As presented by Club President, James Law at the AGM 7 June 

Star Boating Club is now into its 160th year. We are the 2nd oldest rowing club in the country with the 2nd oldest sports club building. We are happy to report that we remain financially strong and sustainable with plans to upgrade plant and premises that will start soon.

The club relies heavily on a small number of volunteers who continue to devote significant time and effort into keeping things running. Early in the season, the committee had a session to identify at our values and purpose. Once identified, the committee has aligned its decision making with these thematic objectives:

1. People – we want to invest more in our coaches and build a pipeline for future coaches.

2. Community – Build cross school collaboration and participation in events such as the coxswains Durk n Duff.

3. Property – Develop a sustainable capital plan involving rationalising boats and purchasing new ones. A draft of this is being shared with the coaches for their input and we are working on a plan to upgrade the city boat shed to maximise the use of space.

4. Process – We are documenting enduring policy and process that can be consistently followed.

Our membership has remained relatively stable, with a small increase of 8 members this season. Our total members of 196 is made up as follows:

• 15 masters

• 22 adult squad including university students and school leavers

• 159 school squad members

Results on the water

Petone Solstice and 125th celebrations - June 2025

We got the season off to a great start with a win in the Women’s Open 4x for the fourth year in a row.

World Rowing U23 Championships – July 2025

Zola Kemp competed in Poznan, Poland and won bronze in the Women’s 4-.

World University Games – July 2025

Arie Magasiva represented New Zealand in this regatta in Duisburg, Germany.

Redding Shield – August 2025

Star retained the Redding Shield.

Mothes Shield – September 2025

Star took out places 1st to 4th in this time trial regatta.

Norton Cup – November 2025

Star was the clear winner of the Norton Cup; 98 points clear of the next rowing club.

Jury Cup – November 2025

We had some impressive results, highlights were wins in Men’s Club 2-, Women’s Open 4Xx, Women’s Open 1x, Boy’s U15 4x+, Men’s Open 4-, Men’s Club 2x, Women’s Novice 8x+, Men’s Club 4+ and Men’s Open 2-.

Karāpiro Christmas Regatta – December 2025

There was plenty of competition at last year's Christmas regatta with most Star crews featuring in A and B finals. Star participated in 43 A finals with 1st place in the Girl’s U17 2x, Women’s Club 2x, Girl’s U16 4x+ and the Women’s Open 4x.

Canterbury Champs - January 2026

Wellington Girls College travelled south to attend the Canterbury Champs regatta. They qualified for 7 A finals and won silver in the Women’s 8x+.

North Island Rowing Championships – January 2026

Unfortunately much of the regatta was cancelled due to the weather, so very few finals were held. Star won gold in the Women’s Club 2x.

South Island Rowing Champs – January 2026

Queen Margaret College also travelled south to compete in this regatta. They qualified for 15 A finals and won 6 medals, including gold in Girl’s U16 4x+ and the Girl’s U17 1x.

Beach Sprints NZ Summer series 4 – February 2026

Our alumni, Jackie Kiddle placed 2nd in the mixed open double.

Durk n Duff - February 2026

A highlight for the year was the return of Star Boating Club coxswain’s regatta, where our coxswains compete for the prestigious Durk n Duff cup. The event was a great success with lots of members supporting the 11 coxswains as they battled the wind and waves in Wellington harbour.

Wellington Provincial Championships – February 2026

Star had a very successful regatta and claimed the following trophies:

• James Wattie Trophy winners 161 points (WRC 86)

• Star Centennial Cup winner 64 points (WRC 33)

• Harbour Board Trophy (W) winners 73 points (WRC 38)

• Harbour Board Trophy (M) winners 88 points (WRC 48)

• Allum Cup Women’s Open 4x+

• Bill Vine Cup Men’s Open 8+

• Gaudin Challenge Cup Men’s Novice 4+

New Zealand Rowing Championship – February 2026

We had strong results in the NZ Club Nationals with two club members earning their red coat, Arie Magasiva in the Men's Premier 2x and Sophie Jones in the Women's Premier 4x. Star qualified for 16 A Finals and won 6 medals; silver in the Women Premier 2-, bronze in the Men’s Premier 4Xx bronze in Women’s Inty 1x, gold in the Women’s Club 2Xxand silver in the Women’s Club 1x.

