Otago rowers bringing it in China

It’s a great time to be a rowing fan, with more rowing happening than you can shake an oar at.

First up, the Men’s Senior Eight took gold last month at the 2025 Nanjing International Universities Rowing Open in China, while the Women’s Development Eight picked up a range of medals during their time at the Shenyang International Open Regatta.

Co-captain of the Men’s Senior Eight, Toby Robinson, (in his third year of a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Environmental Management) says there was serious competition at the Nanjing event, including a strong Swiss crew, Shanghai University and big names such as Yale, Oxford and Cambridge.

“There were four races during the regatta: two 1km races, one-on-one, where we competed against Yale; a 4x500 metre ergometer relay against all the other competing crews, from which these resulting times were added up to confirm the winner – us, Otago.

“Finally, there was an exhibition 3km bump race against all other crews (Oxford, Cambridge, University College London and many other Chinese universities) where we set off in one-minute intervals trying to catch the boat in front, which we won with the fastest overall time as well.”

It was the crew’s first time in Nanjing and, when they weren’t rowing, they had the chance to do a bit of exploring, Toby says.

“The city itself is very spectacular. Being home to close to 10 million people it’s filled with various skyscrapers as well as having many lakes and rivers throughout. We got to experience a range of cultural activities going to local museums, art galleries and local food markets.

“In the final few days, we were also fortunate enough to travel to a nearby city in Wuxi with Oxford and University College London for more cultural experiences and tours of local school and universities.”

Woman’s Development Eight captain Daisy Vavasour (in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and Communications) says this was the crew’s first time representing Otago at an overseas invitational event.

“It was such an awesome opportunity to go and experience some racing at an international level and see a new country.

“China was a cool place to go rowing and the racecourse in Shenyang is known as one of the top rowing venues in the country. It was very hot and humid there though, which made the rowing a little bit harder and a far cry from the two-degree mornings in Dunedin!”

The Otago crew was one of 30 teams competing at the regatta, with eight teams in their division, including Korea University, Peking University and Liaoning University.

As an eight (8+) they raced in the 1km and 4.5km distances mixed-eight divisions, meaning their all-female crew was racing against crews that had included men and women rowers, she says.

The 8+ also split to race two quads (4x-) over a 1km distance, which were women only races.

The crew was thrilled to win gold and bronze in the 4x- race and silver in the 8+ for both the 1km and 4.5km, Daisy says.

“Going over there, we really had nothing to expect, as it was an all-new experience for all of us. We felt really good about the results – winning gold and bronze in the quad was a highlight.

“In the eight 1km, the team who came in first was very strong, so we were happy to come in second to them. We lost by less than 2 seconds in the 4.5km as well, so it was good to get really close.”

The crew enjoyed getting the chance to explore a bit between races, she says.

“We spent a day wandering round Shenyang, did some shopping and also had a look at some local spots such as Beiling Park. Following the regatta, we travelled by train to Beijing for a couple of days where we walked up the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, which was so cool.

“We are very grateful to manager Glen Sinclair and OURC for making it happen for us, and our coaches Jamie Mckenzie and Lawson Morris-Whyte for travelling with us.”

At the end of September, the Men’s Development Eight headed to 2025 Chengdu Open Rowing Regatta.

It was the first time in China for most of them, Captain Ethan Green says.

“As our crew was all first years – bar the coxswain – we were incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to go to China, which is something usually only the older students do. So, we went into this trip excited about the experience and ready to make the most of our time over there."

The crew placed third out of 14 crews in the Men's eight, beating crews such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Melbourne.

“Although we were beaten by Brown and Sydney, the rest of the crews were teams sent by Chinese universities.”

Ethan (currently in his first year of a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics) says Chengdu was an awesome place to visit.

“I don't think there could be a place more different from New Zealand to go. The scale of the infrastructure and the sheer number of people blew our minds. For two of the nights, I stayed in an apartment complex that had more people than Dunedin.

“We also received a lot of attention because we were all wearing matching Otago University rowing gear, which was quite funny.”

Also competing at the Chengdu Open Rowing Regatta for the first time were Millie Scott (in her second year studying Sport and Exercise Science) and Liv Piebenga (in her second year studying Nutrition) who joined two rowers from Sydney University to race as a quad.

“We loved meeting and getting to row with the two girls from Sydney,” Millie says.

“We had never met them before, but after spending the week with them we got to know them very well and became good friends.”

The crew had three races over the two days, consisting of two heats and a final. After racing the two heats, their time got them through to the A final, where they raced Princeton and two Chinese University Crews.

“We had perfect conditions the whole regatta, which was ideal for racing,” Millie says.

“We ended up placing second, which we were very happy with.”

The pair also got to experience a range of cultural activities while in Chengdu, including visits to school visits, going to museums, university visits and temples.

“We absolutely loved Chengdu. It was such a huge city, and so different to New Zealand. We got to experience their culture and learn their traditions, which was very interesting,” Liv says.

“The people were so friendly and welcoming and really looked after us,” Millie says.

The biggest highlight for both tauira was the homestay, where they spent two nights with a Chinese family.

“It was great to experience their culture through their family life and way of living,” Liv says.

“My family was very excited to dress me up as a Chinese girl and spent the day taking family photos."

– Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson