Contact Us
Phone: +64 9 534 4492
General Enquiries:
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 3.45pm
Contact a Staff Member:
Contact Us
Phone: +64 9 534 4492
General Enquiries:
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 3.45pm
Contact a Staff Member:
About Howick College Rowing
Excellence. Grit. Uncompromising Squad Culture.
Howick College Rowing is a premier high-school sports programme focused on athletic development, mental toughness, and competitive success. We hold our rowers to high standards—developing accountability, elite fitness, and strong leadership through the sport of rowing.
Since our inception in 2015, Howick crews have continually elevated their standard, competing against the country's best at the AON NISS Champs and AON Maadi Regatta (Nationals).
Current Track Record (2025–2026 Season):
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Historical Best: Our highest total medal count in school history.
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🥉 Girls U16 1X: National Bronze (Maadi Cup)
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🥉 Girls U16 2X: National Bronze (Maadi Cup)
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🥉 Girls U16 2X (Crew 2): National Bronze (Maadi Cup)
Supported by dedicated coaches and an active parent community, Howick Rowing provides the pathway for rowers to reach regional, national, and international horizons.
Coaching Leadership
Howick College Rowing is led by a elite coaching team combining decades of proven championship experience with modern sports science and direct, hands-on athlete mentorship.
Greg Reid | Head Coach
With over four decades of rowing and coaching excellence, Greg brings an unmatched depth of technical knowledge to Howick College. Having developed championship-level rowers across top Auckland schools, his coaching framework balances elite technical execution with long-term athlete progression.
Kaz Biddiss | Assistant Coach
Bringing first-hand racing experience and relentless energy, Kaz works alongside Greg to drive athlete development both on and off the water. Her background as an active rower allows her to translate complex technical cues into actionable insights for rowers across all year levels.
The Coaching Differentiator: Hands-On Mentorship & Applied Science
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Direct In-Boat Coaching: Uniquely, our coaches step directly into the boat alongside rowers—demonstrating real-time body mechanics, blade placement, and stroke rhythm first-hand.
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Heart-Rate Zone Physiology: Training is built on structured, heart rate-based aerobic development, ensuring athletes build elite cardiovascular engines while minimizing burnout and injury risk.
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Character & Resilience: Performance is driven by culture. Our coaches instil self-belief, mental toughness, and an uncompromising standard of sportsmanship that extends beyond high school.