College Sport Auckland Rowing Champs & Junior Regatta – February 2026

WGC attended this regatta and qualified for 9 A finals.

McLachlan Shield – February 2026

A Star school has won the shield every year since 2012, and the streak continues with Wellington College winning for the 2nd year in a row. Queen Margaret College came in second only 1 point behind.

North Island Secondary Schools Championships – March 2026

All Star schools attended this regatta and has some excellent results, with 30 crews qualifying for A finals and bringing five medals back to Wellington:

• Girl’s U17 2x gold - WEGC

• Girl’s U18 2x silver - QMC

• Girl’s U16 8+ silver - QMC

• Girl’s U16 4+ silver -QMC

• Girl’s U17 4x+ bronze - WEGC

Maadi Regatta New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships – March 2026

All Star schools took a squad south for this regatta and achieved some great results. They qualified for 14 A finals and 13 B finals. A special congratulations to our three medallists and top ten finishers (in the u18 events):

• Girl’s U18 2x silver - QMC

• Girl’s U17 2x bronze - WEGC

• Boy’s U16 1x bronze - WC

• Top 10 finishers – Boy’s U18 2- - WC, Girl’s U18 2x - QMC, WEGC and the Boy’s U18 1x – WC

North Island Beach Sprint Champs – March 2026
Star attended this regatta and qualified for 2 A finals, placing 2nd in the Mixed Open Coastal 4x+.

University Rowing Championships – April 2026

Massey University, rowing out of Star, attended this regatta.

Legion of Rowers North Island Masters Champs – May 2026

Star had a great showing at this regatta, with all five rowers medalling. A highlight was Star taking out 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the A-D 1x final.

Wellington regattas

We were lucky that most Wellington regattas went ahead this season, with only the Porirua Goodwill and Queens Cup regattas being cancelled. A huge thanks to the Wellington Rowing Association for continuing to run fantastic local regattas. We look forward to being able to utilise the new shared pathway and completed park area for regattas in the coming season.

Rowing New Zealand and International Achievements

• Alma Steinfield (QMC), Lola Storey (WEGC) and Ruhi Powdrell (WEGC) were all selected to trial for the North v South team. Congratulations to Alma who was selected for the team and to Oliver Fahey who was selected as a coach.

• Olivia Martin was selected into the U19 Development Squad and is set to compete in Michigan in July.

• Emma Bagrie (Stanford University) and Zola Kemp (University of Washington) were invited to trial for the U23 squad in June 2026.

• Alice Fahey and Arie Magasiva were selected into the Rowing NZ Elite squad competing in Seville, Spain and in Plovda, Bulgaria.

We have an impressive number of alumni competing in Collegiate rowing in the United States:

• Maxim Ericson (WC) - Stanford University

• Emma Bagrie (WGC) - Stanford University

• Zola Kemp (WGC) - Washington University

• Nico Daly (WGC) - Indiana University

• Ella Barr (WGC) - Indiana University

• Kate Barham (WEGC) - Boston University

• Lillie Beliveau (WGC) - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Catherine Kleiner (Scots) - Ohio State

• Mackenzie Tuffin - Syracuse University - congratulations on your graduation this year

Two additional club members are set to go to the United States later this year and we wish themwell:

• Olivia Martin - Washington State

• Sophie Jones - Yale University

Achievements off the water

• In February we received our new men's eight, made possible by fundraising, members subs and the generous support of NZCT. In December we took delivery of a new safety boat thanks to the support of the Grassroots Trust.
• We have significantly increased our use of the Waimarino facilities, helping to increase our rowers’ time on the water and look forward to the coming season with the new cycleway in action.

