Rowing NZ changes selection process
A new approach to selection from Rowing New Zealand will see specific boat crews named much later in the year.
This year, a new selection panel is set to name a squad for two World Cup regattas this year in Europe in June and July, while the 2017 world championships will be in the United States at the end of September.
Previously, the make-up of each boat to contest the World Cups and world champs has been made in March - usually five months out from the world championship regatta. This time, there’s more scope for the make-up of boats to change during the World Cups in Poznan, Poland, in June and Lucerne, Switzerland, in July - and then again for the world champs in Florida
The selection panel will be based around the respective head men’s and women’s coaches - Noel Donaldson and Gary Hay - and an independent selector working with both, while there will be greater input from crew coaches also.
‘‘After the Rio Olympics, we reviewed the whole high performance programme and the selection structure as part of that,’’ Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Peterson said.
‘‘Part of the feedback ... was that we’re one of the countries that selects crews earliest in the year; given that we have to travel so far.
‘‘The athletes and others in the high performance programme felt we should have a bit more flexibility about whether we needed to name crews in March, or whether we could name squads ... and make those decisions closer to racing time.’’
Previously, the Rowing NZ summer squad has contested major domestic regattas and national trials knowing they had to claim a spot in a specific boat by the end of summer. Now it’s possible they may be able to focus more on training before heading to Europe and be capable of peaking later in the year.
Peterson said the organisation was listening to feedback of the athletes ‘‘and the coaches’’.
‘‘I think it’s a good reflection that we’re making changes while things are going well; not waiting until someone says ‘why didn’t you make changes a few years ago?’
‘‘The programme is solid and the nucleus of athletes is fantastic. We have to keep evolving while things are going well.’’
The review also played a part in the change of the make-up of the selection panel, with convener Conrad Robertson stepping down.
‘‘The feedback from the athletes and the coaches is that the structure we were working with didn’t reflect the professional environment the athletes were training in,’’ Peterson said.
‘‘We made a minor change, which is going from two independent selectors from having one, and both head coaches are selectors.
‘‘We’ll also bring in the crew coaches closer to the conversation as well, so they’ll have greater input.
‘‘It’s really just reflecting the professional environment that’s at [Lake] Karapiro now.’’
There will be plenty for the panel to ponder this year, with the likes of dual Olympic gold medallists Mahe Drysdale, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray not in consideration, along with the likes of Genevieve Behrent, Zoe Stevenson, Eve Macfarlane, Julia Edward and Sophie Mackenzie.
‘‘It’s a really good opportunity for our younger athletes - there’s great depth in our under-23 programme so it’ll be exciting seeing them step up,’’ Peterson said.
‘‘Yes there are some big names missing through sabbaticals, but there’s still plenty of experience. We had a lot of athletes in A finals at Rio, and we’re pretty proud of that.’’