After a week of uncertainty, the New Zealand Rowing Championships finally got underway in Twizel today, albeit as an abbreviated three-day regatta.
After being stuck in their respective bubbles and training on rowing machines, athletes such as Samantha Ayers from Avon Rowing Club were excited to be back on Lake Ruataniwha.
"To actually be out on the water again, it's just a big rush and it's exciting to be back."
The almost-1000 rowers in the Mackenzie Basin were in a limbo at the start of the week after all of New Zealand – besides Auckland – was moved to Covid-19 Alert Level 2 by the Government due to community cases found in the City of Sails on Sunday.
At Level 2, the championships weren’t able to go ahead with gatherings restricted to 100 people at that level but the Government’s decision to move the majority of New Zealand to Level 1 yesterday meant the event could go ahead.
The event will go ahead at Twizel in a revamped three-day format.
Rowing NZ were forced to condense it from a five-day event to three days but rowers like Mercer’s Ella Henry aren’t fazed.
"It was our last regatta so not being able to go out there and give it our all would've sucked."
The South Island weather also added to the occasion, turning it on for the rowers with the last two days of the regatta forecast to be the same.
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