2017 Under 21 Trans Tasman Regattas

This regatta was run in two parts. The first leg was held in Sydney from 29th June to 1st July 2017 with the second leg held at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand from 24-28th August 2017.

This is a teams event very similar to past series and highly effective in providing high level competition in a number of boat classes. There is one reserve per gender per team and squad rather than crew coaches.

The scullers row singles and a double. The sweep rowers pairs and a four. The scullers and sweep rowers combine into eights. The reserves race a mixed double scull.

Points for racing are awarded in the finals as follows:

For W1x, M1x, W2- and M2-,
1st – 6 points
2nd – 4 points
3rd – 2 points
4th – 1 point

For LW2x, LM2x, W4-, M4-, W4x, M4x, W8+ and M8+
1st – 6 points
2nd – 4 points

For LW1x, LM1x and MixL2x
1st – 2 points
2nd – 1 point

Medals are awarded to the first-placed boat in each category.

The teams compete for the Rusty Robertson Trophy. In 2017, the trophy was retained by Australia. Australia 309 points to New Zealand 255.

Rusty Robertson Trophy

The Rusty Robertson Trophy

Results

Penrith Regatta 29th June to 1st July 2017

Rowing Australia reported on the first leg as follows:

Australia’s U21 Rowing Team started its retention bid of the Rusty Robertson Trophy in fine form this past weekend, winning the first leg of the regatta by 155 points to New Zealand’s 127.

Racing began on Thursday (29 June) with Australia’s crews winning four out of the eight small boat finals, with a noticeably strong performance from the Lightweight Men’s Double Scull of Patrick Boere and Chase Deitner who crossed the line some eight seconds ahead of New Zealand’s Jordan Gasson and Joseph Graham.

Friday (30 June) was an extremely positive day for the Australians with the U21 Women’s and Men’s Fours and the U21 Women’s and Men’s Quadruple Sculls all winning their finals and securing the maximum points for the country. The Mixed Lightweight Double Scull of Mitchell Reinhard and Celia Cowan finished second in their final, to add another point to Australia’s total, which saw the hosts sitting comfortably on 135 points at the close of the second day’s racing.

Saturday (1 July) saw the U21 Men’s and Women’s Eights go head to head in the final day of racing. The two teams each create a male and female crew, made up from the various athletes that have raced throughout the three-day regatta and Saturday saw Australia's U21 Men’s Eight win in both their heat and final, while the U21 Women’s Eight came in second to a strong New Zealand U21 Women’s Eight.

With the final victory of the U21 Men’s Eight in the bag, Australia has finished the first leg of the Trans-Tasman Regatta with a total of 155 points, and will travel to New Zealand in August for the second leg. The team will no doubt be buoyed by these results, which put them in good stead to retain the Rusty Robertson Trophy which is awarded to the victors of the U21 Trans-Tasman Regatta.

Head Coach, Jason Lane said: “We’re extremely pleased with the performances of the whole team here in Penrith on the first leg of the Trans-Tasman Regatta. It’s been great for the young athletes to get out and race in their crews and get plenty of wins under their belts.

“This certainly will have given the team confidence as they head into the second leg in New Zealand next month, however we won’t be resting on our laurels ahead of the second leg. The team will prepare with a camp ahead of travelling to Lake Karapiro to race in the second-leg and hopefully secure the Rusty Robertson Trophy once again.”

Australia will travel to New Zealand on 21 August, with the second-leg of the U21 Trans-Tasman Regatta set to take place from 24 to 26 August on Lake Karapiro.