• Nathan Wallace won a service award at the 139th NZ Rowing AGM, which was hosted by the Wellington Rowing Association at the Star Boating Club venue. Congratulations to Nathan and thanks to Gwen Sturgeon and her army of volunteers who made this a successful event.

• We ran two Learn to Row programs for adult novices. Thank you to Nathan Wallace, Kristy Udy and Peter Craig for supporting these initiatives.

• In March we successfully updated our constitution and re-registered to meet the new Incorporated Societies Act requirements. Thanks to Katy Lethbridge for all her work on this.

• Wellington East Girls College established a school squad following the disestablishment of the junior squad at the end of last season. This transition has required a lot of work from Katie Wellington and the WEGC team, which has been appreciated by the Club. This means that now all the school rowers at Star are rowing as part of a school program.

• The return of the Bow ball hosted by the Masters squad. Thanks to the Dad Squad for organising!

Committee

Officers of the club

• James Law — President

• Catherine Duffin — Vice-president,

• Gwen Sturgeon – Rowing Director, WRA representative

• Treena Martin — Treasurer, Adult squad logistics

• Katy Lethbridge — Secretary, Child Protection Officer

General committee

• Grant Kiddle — Health & Safety

• Russel Garlick – Grants

• Stacey Tamblin

School representatives

• Linda Cook — Wellington College

• Dan de Groot — Scots College (Denzell Christian from April 2026)

• James Law — Wellington Girls College

• Jeannie Melville — Queen Margaret College

• Katie Wellington — Wellington East Girls College

Thanks to all the committee and to Nathan Wallace who remains an integral part of the club despite stepping down from the committee. Nathan is busy building up our adult squad with logistical help from Treena Martin, in addition to the huge contribution she makes in the Treasurer role.

Huge thanks to Gwen Sturgeon, Rowing Director, for all her work over the season with the coaching team. Gwen is a huge asset to the club and is selflessly committed to ensuring all operational aspects of the club run smoothly.

Incidents are reported via the SBC online system and is a standing item at monthly Committee meetings. Thanks to Grant Kiddle for his dedication to ensuring “safety first” and his work to keep our coach boats on the water.

Russel Garlick was successful in securing a grant from NZCT to go towards our new eight and from Grassroots to go towards a new coaching boat. The committee are very grateful for this generous support from these organisations and to Russel for making this happen.

Coaches

This season, Star had twenty-two coaches responsible for the oversight and development of all our members. The club is grateful for the contribution that coaches make and the huge amount of time and energy they invest in our rowers. None of our results would be possible without our wonderful coaches.

Michele Munro continues her inspiring work as the International Pathway Lead at Rowing NZ.

Star Preservation Trust

The Trust has continued to maintain our iconic waterfront building. Over the past year the exterior painting of the building has been completed. We thank the Trust for the investment they have made in the legacy of our club’s building and for keeping a roof over our heads.

Anita Murdoch has continued to keep us up to date with Trust activities as the Trust Secretary.

The club has implemented a new phone app access system for access to the Star boat shed. This makes the administration of access to the boatshed easier to manage for the committee and easier for our members, as well as improving the security of the building.

WRA - Waimarino

The club continues to have access to 18 racks and these have been reserved for club owned boats. The facility is managed by the Waimarino Management Committee.

WRA – Development Hub

The Development Hub had a strong season with the largest number of participants to date. The hub was run out of Star over the last season, but this may not be the case for the coming season due to our planned storage upgrade in the shed.

In conclusion

Thank you to all our members and coaches for your continuing to support our Club. Thank you for treating each other and our equipment with care. We are looking forward to the 2026/7 season with a new shed refurbishment and the start of implementation of our new boat rationalisation and upgrade program.

