Studies on hold in race for gold

JOHN BISSET/The Timaru Herald

NATIONAL REP: Timaru's Fin Scott will compete at the Under-23 Rowing World Championships.

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The studies are on hold for Timaru rower Fin Scott, after he was selected to represent New Zealand at the under-23 world championships in Belarus.

Scott will join Graham Oberlin-Brown, James Lassche and Curtis Rapley in the under-23 lightweight four after an impressive performance at the national trials in Waikato.

His selection follows an outstanding effort at the Canterbury Championships last month.

The former Roncalli College student will join his team-mates in Cambridge to train for the world champs in July after beating 10 other trialists to achieve a place in the four.

Scott, 19, has put his studies at Canterbury University on hold as he prepares for a year of competition that he hopes will culminate with an outing at the world championships on Lake Karapiro in November.

"It's a huge year for New Zealand rowing," he said

"I was pretty lucky that I went to the trials with a clear head."

Scott said he gained a lot of opportunities at the trials that he didn't expect to receive.

"I was given the most time on the water out of all the competitors."

Trials were arduous and often a platform where competitors came apart, he said.

Rowers began their trials with a 2000 metre workout on rowing machines.

"I've been preparing for it for three years."

Scott, competing under the Timaru Rowing Club banner, out of the Southern Regional Performance Centre, won the under-21 singles title at the Canterbury championships.

He sealed an outstanding outing with a second placing in the open eight and the open double scull, in which he teamed up with Hayden Cohen. They were beaten only by the New Zealand combination, ranked fourth in the world, of Cohen's older brother Nathan and Matthew Trott.

Scott was a member of the Timaru Rowing Club's eight who won silver at the New Zealand championships and gold at the South Island championships last year, receiving the outstanding team award at the South Canterbury Sports Awards.

- © Fairfax NZ News