The open women\u2019s team of Brake, Danielle Ford, Courtney Matthews and Polly Wenlock \u2013 with Tom Jacka as sweep \u2013 had been selected to represent New Zealand after dominating the trial event at Whangamat\u0101 late last year.<\/p>\n
Competing as the Red Beach Bullets, they were up against a handful of other boats. Now they faced the formidable Australian team, the Collaroy Giants, who\u2019d prevailed against 17 leading teams while vying to wear green and gold.<\/p>\n
Even though no New Zealand open women\u2019s team had ever previously beaten Australia at the annual transtasman event, the Kiwis were unfazed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew the Aussies would be fast and it wouldn\u2019t be easy, but we had a lot of confidence in ourselves. We\u2019d been training really hard so we were hopeful we could fight it out,\u201d Brake said.<\/p>\n
All at sea: the Oar Blacks attribute their victory to a strong team dynamic.<\/p>\n
Clad in neon-pink singlets, the Oar Blacks women lost the first of their three races. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nerve-wracking \u2013 it meant there was no room for error,\u201d Brake recalled. \u201cIf we lost the second, it would all be over.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the thrilling sport of surf boat rowing, fortunes can change in an instant as crews battle uneven conditions. While one team might catch a rogue wave, another may find themselves in dead water. As the livestream commentator pointed out: \u201cYou\u2019re never out of it in surf racing, especially when there\u2019s a wave on.\u201d The second race proved exactly that.<\/p>\n
Australia took the early lead, ahead at the turn. As both boats were streaking back toward the beach, the New Zealand boat suddenly surged forward and caught their opposition.<\/p>\n
Approaching the finish line, the teams were nail-bitingly close. \u201cSurely that\u2019s tied,\u201d one commentator proclaimed. \u201cI\u2019m going to call New Zealand,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n
Brake and her teammates were equally perplexed: \u201cWe didn\u2019t know if we\u2019d got it on the line or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Kiwi women had won \u2013 making the third race the decider. A history-making win was tantalisingly close.<\/p>\n
The final showdown followed a similar pattern: Australia leading, New Zealand catching up in the later stages. But this time, the Kiwis charged right past and were clearly in front by the finish line.<\/p>\n
The joy on the Kiwis\u2019 faces was unmistakable as they registered their historic victory. There were hugs all round as the men\u2019s team helped secure the boat on the water\u2019s edge. Family and friends rushed over to join the celebrations \u2013 Brake\u2019s mother and surf boat super-fan, Lorraine Murray, were among the excitement.<\/p>\n
Murray had been Brake\u2019s inspiration for taking up the sport. As a young child, Brake had spent many memorable days at the beach watching her mother compete in surf boats.<\/p>\n
The Oar Blacks (from left): sweep Tom Jacka, Courtney Matthews, Polly Wenlock, Danielle Ford and Jasmine Brake.<\/p>\n
Now 26 years old, Brake says the respect they showed the ocean at Wanda Beach just might explain why the conditions seemed to go their way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d worked hard and deserved our result \u2013 but there were a couple of races where we got a wave from the back that really helped us. After throwing sand into the water before each race, we think the ocean gods helped us out,\u201d she said with a smile.<\/p>\n
The glory of being the first Kiwis to win the transtasman open women\u2019s category was momentarily diminished during the awards ceremony. Medals at the event are only given for the men\u2019s, women\u2019s and Under-23 teams\u2019 combined results \u2013 so Australia claimed the overall title.<\/p>\n
While the four Kiwi crews all stood on the podium together with silver medals around their necks, the team the women had beaten were among the Australians awarded gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter winning our category, it was a bit heartbreaking to get silver,\u201d Brake said. \u201cI think the Australian girls felt bad for us too. There was talk about changing it because everyone knew it was the first time New Zealand had ever won the women\u2019s section and we didn\u2019t get gold for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crew returned home with another silver medal, after excelling the following day at one of the biggest surf boat competitions in the Southern Hemisphere, the ASRL Open. This time though, after progressing from the heats to the semi-finals to the final, beating all but one of the crews from across Australia in ever-changing conditions, they felt justifiably proud to claim silver.<\/p>\n
Brake \u2013 who was a competitive flatwater rower for 12 years \u2013 attributes their recent success to a strong team dynamic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a huge amount of trust and respect in each other,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no point during the race where I think, \u2018This hurts too much,\u2019 because I know the girls are hurting just as much. We\u2019re all just so impressed by each other. I would hate not to be in my crewmates\u2019 boat and have to verse [sic] them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The oldest member of the team, 30-year-old Danielle Ford, sits at the bow and is a great influence on the group, according to Brake.<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny is really good at reminding us to keep the vibe high. She\u2019s a firefighter and does CrossFit and Hyrox very competitively so she\u2019s super fit and strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crewmate Polly Wenlock spent several years rowing competitively before turning to surf boats, much like Brake.<\/p>\n
A former member of the New Zealand Rowing U21 sculling squad, Wenlock studied in the United States on a rowing scholarship at UCLA. These days, the 24-year-old fits surf boat racing around her job as a digital journalist at TVNZ.<\/p>\n
Rounding out the team is 20-year-old Courtney Matthews. She took up the sport less than two years ago, at Brake\u2019s suggestion, and has impressed many with her rapid progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourtney is the baby of our crew,\u201d Brake said. \u201cSome of our Australian competitors have been rowing for the entire span of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oar Blacks get their silver medal at the ASRL Open.<\/p>\n
Coach and sweep Tom Jacka stands at the back, steering the boat with a large oar. He\u2019s encouraged Brake to become a sweep herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my first season of sweeping this year \u2013 for the Under-19 girls,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m the first female sweep at Red Beach [Surf Lifesaving Club]. I don\u2019t think there were any other females doing it in New Zealand this year. Sweeping has always been very male-dominated, but it\u2019s progressing and now there are quite a few female sweeps in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having earned a Master of Science in Management at Southern Methodist University in Texas while on rowing scholarship, Brake says those years helped prepare her for coaching and sweeping. But she knows there is still more to learn to become even more competitive in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sweep\u2019s job is the most important because it\u2019s so easy for the boat to go sideways,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s mainly on the sweep to hold the boat straight. There can be carnage, with boats veering off. They\u2019re moving so fast down the wave so there can be crashes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the risks, Brake couldn\u2019t be happier at a surf boat rowing event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re having a fun beach day as well as doing something highly competitive and adrenaline pumping,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to next season, she has some unfinished business when it comes to transtasman surf boat racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll probably do another season,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d really like to get the gold medal that I feel we should have got this year.\u201d<\/p>\n