Image Credit: World Rowing

On a personal note, the 2016 U19 World Rowing Championships captured by James Aimer (https://youtu.be/kvDWIRVUX8o?si=ezAE9TvlZg9cfgQ1) was what cemented my love for this beautiful sport, and now, ten years later, I am here celebrating the 2026 class of New Zealand junior athletes.

The months of preparation on Lake Karapiro are over, and the kilometres are in the bank. It’s time for these young athletes to show the world what New Zealand has to offer on the world stage. This week, New Zealand’s U19 World Championship team set sail to one of the most iconic rowing venues in the world: Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After a New Zealand summer in which they earned their places, these fine athletes honed their craft throughout a gruelling New Zealand winter and now have the chance to set the European summer alight. Last week it was the turn of the U23 athletes, and now it is the chance of the U19s. The women’s side of the draw has a lovely mix of experienced campaigners and athletes donning the black row suit for the first time, so this is set to be a special World Rowing Championships. These six young ladies are here to prove why they truly are the finest to swing on sticks down here in New Zealand.

Women’s U19 Double

Eleri Clare and Zara Blackie (Coached by Alice Denyer and Sam Jackson)

Eleri Clare, that is a name to remember for the future of New Zealand rowing. Earlier in the season, I outlined Eleri as the outstanding school-age female sculler in the country, and that prediction has come to fruition. After a New Zealand junior campaign in 2025 with the U19 women’s quad, Clare won the U18 single and quad at the 2026 Maadi Regatta for Cashmere High School, alongside a fabulous bronze in the U18 Four to cement her spot as a returning athlete for this campaign. Not only did she win the U18 single, but she did so dominantly, blowing the field away by almost 20 seconds. Clare was not only dominant across school-age racing in 2026 but also became the premier champion in the single and double at the South Island Championships while representing Canterbury Rowing Club. Eleri has a lot to prove after winning the B-final of the quad at the U19 World Rowing Championships last year. The double scull could definitely be the boat class where she proves to the world what she really has in her locker after coming back with vengeance to prove that the dominance doesn’t only lie at the national level. Trakai in 2025 was only just the beginning for Clare in the black row suit; I am sure, watch out for the stroke seat of the Women’s U19 Double from New Zealand.

In the bow seat of the New Zealand junior women’s double is when compared to Clare, a relative newbie to the sport, Zara Blackie. After only her second season in the sport, Blackie has become a household name for female sculling. As a novice phenomenon in 2024/2025, Blackie rose to new heights in 2025/2026, winning the U18 double and U17 single at the 2026 Maadi Regatta. Under the tutelage of one of the country’s greatest school-age coaches, Kirsty Dunhill, Blackie rewrote the history books for rowing at St Cuthbert’s College. Only deciding to have a crack at the single from January onwards, Blackie went into the Maadi final as not the favoured athlete but raced truly her own race, blew the competition out of the water and took home the crown and the brand-new boat. After two seasons under Kirsty’s tutelage, Zara will have taken everything she has learnt from her and evolved even further during the time in the Waikato since the school-age season finished. At her age, Zara will have the opportunity to be on the U19 team again next year, but don’t underestimate her; she won’t be waiting for any second chances. With Clare setting the rhythm from the stroke seat Blackie will be doing everything to combine with her and power this double through the finish line in Plovdiv. This athlete from Counties Manukau Rowing Club could be on for something special as she makes her debut in the black row-suit.

Ultimately, I can see this New Zealand women’s junior double scull as a medal threat, thanks to its sensational combination of raw talent and sculling prowess. Through months of dedication to their craft and the coaching of Alice Denyer and Sam Jackson, this crew will be cranking to be unleashed on the world stage. I have high expectations for this crew to be in and amongst the medal prospects come the finals of this year’s U19 World Rowing Championships. Can we see New Zealand on the podium for this event for the first time since Kathryn Glen and Stella Clayton-Greene claimed bronze in 2018?

Women’s U19 Coxless Four

Jessica Walkinshaw, Georgia Kendrick, Charlotte Gorman and Charlotte Mawston (Coached by Alice Denyer).