Star Boating Club Incorporated Committee

Ladies Trophy - Most Promising  Female Novice

Nominations :Ana Radu-Garrett (QMC) Mae Armstrong (WEGC) Hannah Monasands (WGC)
Winner: Ana Radu Garrett QMC

Levin Cup - Most Promising  Male Novice

Nominations: Luca Sorsa (Scots) Rhys Griffiths (WC)
Winner: Rhys Griffiths

Hon. Bill Young Cup -  Most Outstanding  Female School  Rower

Nominations:  Alma Steinfeld (QMC), Ruhi Powdrell (WEGC), Lola Storey (WEGC)
Winner: Alma Steinfeld

D.A.Fahey Trophy - Most Outstanding  Male School Rower

Nominations: Ollie Wiig (WC) ,Loki Sparksman (WC)
Winner: Ollie Wiig

G.W.Wright  Trophy - Most Improved  Oarsperson

Nominations: Lucy Kavanagh (QMC) ,Octavia Snelling (WEGC), Emilia Dumbill (WGC)
Winner: Emilia Dumbill

Paris House Cup - Best Performed  Sculler

Nominations: Olivia Martin (Club), Ollie Wiig (WC), Loki Sparksman (WC)
Winner: Olivia Martin 

Duff Cup - Best Performed  Sweep 

Nominations: Lily Melville (QMC) , Men’s Club 4- (Club)
Winner: Lily Melville 

Coxswains Trophy - Best Coxswain 

Nominations: Noam Phillips (WC) , Hristo Hayes (Scots), Sofia Borero-Gonzalez (QMC), Selma Smith (WEGC), Emily Clarke (WGC)
Winner: Sofia Borero Gonzalaz

Pearce Cup - Secondary School  Crew of the Year  

Nominations: WGC U17 8+, QMC U18 2x, Loki Sparksman (WC), WEGC U17 2x
Winner: Girls U18 2x - Alma Steinfeld  + Zara Magasiva  and Ollie Fahey  (coach)

Whaleboat  Trophy - Club Crew of the  Year 

Winner: Women's Club 2x - Olivia Martin + Tessa  Thompson and  Nathan Wallace  (coach)

J.G.Duncan Cup - Rower of the Year 

Nominations: Alice Fahey, Ollie Wiig,  Zola Kemp, Arie Magasiva
Winner: Arie Magasiva

Stewart Dawson  Trophy - Aggregate Points  at Regattas

Winner: Olivia Martin

Cruickshank Plate – Most Helpful Club  Member 

Nominations: Luca Sorsa (Scots) Rhys Griffiths (WC)
Winner: Rhys Griffiths

Boyd Cup  - Supporter of the  Year 

Nominations: Russel Garlick, Gwen Sturgeon, Grant Kiddle, Katy Lethbridge
Winner: Katy Lethbridge

Mills Cup - Coach of the Year 

Winner: Oliver Fahey

Lady Jervois Trophy - Master Rower of  the Year

Nominations:  Russel Garlick, Matt Kavanagh,  Sean O'Connor
Winner: Russel Garlick

Prizegiving and AGM – Sunday 7 June – REMINDER 

The club will be holding its AGM (at 3.00pm) and the club prizegiving (at 4.00pm) on Sunday 7 June at the Clubrooms.  Everyone is welcome at both events and there will be afternoon tea between the two events.  Please join us to reflect on and celebrate last year's achievements of our members and the club. 

Maadi 

An overdue congratulations to all Star members who competed at Maadi.  Our squads qualified for 14 A finals and 13 B finals.  A special well done to our medalists and top 10 finishers (u 18 events): 

• Silver u18 2X: Alma Steinfield and Zara Magasiva (QMC) 

• Bronze u17 2X: Ruhi Powdrell and Lola Storey (WEGC) 

• Bronze u16 single: Loki Sparksman (WC) 

Top 10 finishers – u18 2 – Ollie Wiig and Tom Ward (WC), u18 2X – Alma Steinfield and Zara Magasiva (QMC), Ruhi Powdrell and Lola Storey (WEGC) and u18 single – Ollie Wiig (WC) 

Star alumni round up 

The club has had some amazing successes on the Rowing NZ front. 

