We Need You - Help Sponsor Our Club
As we look towards the future of our club, ensuring its financial stability is paramount. To this end, we're launching a significant initiative to secure sponsorship opportunities. Like many community organisations, the Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club has encountered economic hurdles that threaten our ability to maintain operations and support our athletes effectively.
Read our proposal below.
Why Sponsor Us?
Declining grant funding and insufficient revenue from fundraising efforts have left us with a budget shortfall that impacts essential areas such as coaching, facilities maintenance, and athlete development programmes. Without additional financial support, we risk compromising the quality of our programmes and the overall experience for our members.
How You Can Make a Difference
We're launching a sponsorship programme - where you can invest in the future of our club and its members. While any level of support is appreciated, we're specifically seeking sponsors who can provide financial contributions ranging from $500 to $10,000 or more. These funds will be used to support essential areas such as coaching, facilities maintenance, equipment upgrades, and athlete development programme.
In return for your support, we offer a range of sponsorship opportunities tailored to meet your objectives and budget. From prominent recognition across our communications channels to exclusive event invitations and branding opportunities, we're committed to providing value and recognition to our sponsors.
Get in Touch
If you're interested in exploring sponsorship opportunities or would like more information, please reach out to us at awrcsponsorship@gmail.com. A member of our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and provide detailed information about the benefits of sponsoring our club.
Thank you for considering supporting the Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club. Together, we can ensure a bright and successful future for our club and its members.
NZ Secondary Schools (Maadi Cup) 2024
An outstanding week at Lake Ruataniwha for Whanganui High School, which recorded its most successful performances ever, since the School started its rowing journey 63 years ago in 1961! 2112 athletes competed at the prestigious fixture this year, with WNHS contribution of 30 athletes performing at an amazing level in reaching 14 A Finals, a record for any secondary school this year! Putting this in perspective, 104 schools entered, with 78 schools making one, or more A Finals. 53 schools made the podium at least once with WNHS rowers and scullers stepping up for medals on 8 occasions! Your Club congratulates all athletes, coaches and parent helpers for an incredible week, with a particular vote of thanks going to Lisa Murphy, our indefatigable “Teacher in Charge/Organiser Extraordinaire”!!!
The school achieved its first NZSS Rowing Gold Medal for 8 years when Cristian Kiriona, Achilles Paikea, Kynan Brewer, Jordan Hallett and cox Lauren Davies won a hard fought battle to win the Boys Novice Quad by 2 seconds. It is noteworthy that this crew were undefeated in this event over the entire season!
Photo of crew on the podium: Cristian, Achilles, Kynan, Jordan, Lauren Davies, with Axel and Adrian standing behind
The same combination, with Morgan Wood coxing, secured a joint bronze medal in the Boys Novice Four when they shared a dead heat with St Thomas of Canterbury, for third place with both crews credited a time of 7:11.49!
A very rare photo - 2 crews on the podium receiving Bronze Medals: Jordan, Cristian, Achilles, Kynan, Jordan, Morgan and Axel
To cap an enormously successful week, Achilles and Kynan raced their Boys Novice Double into second place and thus returned to Whanganui with a medal of each color!
Photo with Axel, Kynan, Achilles and Jordan
Jake Newton raced his Under 1X into second place, only being beaten by a mere 0.62 seconds for the Gold Medal by a sculler from Timaru Boys High School.
Jake and Nathan Strachan (McLeans College), holding Ben Allan aloft in the traditional recognition of a single sculls winner”
Jake secured a second Silver Medal when he combined with Will Herd in the Boys Under 17 2X, finishing only half a length behind Wakitipu High School.
Will and Jake immediately after their race
A Silver Medal was also achieved by the Girls Under 15 Quad of Addison Jenkins, Bailey Barnett, Ruby Bullock, Isla Jones and cox Morgan Wood, which augurs well for the future of these young ladies in our sport!
Photo: Addison, Bailey, Ruby, Isla and Morgan, with Dave and Axel
Nicky Maxim and Joseph Dudson took out third placing in the Boys Under 15 Double Sculls with a strong performance in this event.
