PHOTOS THANKS TO FACEBOOK

Update from Claudia Hyde...

“Hi Ann,

Being part of The Gallagher Great Race was a whole new experience for me.  The Great Race is a 3.85km upstream race on the Waikato River which runs through Hamilton. I had never rowed on the Waikato River before so rowing with current was definitely something I had to get used to. We only had a few weeks before the race to train together so every training was crucial in our coming together as a crew and learning to row with each other. I am not a specialist sweep oar rower, instead training in my single most of the time, so rowing in an eight was a big change for me. Thankfully I was surrounded by a lot of experience which helped me out a great deal, and I feel I was able to hold my own within the crew. It was a privilege to be part of such a talented boat full of elite NZ rowers; Zoe Stevenson, our 6 seat, was the Olympic Reserve and Kayla Pratt who sat behind me in bow, is the current World U23 2- Champion. 

The current on the river was very strong and we were battling strong wind on the day as well. The Great Race is nothing like the 2km racing I am used to, instead it was tactics and strength that played a large part in the success of our crew. We had the favoured West bank starting position but the rules meant that we needed to get clear water ahead of the Sydney crew before we could cut in front of them, which unfortunately we couldn't get. We had to pull back and stay out in the current and let them row past us before we could then pull back inside of them and push past again. Although it was not part of our race plan, it caused our crew to get really fired up so when we did pull up again it was with a lot of strength and aggression and we rowed straight through them; we didn't let them get close to us again. We stayed strong and were able to increase our lead to 3 boat lengths by the end of the race. 

It was an honour to be part of the Gallagher Great Race crew. It was a great experience for me and I hope I get the chance to be part of the competition and tradition next year again too.Thanks,”

Claudia