Regattas & Training Camp

Training Camp

There is a compulsory training camp at the Blenheim Rowing Club in Blenheim in December and at the Meridian Rowing Complex in Twizel in January. These camps prepare our crew members for the season ahead. The camp involves hard work but is also great fun for both crew members and parents.

The learning curve is steep, and the camp is always very successful from a technical rowing perspective, as well as for team building and crew members' personal growth.

Camps are organised by the Rowing Parent Group and the coaching team. Accommodation, transport, and catering are arranged in advance and rely heavily on parent helpers to fill the various roles required for the smooth running of the camp. Please check the calendar of events for the dates of the training camp.

Regattas

During the season rowers and coxswains will compete in approximately seven regattas, culminating in the South Island Secondary Schools Championships and the Maadi Regatta (National Secondary Schools Championship). Competition at all levels is fierce and this provides an excellent development platform for young rowers, in both ability and sportsmanship.

Regattas are held either locally on Kerrs Reach, or regionally on Lake Hood in Ashburton. Major Championship regattas towards the end of the season are hosted on Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel. The NZ Secondary School Rowing National Championships, Maadi Regatta is hosted alternative years between Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel and Lake Karapiro, Cambridge.

Parents are encouraged to attend regattas to support all crew members, with helpers required for transport, catering, and general organising activities. Parents have a lot of fun supporting rowers! 

Our Cashmere High School Rowing tent is our home base at regattas, located lakeside to view all the action. It is a great place to meet up with all other parents. Best to bring along a chair for you to sit back, relax and enjoy. Our tent is also used as a base to cater for the rowers. 

Crew members will also have a tent in the boat park from where they make their final preparations for each race and go through their debrief and post-race nutrition routines. The boat park is equivalent to the dressing room in other sporting codes. It is the place for the rowers to focus on their racing and it is not a place for parents to visit. Accordingly, parents are asked not to visit the boat park during regattas. 

All regatta day sheets and results are published on rowit www.rowit.co.nz. Rowit is a great way to see when a rower is racing and to be able to keep an eye on the results from afar.