PHOTO-ALASTAIR RIDDLE,JULIA EDWARD, UNKNOWN,ISLA EDWARDHARRY EDWARD,EJ REICHARDT, ROSEMARIE REICHARDT

Prize giving at the Hotel Sudima this year…

Rotorua Rowing Club held their annual prizegiving at the Sudima Hotel on Friday night.Julia Edward, one of Rotorua’s U23 NZ Squad was the guest speaker.

 

Laura Fischer ;our 2^nd U23 NZ Squad member was unable to attend due to her intensive training schedule at the Rowing NZ Training Centre. Julia dashed off at 9pm to get back to Karapiro to be ready for her usual 5.30am rise to get on the water for the first train of the day.

 

Being petite, Julia started off as a cox . “It was, at the time when I thought you had to be big to be a rower” said Alastair Riddle, Head of Coaching at Rotorua Rowing Club. Julia was determined to row . Teamed with Kylie Mc Fetteridge the partnership just clicked. “Our school mates couldn’t understand how we could get up so early and row every day” said Julia.

Julia progressed through the ranks and went from rowing at school level to competing on the international arena at the 2008 Youth Cup in Queensland winning a gold medal for the Women’s 8 and a silver for the Women’s Quad. In 2009 Julia competed at the 2009 NZ U21 Youth Cup at Penrith, Australia and the 2009 Australian Youth Olympics Festival winning 2 gold medals at each regatta for the Women’s Lightweight double and the Women’s Quad.

Trialing in 2009 for the Under 23 NZ team, Julia, disappointed with failing to make the U23 NZ team in 2009, trialed for the U21 team and succeeded in selection. “ My coach Ian Wright (Waikato Regional Performance Centre), liked to mix it up. Boxing , cycling- sometimes we cycled 90km in a training session.“ But his methods proved to be very successful Julia said “ Most of his team made U23 trials or Elite trials”.

 This year Julia won her 1^st Gold coat (the prize for winning a National Lightweight event ) the Lightweight Women’s Double with Julia Trautvetter .. “ Winning the Lightweight Double was the highlight of my year” .

 

Julia Edward was selected along with Laura Fischer for the U23 NZ Rowing Squad to compete at the U23 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

 

At this year’s prizegiving , Nigel Van Den Akker was awarded the  trophy  for Rower of the Year and awarded an oar as  Male Rower of the year. Van Den Akker was selected for the Junior NZ coxed 4 and will go to the Junior World Champs in Racice, Czech Republic in July.

 

Claudia Hyde was awarded an oar as trophy for Female Rower of the Year, after a formidable season; winning the Under 17 Girls single sculls and the High Performance U18 Girls Quad at the ‘North Island versus South Island’ Regatta.