Penrith Results

Women's Single Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 1 8:10.24 0.00 Lily Alton
2nd AUSTRALIA 2 8:13.79 3.55 +3.55 Siena Zamin
3rd NEW ZEALAND 1 8:25.09 11.30 +14.85 Alice Grave
4th NEW ZEALAND 2 8:29.52 4.43 +19.28 Jessica Turfrey

Men's Single Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 1 7:23.78 0.00 Charles Wheatley
2nd NEW ZEALAND 1 7:27.52 3.74 +3.74 Jonathan Kumarich
3rd AUSTRALIA 2 7:28.71 1.19 +4.93 Devlin Walsh
4th NEW ZEALAND 2 7:39.26 10.55 +15.48 Jared van Vianen

Women's Lightweight Double Scull

1st NEW ZEALAND 7:47.43 0.00 Georgia Keech, Grace Shaw
2nd AUSTRALIA 7:48.46 1.03 +1.03 Portia Bennett, Romola Davenport

Men's Lightweight Double Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 6:46.71 0.00 Patrick Boere, Chase Deitner
2nd NEW ZEALAND 6:55.37 8.66 +8.66 Jordan Gasson, Joseph Graham

Women's Pair

1st NEW ZEALAND 2 7:48.67 0.00 Catherine Layburn, Ella Simanu
2nd AUSTRALIA 2 7:49.92 1.25 +1.25 Grace Reid, Lara Wainwright
3rd AUSTRALIA 1 7:54.08 4.16 +5.41 Gabi Morris, Giorgia Patten
4th NEW ZEALAND 1 8:00.03 5.95 +11.36 Ellen Schroeder, Ruby Willis

Men's Pair

1st NEW ZEALAND 1 7:05.47 0.00 Angus McFarlane, Ruben Houghton
2nd AUSTRALIA 2 7:05.51 0.04 +0.04 Benjamin Canham, Alexander Clarke
3rd NEW ZEALAND 2 7:07.44 1.93 +1.97 Cameron Steedman, Fergus McSwiney
4th AUSTRALIA 1 7:13.42 5.98 +7.95 Jack Deans, Kane Grant

Australian pair and eight

Australian No 2 Pair with men's eight cox Alexis Hancock at Penrith

Women's Reserve Lightweight Single Scull

1st NEW ZEALAND 8:32.97 0.00 Sophie Egnot-Johnson
2nd AUSTRALIA 8:37.72 4.75 +4.75 Celia Cowan

Men's Reserve Lightweight Single Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 7:41.92 0.00 Mitchell Reinhard
2nd NEW ZEALAND 7:46.32 4.40 +4.40 James Brott

Women's Coxless Four

1st AUSTRALIA 7:03.66 0.00 Grace Reid, Lara Wainwright, Gabi Morris, Giorgia Patten
2nd NEW ZEALAND 7:10.16 6.50 +6.50 Ellen Schroeder, Ruby Willis, Catherine Layburn, Ella Simanu

Men's Coxless Four

1st AUSTRALIA 6:21.48 0.00 Benjamin Canham, Alexander Clarke, Jack Deans, Kane Grant
2nd NEW ZEALAND 6:27.26 5.78 +5.78 Cameron Steedman, Fergus McSwiney, Angus McFarlane, Ruben Houghton

Women's Quadruple Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 6:58.87 0.00 Lily Alton, Siena Zamin, Portia Bennett, Romola Davenport
2nd NEW ZEALAND 7:03.58 4.71 +4.71 Georgia Keech, Alice Grave, Grace Shaw, Jessica Turfrey

Men's Quadruple Scull

1st AUSTRALIA 6:09.47 0.00 Devlin Walsh, Charles Wheatley, Patrick Boere, Chase Deitner
2nd NEW ZEALAND 6:22.78 13.31 +13.31 Joseph Graham, Jared van Vianen, Jonathan Kumarich, Jordan Gasson

Mixed Lightweight Double Scull

1st NEW ZEALAND 7:11.85 0.00 Sophie Egnot-Johnson, James Brott
2nd AUSTRALIA 7:17.88 6.03 +6.03 Celia Cowan, Mitchell Reinhard