• North v South (school rowers) - trialists: Alma Steinfield (QMC), Lola Storey (WEGC), Ruhi Powdrell (WEGC) 

• Selected: Alma Steinfield (QMC), Oliver Fahey (coach) 

• U19 development team, competing at Michigan in July – Olivia Martin 

• U23 triallists at Karapiro in June – Emma Bagrie (Stanford Uni) and Zola Kemp (Uni of Washington) 

• NZ Rowing team - Seville, Spain and Plovdiv, Bulgaria in May and June – Alice Fahey & Arie Magasiva 

Rowing NZ Service Award – Nathan Wallace 

Congratulations to Nathan Wallace on receiving a Rowing New Zealand service award at the recent Rowing NZ AGM.  Service awards are a recognition of “rendering distinguished service to RNZ for a minimum period of ten years".  A great honour for Nathan and a source of pride for the club. 

Legion of Rowers NI Champs 

The Club's master rowers had some great results at this event, a highlight being a 1 – 2 – 3 Star finish in the Mens Masters A-D Single scull for Dan de Groot (1), Matt Kavanagh (2) and Sean O'Connor (3).  Other results included A-D four – 2nd, A-D pair – 2nd and A-D quad – 2nd.

Shed development 

Exciting new changes will be happening in the boatshed with improved storage and layout.  We may need some help with a working bee or two, to help make this happen.  Watch this space! 

NZ Rowing Champs 

Congratulations to all of the Star members who competed at the NZ Rowing Champs.  The club had a great regatta appearing in 17 A finals and 7 B finals – fantastic results and well done! 

Highlights were: 

• Red Coat, 1st A final - Arie Magasiva – Mens Premier Double Sculls  

• Red Coat – 1st A final - Sophie Jones – Womens Premier Coxless Quad Sculls 

• 1st A final – Olivia Martin and Tessa Thomson – Womens Club Double Sculls 

• 2nd A final – Alice Fahey  – Womens Premier Coxless Pair 

• 2nd A final – Olivia Martin, Tessa Thomson, Sean O’Connor, Ted Henderson, Guy Curry-Stanton, Sid McQueen, Awatea Wallace, Poppy Clarke and Selma Smith 

• 2nd A final – Olivia Martin – Womens Club Single Sculls 

• 3rd A final – Tessa Thomson – Womens Intermediate Single Sculls 

• 3rd A final – Arie Magasiva - Mens Premier Coxless Quad Sculls 

Cox regatta (aka Durk n Duff) 

It was great to see the cox regatta run again!  Well done to all the coxes who took part and special congratulations to Marama for taking home the trophy.  It was good to see lots of supporters and thanks to the coaches for facilitating the event, in particular Catherine, and Linda and Katie for sorting the food. 

Star celebration - Naming ceremony and Red Coat presentation 

On Thursday 25 February at 5.30pm the new club eight is being named and the club is presenting Jackie Kiddle with her Red Coat.  All members and coaches are welcome. 

The new eight is being named “Bill Falconer”.  Bill is a Star Alumnus who played a major role in Rowing New Zealand, including as Chairman of the Board of New Zealand Rowing from 1996 to 2010.  He was made a Life Member of Rowing NZ in 2012 and was also made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1999 for his significant contribution business, state enterprises and sports governance.   

Jackie received her Red Coat for winning the Womens Premier Single Sculls at the NZ Champs in 2023.   This is in addition to her stellar international career in flat water and now coastal rowing. 

Reminder Special General Meeting 

The Special General Meeting to approve the new constitution is being held on Tuesday 17 March at 6pm.  A copy of the draft constitution has been circulated to all members, and a final version will be circulated before the SGM.