Final. The established trio of Travis Talpos, Ash Schutz and Alex Iremonger have this year been joined by Sam Knapton and cox Rhianna Rowe with their first place in the A Final of the U18 Coxed Quad.  Travis and Ash also put in a strong performance later in the day in the U18 double scull and were definitive winners in the A Final late on the Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, club events were raced.  Out on the water early were the dynamic duo of Piper Reddish and Kate Staples, who, after a strong showing at the club regatta earlier in the month, consolidated on their form to make the A final in the Girls Novice Double Scull where they placed fourth.

The Men’s Intermediate coxed quad of Kohl, Sam, Finn Anderson, and James McKay, coxed by Alya Rowe, also performed strongly with a third-place finish in their A Final.  Later in the day, Finn was joined by Callum Hughes in the intermediate double sculls – another great performance saw the boys make the A Final where they placed 8^th.

Grace Iremonger and Ayla Rowe (senior girls) rowed in a composite Womans Club quad with Francis Hazeldine (Rotorua) and Adah Williams (Taupo).  In only their second time in the boat together the crew did enough to progress to the A Final where they came a commendable sixth place.

In their most testing event of the regatta the U18 boys joined by Joseph Williams of Taupo – took on the Men’s Club Coxless Quad. Winning their heat the crew was placed in a centre lane for the A Final. They raced neck in neck with an older Waikato Club crew who took the first place in the last 500 meters.

The U16 Boys crews joined forces to enter the Men’s Intermediate Coxed Octuple and again showed their aptitude in this event, winning their heat.  Placed in a centre lane of their A Final like the Senior boys, they too were bested by an opponent in the last part of the race to come a hard-fought second.

Coaches can now hone their crews over the next month with training and intensive camps as the business end of the season approaches. The next event for the club is the Dewar Shield Regatta, which is held at the Blue Lake.

This is the major fundraising event for the club with rowers seeking sponsors for races.

If your whānau or business would like to sponsor a race for $115 please visit the club’s website or Facebook page for more information.