Mixed Lightweight Quadruple Scull/Women's Eight

1st MixL4x: NEW ZEALAND/AUSTRALIA 6:35.60 0.00 Celia Cowan, Sophie Egnot-Johnson, James Brott, Mitchell Reinhard
2nd W8+: NEW ZEALAND 6:37.92 2.32 +2.32 Ruby Willis, Ellen Schroeder, Ella Simanu, Catherine Layburn, Grace Shaw, Georgia Keech, Alice Grave, Jessica Turfrey, Cox: Lucy Bird
3rd W8+: AUSTRALIA 6:39.99 2.07 +4.39 Lily Alton, Siena Zamin, Portia Bennett, Romola Davenport, Grace Reid, Lara Wainwright, Gabi Morris, Giorgia Patten, Cox: Caitlin Hockings

Men's Eight

1st AUSTRALIA 5:53.45 0.00 Devlin Walsh, Charles Wheatley, Patrick Boere, Chase Deitner, Benjamin Canham, Alexander Clarke, Jack Deans, Kane Grant, Cox: Alex Hancock
2nd NEW ZEALAND 5:57.19 3.74 +3.74 Joseph Graham, Jordan Gasson, Jared van Vianen, Jonathan Kumarich, Cameron Steedman, Fergus McSwiney, Angus McFarlane, Ruben Houghton, Cox: Natalie Bocock

Australian Men's Eight

Australian Men's Eight on the Nepean River

Australian Team

Men’s Coxless Pairs

Crew 1: Jack Deans (Adelaide RC/SA) and Kane Grant (Adelaide RC/SASI/SA)
Crew 2: Alexander Clarke and Benjamin Canham (both Mercantile RC/VIC)

Men’s Single Sculls

Crew 1: Charles Wheatley (Sydney University BC/NSW)
Crew 2: Devlin Walsh (Sydney University BC/NSW)

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls

Chase Deitner (West Australian Rowing Club/WA)
Patrick Boere (Swan River RC/WA)
Mitchell Reinhard (Unley High/SA)

Women’s Coxless Pairs

Crew 1: Grace Reid and Lara Wainwright (both UTS Rowing Club/NSW)
Crew 2: Gabi Morris and Giorgia Patten (both West Australian RC/WA)

Women’s Single Sculls

Lily Alton (University of Queensland BC/QLD)
Siena Zamin (West Australian Rowing Club/WA)

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls

Romola Davenport (Sydney RC/NSW)
Portia Bennett (University of Queensland BC/QLD)
Celia Cowan (Adelaide University BC/SA)

Coxswains

M8+ Coxswain: Alexis Hancock (Mercantile RC/VIC)
W8+ Coxswain: Caitlin Hockings (University of Queensland BC/QLD)

Coaches

Head Coach: Jason Lane (SASI/SA)
Coaches: Brigette Carlisle (Mercantile RC/VIC); David Gely (UTS Rowing Club/NSW); Joseph Tamigi (West Australian RC/WA)

Alex Clarke, Brigette Carlisle, Ben Canham

Alex Clarke, Brigette Carlisle and Ben Canham

New Zealand Team

Men’s Coxless Pairs

Crew 1: Ruben Houghton and Angus McFarlane
Crew 2: Fergus McSwiney and Cameron Steedman

Men’s Single Sculls

Crew 1: Jonathan Kumarich
Crew 2: Jared van Vianen

Lightweight Men’s Double Scull

Jordan Gasson and Joseph Graham

Men’s Reserve

James Brott

Women’s Coxless Pairs

Crew 1: Ruby Willis and Ellen Schroeder
Crew 2: Ella Simanu and Catherine Layburn

Lightweight Women’s Double Scull

Grace Shaw and Georgia Keech

Women’s Single Sculls

Crew 1: Alice Grave
Crew 2: Jessica Turfrey

Women’s Reserve

Sophie Egnot-Johnson

Coxswains

M8+ Coxswain: Natalie Bocock
W8+ Coxswain: Lucy Bird

Coaches

Josh Schmidt (Women’s Scull)
Kaye Surgenor (Men’s Scull)
Steve Willis (Men’s Sweep)
Craig Smith (Women’s Sweep)

Lake Karapiro Results

Rowing Australia reported on the racing as follows.

