Rowers on a quest for titles

Blenheim Club rowers will be chasing South Island titles this weekend at Lake Ruataniwha when they compete in the South Island Club Championships.

Last year, the club managed just one title at the South Island championships but after a strong showing last month at the Otago championships head coach Bill Campbell is confident of better returns.

At Otago, Stefan Meaclem showed his class in winning the under-18 single scull title and teamed with Elliot Harvey to take the under-19 coxless pairs.

Both crews are expected to challenge for titles, as are Meaclem and Ethan Ward in the double scull.

The under-17 quad of Rutger Maasdam, Harvey, Ben Black, Liam Beattie and cox Mitch McDonald will be another crew to watch.

The under-17 eight of Pim Greven, Maasdam, Harvey, Black and Beattie, Harry Taylor, Tom Murray, Corey McCaffrey and cox McDonald, the under-17 double and Greven in the under-17 single also have title shots. Novice crews are expected to perform well in the four, quad, double and eight.

The championships will be the first big regatta for the club's under-15 crews, who Campbell said have been training hard on the Wairau River and are ready to race.

He said most of the crews consisted of schoolboys and they would use the regatta as build up for the Maadi Cup national secondary school titles.

Wairau will not attend the regatta after competing at the Canterbury championships last weekend.

Rowers:

Blenheim: Ethan Ward, Stefan Meaclem, Jeff Boyce, Ashley Toms, Logan Anderson, Tom Murray, Harrison Somerville,Cory McCaffrey, Ryan Wilson, Harry Taylor, Rutger Maasdam, Liam Beattie, Elliot Harvey, Ben Black, Pim Greven, Mitch McDonald, Guy Young, Nick Henry, Callum Streeter, Keagan Saul, Hayden Nicholls, Piers Dashfield, Marcus Henry, Max Bicknell, Mitch Avery, Hayden Beavis, Tom Black, Connor Irving, Hugo Smith, David McNamara, Abe Rood, Chad Ternent, Heath Arnst, James Lawrence, Kyle Walters, Andrew Jamie, Mark Osborne.

Picton: Ryan Wilson.

- The Marlborough Express