Rowing NZ has confirmed it has been asked to reconsider the result of a Maadi Cup race almost 40 years after it finished.
The boys’ coxed eight final resulted in Christ’s College claiming their first win at the event, with Auckland Grammar School finishing second.
At the core of acomplaint about the race is the suggestion Christ’s College had an unfair advantage.
The complainants allege “Christ’s College were the only school permitted to row with the highly advantageous ‘new technology’ of lightweight carbon fibre oars”.
They also allege there was a “clear failure” by officials at the regatta and the rowing coaches of Christ’s College to ensure a fair race.
1988 Maadi Cup Boys coxed eight, won by Christ's College with Auckland Grammar finishing second.
The appeal against the result has come from some (not all) of the 1988 Auckland Grammar crew – but is not from the school itself.
“Auckland Grammar School is focused on education, and we value sport as an extracurricular activity,” Auckland Grammar School headmaster Tim O’Connor said.
“We are not seeking to relitigate any historic sporting results, including the Maadi Cup. Auckland Grammar School fully supports Rowing NZ in its provision of the sport to secondary school students across the country.”
The race on Lake Ruataniwha, near Twizel, was the showpiece event at the 1988 regatta and featured a strong showing from Whanganui Collegiate.
The request asked “whether Rowing NZ would consider reopening or investigating the result” of that race.
“Rowing NZ has declined, noting it would be impractical to revisit or investigate a school rowing result nearly 40 years after the event,” Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Wickham said.
The complainants have asked Rowing NZ to reconsider the decision at its next AGM.
The final strokes of the 1988 Maadi Cup Boys coxed eight. The result of the race is now being disputed by some members of the Auckland Grammar crew.
An account of the race featured on Auckland Grammar Rowing’s page in 2019. It was titled, Maadi Cup ’88: Flashback from the #4 seat.
“At the 500m mark I was breathing heavily, feeling smooth and controlled. At this point all the crews were still even, with Collegiate and Christ’s perhaps edging us by a few feet.
“At the 1000 mark we took the lead by a canvas but Christ’s College pulled this back and took us. We responded by taking the lead again.
“Suddenly it was 300m to go. The boat felt heavy and slowed as the crew tired. Christ’s went into their final sprint. We couldn’t match them and faded badly in the last 10 strokes, surrendering almost a length.
“As we rowed to the victory dais to receive the silver medal, I felt sick and empty. I knew we had rowed as well as we could have on that day, but still I felt the eyes of the people close to us showed their disappointment, no matter what came out of their mouths,” reads the first-hand account.
Christ’s College headmaster Joe Eccleton told the Herald he was aware of the complaint and that it “was with Rowing NZ”.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.
