Aramoho Whanganui Secure Rowing NZ “CLUB OF THE YEAR TROPHY”
Our rowing club was accorded the honour of being declared New Zealand’s “Rowing Club of the Year” at the recent Annual General Meeting of Rowing New Zealand which was held in Gisborne.
Aramoho Whanganui Rowing has never been awarded this honour previously, and Life Member, Gus Scott, was fortunately on hand at the AGM to receive the trophy, which was then formally passed onto Club Patron, Allan Luff, at the prizegiving following the Winter Series 2 on 9 June 2024.
In acknowledging the honour, Allan commented on the fact that while on-water performances over the past season had been outstanding, it was also a tribute to the solid work of coaches, committee, and parents over the past year.
The trophy itself is very unique for a rowing trophy, being originally gifted by the Electricity Corporation of NZ and is a miniature of a power station switch on a bed of granite.
Get your tickets to Quiz Night
Only a few more days until Quiz Night, and we have a few more tables left. Last time it was a sold out success, so don't miss out on this upcoming event!
Contact Rebecca to book a table or join a table.
Jake Newton and Will Herd Selected for NZ World Coastal Beach Sprints Team
As noted in our last newsletter, Jake and Will attended a NZ trial at Orewa for the NZ Team which will attend the World Championships for this new derivation of our sport.
We are proud to advise that Jake has been selected as part of the NZ Under 19 Team which will travel to Genoa in September and Will has been selected as a non-travelling reserve. Our hearty congratulations to both!
AWRC Masters Perform With Distinction at Neilsen Kellerman Masters Regatta
A modest contingent of our Masters Members attended the above fixture at Lake Karapiro at the start of June, and returned home with 11 Gold, 3 Silver, and 5 Bronze Medals.
Pictured at the after-match revelries are Quinten, Jacs, Louise, Jane, Des, and Sue. Almost hidden by the bottles is the Cave Cup which was presented by Mahe Drysdale to Jacs, Jane, Murray Stewart, and Colin for their win in the Open Mixed Four.
Reg and Allison Douglas Farewelled
Our country’s oldest surviving Olympian, Reg Douglas, is relocating to Cromwell, Central Otago, to be closer to family.
As a sprightly 94-year-old, Reg has been a regular attendee of our Whinge n Wine Wednesday group and was recognised last year by Rowing NZ with a NZ Rowing Legion Medal.
Reg sculled for the Mercer Rowing Club during the 1950s, and represented NZ at the Vancouver Empire Games in 1952, the Olympics at Melbourne in 1956, and the Cardiff Empire Games in 1958.
As his original Red Coat was won in 1951, when he won the NZ Championship Single Sculls race at Akaroa, defeating Aramoho Boating Club’s Joe Schneider, the opportunity was taken by Whanganui Rowing President, Philippa Baker-Hogan, to present Reg with a new “Red Coat Pocket” to enable a new jacket to be manufactured, as his original was a victim of moths over the intervening 73 years.
Fundraising
The Club was recently given the opportunity to uplift hedge clippings at Brunswick by Rosemary Anderson.
Big thank you to those who attended on two separate Sundays to complete this work. We have received a generous donation for your efforts!
Working bee attendees: Bryan Christie, Carlie van Dijk, Cristian, Achilles, Ruby, Jordan, Master van Dijk, Robyn, Wayne Armishaw, Logan, Adrian, Axel, Ruby Hoekstra, Dave Hoekstra, and Rosemary Anderson. Thanks also to Des, Luffy, Wayne, Becky, George, Enno, Charlie, Joseph, Jordan, Logan, Axel, Francois who contributed enthusiastically on the second day.
Winter Series 2
Bryn Morgan was the winner of the second Blinkhorne & Carroll Winter Series 6km race on our awa. Competing in the Intermediate Single Scull, Bryn won, and his time of 25:46.75 produced the best prognostic score on the day of 87.09%! The Winter Series this year is proving very popular with 50 rowing crews and waka amas starting the event.
NZCT Grant
The Club notes its appreciation in receiving a grant of $30,000.00 towards the expenses of our Director of Rowing from NZ Community Trust. We are again indebted to Annie Pawson and Barb Hammond for undertaking the detailed submission for this grant.
RIP Verne Towgood
We note the sad passing of Verne, who lived in Aramoho and was an active member of the Aramoho Boating Club in the 1970s. He also was a rugby player for Technical Old Boys and a member of the Surf Life Saving Club.
Verne was a resident of Newcastle, New South Wales, at the time of his passing, and the Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club passes its condolences to his wife Julie, and children, as well as his wider family.
Whanganui Rowing Finish Box
Our local association has expended considerable time and resources upgrading the finish tower on our Aramoho Rowing Course. We would particularly like to acknowledge the considerable efforts of Des Lock, Bruce Osborne, Jane McGympsey, Axel Dickinson, Gus Scott, and Tony Upchurch from AWRC who have devoted considerable voluntary time to complete this work together with Blake Construction, the builders.
International News
Jackie Gowler and Kerri Williams won a dominant gold for the Women's Four at the 2024 World Rowing Cup III.
This crew finished 4th at World Cup 2 in Lucerne last month and as they have already qualified this boat for the Olympics, we look forward to watching them at the pinnacle of the sport in Paris.
Coming Up
Friday 21 June - Quiz Nite
Sunday 14 July - Winter Series 3 (AWRC Hosting Aftermatch)
Saturday 27 July - Rowing Heats commence at Olympics
