Rowers shine at Otago champs

The Wairau Rowing Club was well represented at the Otago championships, staged at Lake Ruataniwha on December 11-12.

A group of senior club athletes, plus six Marlborough Girls’ College students and one student from Queen Charlotte College took part, ensuring the top of the south contingent were prominent throughout.

The young MGC combination of Daisy Vavasour, Lexi Timpson, Emma Flanagan, Molly Glover and coxswain Lara Bacchus won both the under-18 and club fours in convincing fashion, underlining their promise and talent.

Charlotte Lightfoot, formerly of the Picton Rowing Club, enjoyed a highly-successful regatta, winning the under-18 single and finishing second in the women’s open quad sculls. Charlotte made the move to the Wairau senior squad this summer as she was the only athlete at the Picton club and felt that rowing in a bigger squad will provide more opportunity to row in other boat classes.

Kobe Miller had an outstanding regatta with a convincing win in the men’s open single over Avon’s Ben Mason, plus several other podium placings. Reuben Cook, who has joined Wairau this year from Otago Boys’ High School, was third in the open single.

Results:

Girls Under 18 coxed four: 1 Daisy Vavasour, Lexi Timpson, Emma Flanagan, Molly Glover and Lara Bacchus coxswain. Women’s Club Coxed Four: 1 Daisy Vavasour, Lexi Timpson, Emma Flanagan, Molly Glover and Lara Bacchus. Girls Under 18 Single Sculls: 1 Charlotte Lightfoot. Women Open Coxless Four: 1 Brooke Pitchford, Emily Bowden, Meg Flanagan, Orla Fitzgerald. Women’s Open Eight: 1 Brooke Pitchford, Emily Bowden, Meg Flanagan, Orla Fitzgerald, Emma Flanagan, Lexi Timpson, Daisy Vavasour, Holly Feltham and Lara Bacchus. Women’s Open Quad Sculls: 2 Orla Fitzgerald, Brooke Pitchford, Emily Bowden, Charlotte Lightfoot. Men’s Open Single Sculls: 1 Kobe Miller; 3 Rueben Cook. Men’s Senior Single Sculls: 1 Edward Lopas. Men’s Open Coxless Four: 1 Fred Vavasour, Edward Lopas, Kobe Miller, Dylan Burton. Men’s Open Double Sculls: 3 Reuben Cook and Logan Docherty; 4 Kobe Miller and Fred Vavasour. Men’s Open Quad Sculls: 1 Reuben Cook, Kobe Miller, Edward Lopas, Logan Docherty.