Roncalli rowers training hard

Non-stop training and early mornings are just some of the challenges two young Roncalli College rowers have faced as they prepared for this week's Maadi Cup near Twizel.

Ben Rush, 16, and Louise Livesey, 17, have been training almost every day in preparation for the most prestigious event on the secondary schools' rowing calendar.

Rush and Livesey are into their third and fourth years of rowing respectively and say the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to the physically demanding sport of rowing.

" I started rowing to keep fit for rugby and it's good to get away, it's nice and peaceful on the lake," Rush said.

Livesey, who has always had an interest in rowing, likes the people aspect of the sport.

"You get to meet a lot of new people and it's fun to work as a team," Livesey said.

Both Rush and Livesey are no strangers to success, with both taking home gold medals at last year's Maadi Cup event.

Livesey won the women's under-19 double with Abi Goodhew, then went on to win the under-19 women's title. Rush was victorious in the under-17 double with James Wilson, then claimed victory in the under-17 single.

As far as the future goes, Rush plans to take it as it comes. "I would like to get into the national junior team and take it from there."

Livesey says she's not sure what the future holds for her. "I haven't really thought about it, I'm just taking it one season at a time."

The Maadi Cup will be held at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel from March 22 until March 29. Herald correspondent

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