Organisers have cancelled the Billy Webb Challenge event.
Unsafe weather and river conditions have forced the cancellation of the Rigtec Billy Webb Challenge rowing competition on the Whanganui River.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” event manager Philippa Baker-Hogan said.
“It’s not until you cancel an event and start going through the list of things to unwind that event, that you see a little bit how much work’s gone into it.”
MetService notified organisers of potential extreme weather conditions that would cause high winds and unsafe river conditions at the weekend.
Baker-Hogan said despite waking up and seeing the sun on Friday, the upstream river conditions would hit Whanganui about a day and half later.
“That’s kind of the overwhelming reason to make that decision.”
Debris, including logs, in the water and increased chances of capsizing in the extreme weather posed significant danger to athletes, Baker-Hogan said.
The 6km small boats race is named after William “Billy” Webb, New Zealand’s first world champion in the professional single sculls rowing event. Webb won the title after beating Australian Charles Towns by five boat lengths on the Parramatta River in Sydney in 1907.
The event celebrates Webb’s defence of the world title against twice Australian champion Richard Tressider on the Whanganui River in 1908. A crowd of 25,000, including former Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward, watched the event.
Webb was a member of Whanganui’s Union Boat Club.
The annual challenge began in 2008 on the 100-year anniversary of Webb’s victory on the river.
“It’s cool because it happens right in the centre of the city,” Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club head coach Axel Dickinson said.
“The public come out, wonder what’s going on, and they get to see some of our elite oarsmen. It’s good exposure for the sport and for Whanganui.”
The race is open to competitors of all ages and abilities.
The historic context of the race and celebration of New Zealand rowing’s history make the event unique.
Rowers from across New Zealand were gearing up for the 2025 event.
Nick Barton, head coach of Waikato Rowing Club which hosts elite training programmes in collaboration with Rowing New Zealand, was planning to attend with some of his elite athletes.
Baker-Hogan said the organisers made the decision to cancel as soon as they could due to the impacts on travel plans.
“Even travelling with a light boat trailer is pretty dangerous [in high winds],” Baker-Hogan said.
The event has a tradition of offering amateurs and juniors the opportunity to race against some of the highest-ranked athletes in the sport.
“One thing that is great about this race is literally [for] any rower, this is your chance to race against often what has been Olympic champions or New Zealand champions,” Baker-Hogan said.
It is one of the few river head races in New Zealand.
This year’s challenge was set to feature a new event - the New World Fastest Kid on the Erg competition for kids in Years 7 and 8. They could choose between 250m individual or team categories, competing on land for the fastest times on ergometer rowing machines.
“We’re trying to rebuild the event again,” Baker-Hogan said.
Organisers have struggled in recent years to have consistent participation rates, with interruptions including the Covid-19 pandemic.
The highest boat turnout to date was in 2024 when the event was held in conjunction with Whanganui Vintage Weekend.
However, this year entries were down significantly and many elite rowers who typically attend chose not to.
Reasons included competing priorities with other international elite events, less promotion of the race compared to previous years, and some programmes choosing not to participate at the level they have in the past.
At the event’s height in the 2010s, the race was televised and live-streamed, with showdowns typically between several Olympians.
“The history behind it’s really amazing and the continuation of the event is really important,” Dickinson said.
Whanganui had played a major role not only in New Zealand rowing but the sport globally.
“I don’t think people realise totally where Whanganui sits ... on a global stage for a very small city,” Dickinson said.
“How much Whanganui punches above its weight.”
Whanganui has produced not only a host of elite athletes but also internationally top-ranked coaches, including Olympian Kerri Gowler, Olympians and coaches Ian Wright and Dick Tonks, and coaches Harry Mahon and Nick Barton.
In 1991, Baker-Hogan was the first New Zealand female rower to win a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships, winning the women’s lightweight single sculls.
She has been affiliated with Union Boat Club since the 1990s when she moved to Whanganui to train during the height of her athletic career and has since been a coach and event organiser.
Dickinson said the Billy Webb Challenge “pays homage to those deep roots that Whanganui has in rowing”.
It was also a way to attract public attention, which Dickinson and Baker-Hogan said may help increase participation in the sport.
Baker-Hogan said she was concerned that without added support, grassroots events such as the Billy Webb Challenge may be lost.
Increased support from Rowing NZ to increase the prize money may attract more high-level competitors, increase sponsorship and help draw more public interest, she said.