Maadi 2005 - Disqualification in Springbok Shield

by Richard Gladwell on 17 Mar 2006 The penultimate day of racing in the AON New Zealand Secondary School Rowing Championships ended in a sensational note with the disqualification of the third placed crew in the Springbok Shield, after a cox failed a weight check.

After receiving a report from the Weighmaster that the cox of Christ's College had weighed in at 54.2kg the Race Committee decided to disqualify the third placegetter and promote the 4th placed crew, Westlake Boys. Under Secondary School Rowing Association Rules the minimum weight for a cox is 55kg and the variation was found after a post-race check weighing. Subsequently an Appeal was lodged with the NZSSRA Executive. It is understood that prior to the race, when all coxes are required to pass a weight check, the Christ’s cox was over the minimum weight. Following the disqualification the Westlake crew were elevated to third position and Christs College has been expunged from the results for this event. The bronze medal was presented to the Westlake Boys crew at the medal ceremony.

In the race itself, Hamilton Boys surprised no-one, by winning the event, and were dominant leading throughout with Wanganui Collegiate in second place and Christs third. At the finishing line Hamilton was over a boatlength ahead of Wanganui Collegiate with Christs almost a similar distance astern, and Westlake over a boatlength behind Christs.

What was surprising was that it was Hamilton Boys #2 crew who won with their First crew finishing in seventh place almost 40 seconds in arrears. The HBHS#1 crew won their heat but were thereafter superceded by the #2 crew who beat them in the semi-final by a 15 second margin. The two Fours crews combine for the Eights Championship event, and will be a formidable force.

The Girls U18 Four was won in equally impressive fashion by Sacred Heart Girls racing in the Maroon and White checks. They pulled away from second placegetter Rangi Ruru in the latter stages of the race to win by almost eight seconds, or a couple of boat lengths, with Gisbourne Girls in third almost a boat length in arrears. Last year’s champions and the dominant force in girls rowing for many years, St Margarets finished in 5th place 15 seconds behind Sacred Heart Girls, having only won their heat on the second day of racing.

For two of the Sacred Heart rowers, Rachel Arbuckle and Liz Jerrat, it was almost a double medal gold medal day after they just missed winning the Girls U18 Pair by a third of a second to the crew from Craigshead Diocesan. These two Sacred Heart rowers are back on the medal hunt tomorrow with another two events – the Double Sculls and Eights Championships.

By popular acclaim the performance of the day was from Twizel Area School, who took a bronze medal in the Girls U15 Double Sculls. This school has just 49 students and has three rowers competing at Karapiro. All three have made the A Finals at this regatta, with one rower, Zoe Evans competing in both the U15 Double Sculls and U17 Double sculls events. There was an amazing crowd response to the efforts of Zoe Evans and Caitlin Feasey in the U15 Double Sculls – even though a Gold Medal was out of their reach at the finish the shore-side fans were determined to see the pair from the Mckenzie Country come away with a medal – and let them have full roar – inspired no doubt by a slim Twizel supporter who can generate enough volume to drown out a rock concert.

One of the closest finishes of the day came in the Girls Championship singles when the favorite, Rebecca Ryall from Kings College, just managed to head off a fast finishing Odette Sceats from Gisbourne Girls by less than half a second (see picture).

Conditions for the regatta were ideal, once again, with a lightly overcast sky, no wind and flat water.

The live webcast ws in operation, as was a full televison broadcast back onto a super-screen ashore, bringing the whole race alive for spectators on the bank and in the grandstand

Racing continues for a final day tomorrow, starting with the Girls U17 Double Sculls B Final at 0855hrs, and will conclude with the race for the Maadi Cup itself, for the Boys Under 18 Eights.

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Results for BOYS U18 4+
Sponsored by Cambridge New World

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A Final Results

	Club	Finish	1500	1000	500	Crew
1st	HAMILTON BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 2	6:30:79	-	-	-	Graeme Hill Adam Grenside Simon Taylor Carl Finlay Cox Peter Walter
2nd	WANGANUI COLLEGIATE SCHOOL 1	6:37:22	-	-	-	Thomas Donald Dudley Chambers James Peters Guy McEwen Cox Tom Middleton
3rd	WESTLAKE BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 1	6:45:68	-	-	-	Hamish McQueen William Joyce Simon Arblaster Ian Mason Cox Sam Linder
4th	ST KENTIGERN COLLEGE SCHOOL 1	6:47:76	-	-	-	Jeremy Corliss Timothy Olson Robert Kidd Thomas Blampied Cox Daniel Quigley
5th	HAURAKI PLAINS COLLEGE 1	6:55:07	-	-	-	Gerard Casey Michael Jacobs Troy Hoogeveen Joshua Dalgety Cox Kelly Troughton
6th	WANGANUI COLLEGIATE SCHOOL 2	6:57:81	-	-	-	Edward Thorp John Dowding Giles McLean Charles Dickie Cox Edward Knight
7th	HAMILTON BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 1	7:19:95	-	-	-	Kiel Mans Josiah Lester Clinton Stockman Jonathan Armstrong Cox Sam Purvis
0	CHRISTS COLLEGE SCHOOL 1	DIS	-	-	-	Samuel O'Connor Blake Callesen Andrew Smith Johnny Watherston Cox Robert Salvesen

B Final Result

	Club	Finish	1500	1000	500	Crew
1st	FRASER HIGH SCHOOL 1	6:59:08	-	-	-	Ryan Wild Alex Campbell Tim Michels Robert Mathieson Cox Hayden Perry
2nd	KINGS HIGH SCHOOL 2	7:03:58	-	-	-	Joshua Jeffery Craig deBlecourt Michael Nisbet Scott Van Den Bosch Cox Cory Hanning
3rd	ST BEDES COLLEGE 1	7:03:86	-	-	-	Andrew Holden Russell Frankpitt Jacob Irving Luke Brice Cox Steven Golding
4th	HAMILTON BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 3	7:07:32	-	-	-	Hamish Wade Daniel Peart Jason Ardern Fraser Haywood Cox Scott Harmsworth
5th	WESTLAKE BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 2	7:09:30	-	-	-	Benjamin Grace Jeremy Jones Austen Restall Christopher Cole Cox Ross Davis
6th	ST PAULS COLLEGIATE SCHOOL 1	7:14:46	-	-	-	Reece Croasdale Robbie Spear Zac Blackley Scott Keene Cox Lewis Winn
7th	SACRED HEART COLLEGE (AUCK) 1	7:21:10	-	-	-	Josh Bennett Justin Walker Jason Srhoj Matthew Thompson Cox Leo Archer
8th	ST PAULS COLLEGIATE SCHOOL 2	7:22:20	-	-	-	Michael Wallace Thomas Nabbs Derek Callister David Linehan Cox S.Holmes