Whanganui High School’s Maadi Cup campaign success blows rowing coaches’ expectations out of the water

The Whanganui High School Maadi Cup squad with coaches Dave Dudley (left) and Axel Dickinson (right). Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui High School’s rowing coaches had their expectations for this year’s Maadi Cup regatta blown out of the water.

The school left Lake Karapiro with six medals - four silvers and two bronzes - which ranked the school 12th in the country at the end of the regatta and broke a seven-year medal drought for the school.

Director of rowing Axel Dickinson said the performance blew away his expectations for the event and it was thanks to the kids in the team.

“We’ve got a really good group and a good culture that’s being fostered at the club, and we’re really excited to see that grow year-on-year and build the numbers at the programme.”

The school had its best performance ever at the North Island Secondary Schools Championships and came close to bettering its best at the national regatta, coming up a couple of points short of its 2005 effort.

The event was dominated by South Island private schools, Dickinson said.

“Last year, it was in the South Island, and the North Island did better than the South despite all the lockdowns we had up here, so year-on-year, it can change quite a bit.

“It ran really well, and with any hiccups that we came across along the way, the kids were pretty resilient and sort of found a way through.”

The team went through a rebuild when Dickinson came on board in the middle of 2022, with no senior athletes on the team at present and a change to the training schedule.

He saw the growth of the team and its culture was really exciting.

“We’re not losing any athletes and we’ve just continued to grow, so we’re really excited for the future.”

Next year they hoped to continue the momentum, with some big goals for the next season.

Over the winter break, they wanted to lay the foundations for growth at the club, bringing in new rowers and training them up to a higher level.

He thanked the students, fellow coach Dave Dudley, members of the Aramoho Rowing Club and Whanganui Toyota for providing them with a ute to tow their boats.

Whanganui Collegiate School also came away from the event with three silver medals. The school’s rowing coaches have been contacted for comment.