Jessica Walkinshaw from Epsom Girls’ Grammar sits in the stroke seat of the New Zealand Junior Women’s Coxless Four. Coming off an exceptional sweeping season with Epsom, Walkinshaw will want to continue that form on the world stage. Walkinshaw is an out-and-out sweeper, as athletes coming from Epsom Girls Grammar tend to be, and she made the Maadi Regatta A-final in the pair, four and eight, winning a bronze medal in the former. Walkinshaw didn’t just compete in school-age events; she made sure to test herself in both senior and club events as the club season progressed over the New Zealand summer, representing Auckland Rowing Club with pride. A North Island representative in 2025, this will be Walkinshaw’s first time competing internationally. A talented oarswoman from the Tamaki River, she will be adamant about making sure this is not her only opportunity to represent the black singlet. Epsom has produced many fine athletes in recent history, and I am sure Walkinshaw will add to that pedigree. The stroke seat of this crew will control the rhythm and feel as they make their way down the course in Bulgaria.

Over the past few years, New Zealand have sent U19 crews to both the U19 World Rowing Championships and the U19 International Rowing Challenge. In 2025, Georgia Kendrick of Hamilton Rowing Club and Sacred Heart College Hamilton alumna got her first taste of international racing at this event. In 2026, she returns in this black row suit, but this time for the U19 World Rowing Championships. Kendrick was dominant last year in the development crew, winning the coxed four and the single. She will be looking to carry over that dominance as she moves into the three-seat of the Coxless Four. Competing for Hamilton Rowing Club, Kendrick seized two silvers at the New Zealand Rowing Championships, in the club eight and pair, respectively. This caught the selectors’ eyes again and earned her another shot at international glory. Kendrick has her old crewmate, Charlotte Mawston, in the bow of this four, and that connection will be key to the crew’s success. Kendrick offers unparalleled power sitting in the three-seat behind Walkinshaw, and I am sure she will be rearing to unleash it on the world stage. A second chance on the world stage for Kendrick will be exactly what she was craving throughout this season, and I know she will be arriving in Bulgaria ready to prove her worth and show why she has stepped up for this season.

The first of the two Charlottes in this crew sits in the 2 seat of this tandem-rigged four, Charlotte Gorman of Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. Aged 16, Gorman is the youngest athlete in this crew, but what she lacks in age, she makes up for in ability. Gorman has earned her right to don the black rowsuit through her two golds and a silver at this year’s Maadi Regatta. Winning the U18 four and U17 eight with a silver in the Levin Jubilee Cup is an impressive regatta for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old. Gorman truly can do it with the very best, winning a bronze medal in the premier eight at the South Island Championships earlier in the year, representing Avon Rowing Club. This resume as a 16-year-old will only set her up for the future. With the potential for two U19 World Rowing Championships, Gorman will go out to Bulgaria looking to start strong for future campaigns. Gorman will have been training alongside Veronica Wall, who herself went to juniors at 16. While being in camp the last few months, I am sure all of this experience will be invaluable for this women’s four. Although not in the Rangi colours at the moment, I am sure everything she has perfected on the Avon will come to fruition as she dons the New Zealand row suit for what I’m sure won’t be the last time.

In the bow seat of the New Zealand U19 women’s four sits Westlake Girls’ Charlotte Mawston. Rounding out the Charlottes and the tandem rig is the second returning athlete from the 2025 U19 Development Team. Alongside Kendrick, Mawston performed admirably in her debut international competition, winning both the pair and the coxed four. Mawston has proved herself over two seasons at the top as a fine athlete when it comes to pairs rowing. Winning a silver medal in the U18 pair at Maadi in both 2025 and 2026. The elegance of blade work required to stroke a pair over two seasons shows why she will sit this four up beautifully in the bow. Mawston is technically poetry in motion for both North Shore Rowing Club and Westlake and, now, once again, for New Zealand. Although she has already proven her ability to compete nationally and internationally, I see this campaign as a true defining moment for Charlotte Mawston’s career. Her technique, power and intelligence in the bow might be the piece this crew needs to rise to the top. Mawston is one to watch for the future of New Zealand sweep rowing.

New Zealand has targeted the women’s four at the elite level over the past few years, and now this junior women’s four can stake their claim, too. Look out for this crew make’s their way through the championships, as they could give this a red-hot crack. This junior women’s four is tandem-rigged; that can only mean one thing – free speed. Alice Denyer will have turned this crew into her own, and I know they have the perfect combination of everything required to do something truly special here in Bulgaria. This crew will be targeting the A-final with every possibility of upsetting the apple cart and finding themselves on the podium come the end of the championships. The crew from the outside looks to be something special.

Both women’s crews selected for New Zealand’s juniors’ squad should frighten the rest of the world, and I, personally, am excited to see how they can perform. The lessons from the gruelling campaign in Cambridge will come to fruition over the coming week in Bulgaria. The podium will be the ultimate aspiration for these six ladies.