Annual Calendar
Erg Training
September
Tuesday and Thursday
3.30 pm Onwards
Howick College Mini Gym
Erg Training takes place twice a week on static rowing machines. Squad members meet each Tuesday and Thursday in the Mini Gym after school from 3.30 pm. Students who are interested in learning about Rowing are welcome to come along, and Parents / Caregivers are invited to come along and chat to our coaches.
Coastal Rowing Camp
October
1st - 4th
3 night trip
Hahei Beach Resort
The first camp of the season is a chance for the squad to come together as one, to get involved in fun team-building skills, and take part in coastal rowing training sessions.
Head of Hātea
October
10 & 11 Oct
One Night Stay
Whangārei
The Head of the Hatea is an annual long-distance rowing regatta held on the Hātea River in Whangārei, New Zealand.
The Course: A challenging 14km to 15km head race for coxed boats. Rowers start near the Town Basin and Te Matau a Pohe bridge, race down to Limestone Island, and return to the finish line.
The Organiser: Hosted annually by the Whangarei Rowing Club.
Upcoming Dates: The next event is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October to Sunday, 11 October 2026.
Community Focus: It serves as a major endurance event for regional rowing clubs, drawing masters, club, and school rowers.
Bennett Shield Regatta / Eric Verdonk Memorial Regatta
October
17 & 18
Auckland Event
Lake Pupuke, Takapuna
The Bennett Shield and Eric Verdonk Memorial Regattas mark the official opening weekend of the Auckland rowing season.
Held back-to-back at Lake Pupuke (Sylvan Park) on 17–18 October 2026, these dual events bring together school, club, and masters rowers from across the region for two full days of competitive racing from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The Sunday portion specifically honours the legacy of Olympic bronze medalist and former Takapuna Grammar head coach Eric Verdonk.
Spectators can set up blankets or chairs along the Sylvan Park banks for premium viewing, with food stalls and coffee available on-site.
Clive Steenson Regatta
October
31st
Weekend Trip
Lake Karāpiro, Waikato.
The Clive Steenson Memorial Regatta is an annual rowing event held at Lake Karāpiro, New Zealand, to honour a dedicated 50-year veteran coach of the Te Awamutu Rowing Club.
Date & Time: Saturday, 31 October 2026 (7:00 am – 4:00 pm).
Location: Mighty River Domain, Lake Karāpiro, Waikato.
Organisers: Hosted by the Te Awamutu Rowing Club and the Legion of Rowers.
Purpose: A competitive local regatta serving as a tribute to the late Clive Steenson.
Memorial Regatta
November
14 & 15
Midweek Event
Lake Karāpiro, Waikato
Karapiro Memorial Regatta
Dates: 14 & 15 November 2026
Venue: Mighty River Domain, Lake Karāpiro
Details: Run by Karāpiro Rowing Inc., this major 2000m event splits racing across two single-day regattas.
Christmas Regatta
December
10th - 13th
4 Night Trip
Lake Karāpiro
The Karāpiro Christmas Regatta is the largest rowing regatta in New Zealand.
Held annually in mid-December at Lake Karāpiro in Waikato, it serves as the final major competitive event for clubs, schools, and high-performance squads before the New Year break.
The Event: It features 2,000-meter straight-line racing spanning 3 to 4 days (typically Thursday/Friday through Sunday).
It attracts over 2,400 to 2,600 competitors competing across hundreds of heats and finals.
The regatta acts as an early-season testing ground to establish local dominance. It integrates age-groups (U15 to U18), club ability grades, and Rowing NZ premier selection time trials for elite athletes.
While highly competitive, the event is known for its festive environment, with many teams decorating their boats and spectator tents in the Christmas spirit.
Head of Harbour
February
6th
1 day event
Lake Pupuke, Takapuna
The Head of Harbour Regatta is an iconic annual secondary school rowing competition held in Auckland, New Zealand.
Widely recognised within the community as the "Auckland Championships," it serves as a major highlight of the school rowing calendar.
Location: The event takes place at Lake Pupuke on Auckland's North Shore.
It is traditionally held over a single full day on the second Saturday of February.
Unlike typical 2,000-meter straight-line Olympic courses, it features fast-paced, 900-meter racing. Because it is a suburban lake with unpredictable wind, no official lane times are taken, adding to its unique, chaotic charm.
The event brings together roughly 30 to 35 local schools, attracting more than 800 athletes and around 2,000 spectators annually.
It is rich in tradition, well-known for scenes where fellow students perform powerful haka on the shore to greet winning crews as they come off the water.
College Sport Auckland Rowing Champs & Junior Regatta
February
13th & 14th
1 night trip
Lake Karāpiro, Waikato
The 2027 College Sport Auckland Rowing Championships & Junior Regatta takes place from February 13 to February 14, 2027, at Lake Karāpiro.
Lake Karāpiro, Waikato, New Zealand. Organiser: Sponsored and backed by College Sport
Provides high school rowers and junior squads an important regional competitive milestone ahead of major events like the North Island Secondary School Championships and the Maadi Cup.
North Island Secondary Schools Championship
February
25th - 28th
4 Night Trip
Lake Karāpiro
The North Island Secondary School (NISS) Rowing Championships is a major three-day secondary school rowing regatta held annually at Lake Karāpiro in Waikato, New Zealand.
Authorised by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Association (NZSSRA), it serves as the ultimate premier regional testing ground for North Island schools to battle for regional supremacy and fine-tune their crews before hitting the national stage at the Maadi Regatta.
The Competition: Schools go head-to-head across 52 distinct events ranging from Under-15 to Under-18 categories.
It is a massive event on the NZ youth sporting calendar. For instance, the March 2026 event saw 1,968 students from 89 schools compete in 310 total races
Maadi Cup
March
15th - 20th
6 night trip
Lake Karāpiro, Waikato
Officially known as the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, it is Australasia's largest secondary school sporting event.
Key details for the 2027 event include:
The regatta returns to the North Island and will be hosted at Lake Karāpiro, Cambridge.New
A major change for 2027 is the adoption of a FISA-style “no repechage” progression model. It introduces divisional/minor finals to prevent early team eliminations, meaning almost every age-group crew will get the chance to race in a final if time allows.

Thank you to our Partners
Supporting Champions, Empowering Athletes
Rowing is one of the most rewarding sports a student can undertake, but competing at a national level requires significant logistical support. We extend our deepest gratitude to our community partners who help make our athletes' dreams a reality.

Bayleys Howick — Principal Season Sponsor
A massive thank you to Bayleys Howick for their generous sponsorship during our historic 2025–2026 season!
Their investment directly funded athlete travel, regatta transport, and accommodation for the AON Maadi Cup, directly contributing to our squad taking home three national bronze medals
Partner With Howick College Rowing
Align your business with a high-performance sports culture that values discipline, teamwork, and community leadership. Your sponsorship directly subsidizes athlete travel, equipment maintenance, and regatta entry fees.
Why Sponsor Howick Rowing?
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Direct Community Reach: Weekly newsletter with over 6000 subscribers and Termly High Five with over 6000 subscribers
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National Visibility: Branding at major regattas including Lake Karapiro, Lake Pupuke, and the AON Maadi Cup.
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Social & Digital Presence: Regular highlights across our dedicated Instagram and Facebook channels.
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Website with over 28,000 monthly visits










