Geraldine High School in the South Island had never had a rowing programme. Plenty of its families already travelled to regattas to support relatives in the sport, so staff started asking why their own students weren't rowing. Rowing New Zealand's story, published on 27 October 2026, tells how the school went from nothing to a squad in one season.
Starting from scratch
The answer to that question was 11 students, ten girls and one boy, who signed up for the school's first season. None of them had rowed before, so coaches Jeremy Gaskin and Dave Earl spent a long time on learn-to-row, starting with how to handle a boat before moving on to the skills needed to race. Rae Gaskin, the school's business manager and rowing manager, led the programme, with help from Timaru Rowing Club and the local community.
The first regattas came with a few crabs and a few mishaps. By the end of the season the coaches had watched the squad grow in confidence, to the point where the rowers were giving their coaches direct feedback on the water. The standout moment came at Maadi, where Charlee Cooper and Justina Courage won the school's first ever medal, in the Girls' U18 Novice Double Sculls.
Doubling in size
The programme has now doubled in size and is heading into its second season with the Milford Foundation Emerging Schools Rowing Scholarship behind it. After backing Hillmorton High School's programme the season before, the foundation doubled its sponsorship this year to $20,000, with $10,000 going to Geraldine High School and $10,000 to Ngāruawāhia High School in the North Island. Rowing NZ says the grant will help Geraldine buy some of the equipment it needs and lower some of the barriers to taking part.
“We don't think that rowing should be just down to who can afford to row.”
The rowers' own words in the story are about what the sport gave them as much as what happened on the water: early mornings, a crew culture built on respect and encouragement, and finding out they were stronger than they thought.
Why it matters
New programmes like Geraldine's are how the sport grows. These rowers started with no experience at all, and a novice medal at Maadi in their first season is a real result. Shaun has talked about what rowing gives young people, whatever the results:
“you are setting yourself up for life because this is unusual in this world that we have a sport so raw so challenging that demands so much commitment discipline and resilience”
If you're a junior just starting out, or the parent of one, read why rowing sets you up for life. Shaun's how long it takes to get good at rowing is a reminder that nobody starts fast, and every crew needs a whip-cracker and a jokester is worth a read for any new squad building its culture.
