Top quality racing continues at Bankstream NZ Rowing Championships
Top quality racing continued on the second day of the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro. Wednesday's programme saw rowers compete in repechages as planned but with impending weather a number of semi finals were also raced on Wednesday afternoon.
New Zealand U20 rowers took on the repechages in the men’s single scull with the top three crews from each race claiming the prize of a start in the medal final. Waihopai’s Tim Yaxley as well as Southern RPC’s Matthew Mesman and Jared van Vianen were successful in the first heat claiming their final berths. James Walker of Southern RPC, Ben Watkinson of West End and Thomas Elder of Auckland RPC round out the finalists from the second repechage. Those six crews will be joined by yesterday’s heat winners Olly Stevens of Nelson and Ben Kirsop from Waikato RPC for the final on Friday.
In the women’s club eight repechage six of the eight crews will head to the final on Friday to join heat winners Bay of Plenty Coast and Auckland Rowing Club.
The women’s club double repechages winners Bay of Plenty Cost, Waikato Rowing Club Mercer Rowing Club and Oamaru Rowing Club will join the heat the crews that have already progressed to the semi finals on Thursday.
In the women’s single Lucy Spoors and Zoe Stevenson were first and second respectively in the first repechage securing their place in the final. In the second repechage Eve Macfarlane was the clear winner ahead of Jeannine Gemlin of the Swiss High Performance Centre with Fiona Bourke in third.
Giacomo Thomas from Auckland RPC claimed first place in the men’s premier single repechage while Lewis Hollows of Auckland RPC and Thomas Graves of Craftsbury finished second and third – all ensuring their places in the semi finals on Thursday.
The first semi finals of the championships were the women’s U20 single sculls with Lexi Kerr of Auckland RPC shining in the first semi final to win and secure her place in the medal final ahead of the two Waikato RPC scullers Georgia Allen and Samantha Voss. Luka Ellery won the second semi with the fastest time of the two semis and just ahead of Ashburton Rowing Club’s Veronica Wall and Brylie Gordon from Hauraki Plains Rowing Club.
In the men’s club pair the top four in each semi had the opportunity to progress through to the final. In the first semi final two Waikato pairs, Whakatane and Whakatipu all claimed spots while Avon, Nelson, Canterbury and Waihopai Rowing Clubs’ all progressed in the second semi final.
The 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships has over 870 rowers representing 49 organisations in 72 boat classes. Heats and repechages occupy the first three days of the Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships, and finals are split over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Tomorrow morning semi finals will continue followed by the first A finals which will kick off with the men’s U20 single at 1:15pm. The first premier events of the regatta are to be raced on Thursday, the men’s and women’s quadruple sculls.
To see the day sheet for Thursday 18 February (Day 3) of the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships: http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/daysheet?ds=2
For results from the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships: http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/results