Nicky, Joseph, and Luffy on the podium
Nicky then stepped up an age group and combined with Bryn Morgan in winning the Bronze Medal in the Boys Under 16 Double Sculls, with them only just missing second placing by a fraction of a second from Glendowie College.
Nicky and Bryn flanked by Dave and Axel
Axel Dickinson summarised the Maadi Mission saying, “Maadi was an excellent regatta to cap off a historic season for Whanganui High School and the Club. To finish 4th top rowing school overall and 3rd for the sculling trophy at the pinnacle event for school rowing highlights the steep trajectory the programme has been on. The hard work and sacrifices the squad has made to get to this point has been an inspiring journey in a sport that has been historically dominated by private schools”.
Axel acknowledged the fantastic team, as well as the impressive “team behind the team”, including coaches, parent helpers, committee and particularly the endeavours of Lisa Murphy and Trevor Rush for the season.
Culminating what has been an outstanding season, Madeline Cox has been named as a trialist for the NZ Under 19 Rowing Team, while Robyn van Dijk, William Herd and Jake Newton have also been selected to trial for the North Island Rowing Team. Your Club congratulates them!
Messina Sua as Captain for NZ Rowing Team
Messina has been selected to captain the NZ Woman’s Rowing Team to Australia next month.
She was also a key member of the Otago Universities Woman’s Rowing Eight which won the Easter Universities Rowing Tournament recently. Your Club is proud of the progress Messina continues to demonstrate with her post school rowing career.
Ian Wright Inducted Into Whanganui Sports Hall Of Fame
Ian is a former Wanganui High School rower, who reached the heights of the sport in New Zealand, winning a Bronze Medal at Seoul Olympics in 1988. He was also in the NZ Coxed Four in 1992 at Barcelona Olympics, and the NZ Coxless Four in 1996 at Atlanta Olympics. He has subsequently built up an impressive coaching career as a rowing coach, in New Zealand and internationally firstly for Australia and is currently the Swiss National Coach. Ian was recently inducted into the Whanganui Sports Hall of Fame, along with former wrestler and International Wrestling Referee, the late Ken Ruby.
Acknowledgments
The Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club would not function without a large group of support behind the scenes.
Des Lock and Lance O’Brien spent a considerable amount of time removing a troublesome log from our Awa which then had to be cut up for removal. Thanks also to Charlie and Joseph who came to Club at short notice to help remove the coach boat they had been using from the water.
Des, Bruce, Uppy, Jane McGympsey also spent a large part of last Saturday on a working bee at the Rowing Association finish tower on the bank of our course, which is undergoing a major refurbishment.
Des has also removed the pampas that were threatening our driveway and is a regular workhorse on the Club’s external environment, together Richard Brock.
Trevor and Jacs Rush, for their never-ending repairs to plant.
Sue O’Leary and Kirsty Howells undertook a clean-up and arranged a specialist inspection of the kitchen fridges, where an amount of perishable items had become defrosted.
Tiffany and Lauren Davies for leading the sale of overalls, kindly donated by Mike and Kelly Dudson at La Nuova Drycleaners – at the time of writing this has generated over $1300 dollars profit for the Club – Outstanding! Tiffany advises we have plenty of overalls still available for sale – they are a “steal” at $20.00 each! Contact Tiff on 027 345 6884
RIP John Bellis
John joined the former Aramoho Boating Club in the 1960’s and stroked the No 2 Junior Coxed Four (which included Allan Luff and Trevor Rush) crew to victory by 6 inches (5cm for young people) over the favored ABC No.1 Crew. No doubt a source of much emotional discussion at the after-match! “JB” as he was known, was probably better known as a prominent rugby player for Kaierau, rugby coach for Pirates but most recently recognized as a prominent outdoor bowler with the Aramoho Bowling where he won numerous Club and Center Bowling titles.
Our thoughts are with John’s wife Dot, and his family.
Coming Up
Annual Prizegiving – Saturday 11 May at the Club. Lock it in now as we celebrate an outstanding season!
