Rowing New Zealand opened nominations on 15 October 2026 for its 2027 representative teams: the Elite team (including para rowing), the U23 and U19 World Championships teams, the University team for the FISU Games, the U19 Development team, the U22 Oceania Championships team and the North v South U18 teams.
“Representing New Zealand internationally is one of the highest honours in our sport.”
The detail is in Rowing NZ's 2026-2027 High Performance Selection Guidelines, updated on 19 October. The first deadline is close: nominations for the Elite, U23, U19 and World University teams close on 16 November 2026 (Summer Squad athletes aside). U18 nominations close on 31 January 2027, and U22 nominations on 3 April 2027.
The 2k standards
For an automatic trial invite, you need to hit both an erg standard and an on-water standard, as well as meet the other requirements. These are the 2km erg standards:
| Team | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Elite | 5:53.0 | 6:42.0 |
| U23 | 6:03.0 | 6:54.0 |
| U19 | 6:14.0 | 7:06.0 |
Every erg test has to be watched by a Rowing NZ regional erg tester, with a photo of the erg screen sent in through the Erg Test Submission Form by the last day of the testing window. For the U19 team, the 5km and 1 minute tests run from 12 October to 15 November 2026, the 2km window is 1 to 28 February 2027, and the trial is 11 to 17 April 2027 at Lake Karāpiro.
The U23 on-water standard is a prognostic: within 2% of the winners of the premier single or pair at the regattas the guidelines name.
Why it matters
If you're a Kiwi junior or U23 rower, the numbers are on the table and the U19 5km window opened on 12 October. If you row anywhere else, they're still a useful yardstick for what a national pathway asks of a 2k.
Shaun knows the 2k doesn't always move in a straight line. From his reel on being stuck:
“I just had a ceiling. And I kept hitting that ceiling for four years.”
His 2k erg times by age, from 14 to 28 show what that looked like. For the test itself, use his 2k erg warm-up and the two sessions he did before every big 2k. And if prognostics are new to you, why New Zealand rowing punches above its weight explains how they work.
Sources: Nominations Open for 2027 New Zealand Representative Team Opportunities (Rowing New Zealand, 15 October 2026); 2026-2027 High Performance Selection Guidelines, updated 19 October 2026 (Rowing New Zealand, PDF)
