2019 Aon Maadi Cup - Day Four

The 2019 Aon Maadi Cup (New Zealand Secondary School Championships) is being hosted by Karapiro Rowing Inc. at Lake Karapiro, Cambridge from 25 - 30 March, with Sunday 31 March morning reserved as a spare day in case of bad weather.

Run by the NZSSRA and Rowing NZ, the Aon Maadi Cup is the national championships for school rowing. Being New Zealand's largest rowing regatta, it's the most prestigious event on the school rowing calendar with six days of racing.

After strong northerly wind conditions yesterday which halted racing, smooth water and minimal wind graced Lake Karapiro today, providing favorable race conditions for all participants and some very close results in quarter- and semi-finals.

Live results from all races today can be found at rowit.nz, as well as a full event schedule and entries.

In the girl’s U15 double scull Hauraki Plains College took the fastest time across both semi-finals with Maggie Morrison and Alex Sorensen. St Hilda’s Collegiate, Otumoetai College and Cambridge High School also progressed from semi-final one, with Dunstan High School, Villa Maria College, Wellington East Girls’ College and St Peter’s School (Cambridge) also progressing from semi-final two.

In the boy’s U17 double scull semi-finals, Dunstan High School, Christchurch Boys’ High School, John McGlashan College, St Patrick’s College, Wakatipu High School, St John’s College Hamilton, St Andrew’s College and Whanganui Collegiate School took top four placings across two races and all move forward to the A final.

In the girl’s novice coxed four, sixteen crews were competing across two semi-finals for lanes in the final. Semi-final one was taken out by St Kevin’s College with Christchurch Girl’s High School, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School and Howick College also placing top four. In semi-final two, Marlborough Girls’ College, Mt Albert Grammar School, Waikato Diocesan School for Girls and Cambridge High School placed top four and also move into the final.

In the boy’s U18 semi-finals, Ben Mason of Otago Boys’ High School took the fastest time in 7:22.08, with Sean McHugh of St Peter’s College (Auckland) close behind finishing in 7:23.35. Jason Nel of St Peter’s School (Cambridge) took first place in semi-final one, with Hauraki Plains College’s Eric Gruythusen in second. The top four crews in each race all progress to the final.

In the girl’s U16 coxed four first semi-final, Sacred Heart Girls’ College and Christchurch Girls’ High School both clocked times faster than semi-final two’s top two placing crews, Waikato Diocesan School for Girls and Diocesan School for Girls.

Rangi Ruru Girls’ School have had a strong week with crews making A finals in the U15 coxed four, U16 eight, U16 octuple, U17 coxed four, U18 coxed four and the novice eight (two crews).

Sponsor support

Aon has been a major partner to Rowing NZ for over 14 years, and the Aon Maadi Cup continues to be proudly sponsored by Aon.

Aon is the leading provider of insurance broking, risk management and associated services both in New Zealand and globally. They pride themselves on protecting all different kinds of Kiwis, from young families through to businesses and farms of all types and sizes. With over 950 staff located in offices spanning from Kerikeri to Invercargill, Kiwis will be sure to find a local Aon broker no matter where they live.

‘’Aon have supported rowing in New Zealand for almost 15 years, and it’s a relationship we’re both grateful for and immensely proud of. Fostering secondary school rowing is incredibly important – it obviously generates talent for future New Zealand representatives, but more importantly it helps grow New Zealand’s youth into great people. Aon have never been the type to provide us with financial support and walk away – they genuinely care about our sport and athletes, and are familiar faces at our regattas across the country. In recent years their support has stretched to working with secondary schools directly and providing much needed equipment. The Aon Maadi Cup remains one of the biggest secondary school sporting events in New Zealand and we’re proud to work alongside Aon to bring it to life each year.’’

Simon Peterson, Rowing NZ Chief Executive

Tomorrow’s schedule begins at 8.23am tomorrow with finals for 26 events.

The event’s programme is available to view online at rowingnz.kiwi, maadi.co.nz and via the Rowing NZ App. A live webcast of finals will be available from tomorrow onward via the Rowing NZ App and maadi.co.nz