Edward will partner Louise Ayling in the women's lightweight sculls and says because it's a new partnership she's taking a cautious approach to predicting how the pair will go.
"It's a new combination and [yesterday] was the first time we raced together. We need to look at our speeds and definitely relook at our goals for the Olympics."
The 21-year-old, whose grandmother Isla Edward died in January, said she thought her grandmother would have been proud of what she had achieved.
"I'd love each race [she would attend]. She would be in tears after the race and she would tell all her friends about me and she would have been so, so proud of me."
The New Zealand team will be lead by five-time world champion single sculler Mahe Drysdale. It will be Drysdale's third Olympic regatta and he'll be aiming to top the bronze medal he secured in Beijing four years ago.
Emma Twigg - world bronze medallist in 2010 and 2011 - is selected for the women's single scull, while Fi Paterson and Anna Reymer, bronze medallists in 2011, will remain in the promising women's heavyweight double scull, the boat in which New Zealand secured its Olympic gold in Beijing with the Evers-Swindell twins.
The women's quad remains in the bronze medal-winning combination of 2011 with Eve Macfarlane, Fiona Bourke, Louise Trappitt and Sarah Gray.
There are new line-ups for the two other qualified boats - the men's four and the men's quad. The new-look men's four will be coached by Dave Thompson and comprises Sean O'Neill, Chris Harris, Jade Uru and Tyson Williams. The men's quadruple scull will be crewed by Robbie Manson, Matthew Trott, John Storey and new recruit Michael Arms. Mike Rodger will continue to coach this boat.
In the two boats named to try to qualify at Lucerne in May, the lightweight four will be crewed by three-time world lightweight sculling champion Duncan Grant, double Under-23 world champion Graham Oberlin-Brown, world silver medallist James Lassche and Curtis Rapley. David Thompson will coach this boat. The crew will need to finish in the top two in Lucerne.
Waikato coach Ian Wright will take charge of the men's eight which will also race to qualify at Lucerne. The crew will be Richard Harrison, Hamish Burson, Tobias Wehr-Candler, Adam Tripp, Ian Seymour, Ben Hammond, Fergus Fauvel, David Eade and cox Ivan Pavich. The eight must win the qualifying regatta to progress to London 2012.
Legendary coach Richard Tonks will remain in charge of Drysdale, Twigg, Bond and Murray and the women's quad, with John Robinson handling the lightweight women's double scull as well as Haigh and Scown. Calvin Ferguson stays with the men's lightweight and heavyweight double sculling crews, and Gary Hay remains with the women's heavyweight double scull.
Rowing New Zealand secretary-general and selector, Kereyn Smith, said the announcement was significant. "The team named [yesterday] contains no fewer than nine world champions and multiple medal-winning elite, U23 and junior world championship rowers," she said. "Rowing is already a very successful Olympic sport for New Zealand; the outstanding team for London will cement rowing's place in Olympic history."
Rowing has won 16 Olympic medals since Darcy Hadfield took bronze at the Antwerp Games in 1920 and sits equal with sailing as New Zealand's second-best medal-winning sport behind athletics (20 medals).
Rotorua youngster Jeff Francis has qualified for the men's quadruple sculls for this year's Under-23 World Rowing Championships.
