Hillcrest High School rowing for gold

Hillcrest High School rowing club have high expectations for gold at this weekend’s North Island secondary schools rowing champs.

Hillcrest High School’s rowing club goes into this weekend’s North Island champs with its expectations high.

Secondary schools across the North Island have been training for the NI Secondary School champs regatta at Lake Karapiro.

Hillcrest High school rowing club chairman Peter Yeoman said on Thursday that he was hoping for gold.

“We’re going there today to get the tent erected and prepare for the Friday races,” said Yeoman. “The older ones with more experience still get nervous right before they race but at the moment they are all very excited.”

Hillcrest go into the weekend regatta buoyed after winning the Mighty River Power Junior Regatta Points Trophy, a junior event in February.

The Hillcrest rowing teams have been training before and after school, having only Saturday free in preparation for the upcoming competitions.

After the NI champs, Hillcrest will have 11 rowers and three coxswains competing in the Aon Maadi national secondary schools regatta Monday 18 – Saturday 23 March.

Maadi regatta is New Zealand’s largest and most colourful regatta; about 2000 students including reserves compete from 130 schools, in almost 1400 crews with more than 400 races across events.