Description
Hi my name is Harry Church and I have a passion for rowing!
Here is my story..
I started rowing in year 9 and really enjoyed it however did not enjoy much success. Over the next four years with some help from coaches over the winters and a lot of commitment, I was rewarded with a gold medal in the double sculls at the nationals in March. After not winning any medals previously, this was a highlight in my rowing career. I am now in full-time training with hopes to compete in the Junior World Championships later this year!
My rowing highlights:
Auckland Light Blues Team – During the 2017 winter, I was selected into the Men’s eight to represent Auckland at the Queensland State Championships in Australia. This team represented the top schoolboy rowers in the Auckland area. This was one of the most successful tours for this Auckland team, where we won the eight, the quadruple sculls, the pair, and the four.
The school 2017/18 season – I was 2 seat in the quadruple sculls and we worked hard to be at the forefront of national racing in our final school season. This ultimately lead to placing 4th in the entire country, as well as a gold at the national championship in the double sculls.
2018 Junior Team – After a week of trialling at Lake Karapiro post-school season, I was selected as bow-seat of the Junior Men’s quad for 2018. This year, we will compete at the Junior World Championships in August at Racice, Czech Republic. Currently, I have relocated to Cambridge to train at the High-Performance centre with the rest of my crew, the target being to win medals at the upcoming World Championships.
My goals/visions:
- Over the coming months, I want to train to be able to compete to best of my ability, at the Junior World Championships with the promising crew that I am part of.
- At the conclusion of the Junior campaign, I will look to be selected into the Auckland Regional Performance Centre (ARPC). This team is a high-performance training and racing squad based in Auckland that will grow my ability over the coming summer.
- After a season racing with Auckland, I will aim to be reselected in the NZ team. However, due to my age I will be aiming to make the U23 team which makes me extremely young in this category. This is definitely still plausible, and one of my long-term goals.
My accomplishments:
- 2016 Saint Kentigern College Junior Rower of the year
- Named in the 2017 Auckland ‘Light Blues’ squad
- 2017/18 season club captain for Saint Kentigern Rowing club
- Runners up in the North Island Secondary Schools Championships for the U18 Double Sculls
- 3rd in the North Island Secondary Schools Championships for the U18 Quadruple Sculls
- 4th at National Championships (Otherwise known as the ‘Maadi Cup’) in the U18 Quadruple Sculls
- National Champion in the U18 Double Sculls at the Maadi Cup.
- Named as a trialist for the NZ Junior team
- Selected as bow seat for the Junior Men’s Quadruple sculls to compete at the Junior World Championships in August 2018
- Recipient of the most improved oarsman, top bow side oarsman, sculler of the year, and club captain awards for the Saint Kentigern College 2017/18 season.
My parents have already contributed a considerable amount to my rowing so far and I want to be able to help fund my campaign, to win gold at the worlds. This will cost $6500 however, any assistance to help me achieve this will be much appreciated.
