Invercargill Rowers Retain South Island Masters Title

Invercargill rowers Jacqui Van Dam, Cecilia Russell, Katrina Allan, and Virginia Sweney cleaned up at the South Island Masters in Glendhu Bay last weekend.

Racing in six events and coming home with six golds, there is no stopping these women, who first rowed together as teenagers and came back together again in 2019.

Despite illness and injury at this year’s South Island event, the women managed to regroup in the coxless pairs, with Cecelia having to compete twice.

“We had to make it work and nurture each other and shift things around,” Jacqui said.

In 2023 the team also won at the South Island Masters in Picton, retaining trophies for the fastest women’s 4 for three years running, along with the fastest women’s 2 for two years running over all age groups.

But unfortunately wind cancelled most of the events at the New Zealand Masters in Twizel last September.

Jacqui said at the NZ Masters they got in one day of singles racing and picked up silver in the coxless pairs.

Training every Saturday and Sunday morning on the water during winter, the women do their own individual fitness regimes during the week.

Moving forward they have now teamed up with another four masters women, including Maude O’Connell from Cromwell, to take on the Head of the Yarra in Melbourne in November.

Their original cox Paula Burke that rowed with them as teenagers is also going to join them.

Jacqui said they hoped to be selected for the Southern masters team to row at the interprovincial regatta this season – which would give them great experience for Melbourne.

‘We’re all the same type of women and all have the same drive in the boat,” she said.

“We are serious but we have fun too.”