NZCT Keeps Otago University Rowing Club Afloat

New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) has awarded a grant of $15,000 to Otago University Rowing Club (OURC) for the purchase of a new Women’s Eight rowing boat, giving students and the wider community access to top-class equipment for training and regattas.

Club Manager Glen Sinclair says, “Buying a new rowing boat is a huge ask for a student-run club, so this support from NZCT is invaluable.”

The new Women’s Eight, costing $75,000 in total, is New Zealand-made from high-grade carbon fibre and will last around twenty years as a racing boat, with another ten years as a beginner training boat. It will be named after Sir Murray Brennan, an alumnus and world-renowned surgeon who has long supported the University and the rowing club. With this grant, OURC has now raised 90% of the funds needed for the boat.

The grant also benefits the wider community, including schools, rowing teams, and community groups, who will be able to train and compete using high-quality equipment. The club has seen a surge in student participation and is engaging the wider community through initiatives such as eights races with University Residence Halls, helping beginner rowers learn and fostering mentorship.

Women’s Captain Messina Su’a says, “It was amazing to meet OURC’s first women’s crew, and crazy to think it really wasn’t that long ago that women were only just starting out in the club. Since then, the whole women’s squad has gone from strength to strength - with the championship eight bringing home the Tamaki Cup four years in a row, and women now making up the majority of OURC. Having a new women’s eight is a really special way to honour the rowers who came before us while continuing to build the future of women’s rowing at Otago.”

Club Secretary Brooke Pitchford adds, “Earlier this year it was the School of Physical Education’s 75th anniversary, this gave us the incredible opportunity of meeting and showing the first ever University of Otago Women’s rowers around the OURC boat shed. I’m very proud to be carrying on what they started. This new Women’s eight will provide all of our hard-working rowers opportunities to use top class equipment. This is not only going to help our performance, but also team culture and development.”

NZCT’s GM of Grants, Marketing and Communications, Ben Hodges adds, “Seeing students and the wider community get out on the water, learning, racing, and having fun is exactly what we love helping make happen. Grants like this wouldn’t be possible without the responsible gaming partnerships we share with our Otago-based venues.”