The U21 Australian Rowing Team have retained the Rusty Robertson Trophy after a decisive victory in the second leg of the Trans-Tasman Regatta. The 2017 regatta saw Australia win by 309 points to New Zealand’s 255.

The yearly event sees Australia and New Zealand’s U21 teams battle it out for the prestigious Rusty Robertson Trophy. Robertson, a New Zealander, coached both New Zealand (from 1967-76) and Australia (1979-84) in a prolific career. Robertson’s career saw him achieve many notable results with his crews, including overseeing two New Zealand crews to Olympic gold medals (1968 Men’s Four and 1972 Men’s Eight) as well as Australian crews to multiple World Championships as well as Australia’s Men’s Quadruple Scull to an Olympic silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Australia’s performance at this year’s Trans-Tasman Regatta saw the team not only win the first leg of the regatta, held in Penrith, earlier this year, but also winning the second-leg by the end of the opening day of the regatta on Lake Karapiro.

“The Trans-Tasman Regatta is an opportunity for our pathways athletes who are making the transition between the Junior and Under 23 Australian Rowing Teams to further develop their racing skills and keep them engaged with the sport while they’re in between age groups for racing,” said Deputy Performance Director Jaime Fernandez.

“It’s fantastic for our U21 team to have retained the trophy and credit must go not only to the great athletes but also to Head Coach, Jason Lane, Team Mananger, Naomi Wagstaff and their team of coaches David Gely, Joe Tamigi, Brigette Carlile and Ned Draydon. We would also like to thank Rowing New Zealand for their ongoing support of the event and continuing the Trans-Tasman rivalry!”

In delightful conditions, with a slight breeze, Australia took on New Zealand in a variety of singles, doubles, fours, quads and eights racing, which saw Australia win nine out of the 15 finals over the three-day regatta in New Zealand.

The Australian U21 Rowing Team captains, Lily Alton and Alex Clarke, had the honour of being presented with the Rusty Robertson Trophy by World’s Best Time holder in the Men’s Single Scull, New Zealand’s Robbie Manson. Clarke said of his experience in the team this year: “The whole U21 campaign is an excellent opportunity for underage athletes to not only develop skills as individuals, but to also realise the benefits and rewards that the Australian Rowing Team can provide.”

Strong performances came from Australia across the whole regatta with the opening two days seeing a number of victories for the team in green and gold. The U21 Women’s Quadruple Scull of Romola Davenport, Portia Bennett, Siena Zamin and Lily Alton won their final some 9.71 seconds ahead of New Zealand. Meanwhile, their male counterparts of Chase Deitner, Patrick Boere, Charlie Wheatley and Devlin Walsh claimed victory over the New Zealanders in their final by 6.96 seconds.

Zamin and Alton took first and second in the U21 Women’s Single, while Wheatley claimed first in the U21 Men’s Single Scull. While Bennett and Davenport picked up gold in the Lightweight Women’s Double Scull; in the male equivalent there was also gold medals for Boere and Deitner.

In the Lightweight Singles, Celia Cowan finished second in the women’s class, while Mitch Reinhard took the win over his New Zealand counterpart.

In the sweep rowing, the U21 Men’s Four of Kane Grant, Jack Deans, Alex Clarke and Ben Canham won their final in 6 mins 20 seconds, 7.48 seconds ahead of New Zealand. Gabi Morris and Giorgia Patten won the Women’s Pair and were followed over the line by Grace Reid and Lara Wainwright.

The final day of racing saw the two Eights take the water. The morning’s heats saw Australia’s Men’s Eight win their heat, while the Women’s Eight finished second. In the finals that followed, New Zealand snapped up victory in both finals, but the late wins made little difference to the overall result of the regatta, with Australia wrapping up the event with a resounding victory over their New Zealand counterparts.