Young rowers on pathway to top

Seven athletes from Marlborough clubs have been included in Rowing NZ’s National Pathway programme.

Rowing’s governing body recently announced the first cohort of athletes selected to be part of the nationwide four-tiered scheme.

Among them are Marlborough Girls’ College rower Meg Flanagan, Fred Vavasour from Marlborough Boys’ College, plus Kobe Miller and Logan Docherty from the Wairau Rowing Club. This quartet have all been selected in tier 2.

Placed in tier 3 are Lily Crawford, Dylan Burton and Ethan Alderlieste - all three out of the Wairau club.

One of the three National Pathway coaches, and the only one residing in the South Island, is Blenheim-based Mark Stallard.

The recently-introduced scheme identifies and supports athletes that have the potential to represent New Zealand on the international stage.

This is a year-long selection in which National Pathway coaches will work with club, university and school coaches to support selected athletes, allowing them to develop locally, at a pace suited to their individual circumstances and with a tailored training approach that fits with young athletes’ lives. The level of support available increases as the athlete progresses through the pathway.

This support also extends to athletes that are based abroad on University scholarships, aiming to ensure that they can be seamlessly reintegrated to the New Zealand Rowing system upon completion of their studies or for an U23 campaign.

Athletes are assigned to tiers based on their entry level and can move through the tiers at any time through the year.

Over the course of the 2020 winter, athletes have been engaged in winter development programmes across the country leading up to the planned National Development Camp & Regatta at Lake Karāpiro in late August, which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

Selection to tier 3 provides an opportunity for athletes to join education programmes, sharing knowledge and expertise from providers that work within the Rowing NZ performance programmes.

Selection to an U19, U21 or World University team assigns an athlete to tier 2 while athletes who have been selected to an U23 team or are competitive at premier level can be assigned to tier 1.

Selection to the National Pathway can take place throughout the year, so the list will be continually updated.

Meanwhile, three more rowers from Marlborough clubs were recently named in the high performance NZ Summer Squad for the 2021-22 season. They are Ella Greenslade and Kirstyn Goodger, both from Wairau, and Tom Murray, out of the Blenheim club.

In other rowing news, the New Zealand Masters championships have been postponed due to COVID. They are now scheduled for October 29-31 at Lake Ruataniwha.