Corben Campbell
The Legion of Rowers helped my family fund my journey to the U19 world champs in Lithuania. Here I was able to compete in the junior men’s 8+ which was an amazing experience.
It was my first time ever competing on the world stage, and I am super grateful for the opportunity to go and represent my country doing the sport I love. Thank you!
Maclaine Stuart
I wanted to thank you again for the money towards my U19 campaign to attend the World Champs in Lithuania. The grant provided was a huge help towards the overall costs and I am very grateful.
Sorry for the delay in updating you, I spent a bit of time travelling after and have then recently been in the United States, looking at universities.
My experience:
The U19 Rowing experience attending U19 World Championships, was such a positive experience from start to finish. We spent 6 weeks training as a squad in Karapiro, to then spending 3 weeks overseas. This time allowed us to prepare and adapt to racing conditions on the other side of the world. Personally it was my first time racing for NZ and internationally, so being able to go was a dream come true and it lived up to all of my expectations. Having the opportunity to train with like minded and motivated athletes and a strong coaching team was very beneficial to me, as I learnt a lot on and off the water. The grant provided a massive boost to affording the cost of the trip and experience and I am so deeply grateful for it. Wearing the NZ Silver fern rowsuit really was a dream come true. Although we did not get the outcome we had prepared for in the coxless four, we were able to keep our heads high and race our final race with much pride.
Kind regards,
Maclaine Stuart
Nathan Strachan
Nathan began rowing relatively late, only starting in October of his U16 year. Just one month later, he was part of the novice quad that won the Bennett Shield.
He went on to have a highly successful novice season, achieving multiple placings across events and regattas. A standout result was finishing 7th in the A final of the U16 single at the North Island Secondary Schools regatta—despite only limited time in the single scull.
In his second season, Nathan continued to impress, winning gold in the Intermediate double and silver in the Intermediate single at the New Zealand Rowing Championships, along with bronze in the U17 single at the North Island Secondary Schools.
The 2024/25 season marked another step forward. Among many highlights, Nathan won bronze in both the U18 quad and U18 double, before taking gold in the U18 single at North Islands. At Maadi Cup, the U18 double (featuring a rower in just their second season) placed 6th, while Nathan went on to win the prestigious U18 single.
His strong performances earned him selection for the New Zealand double, representing his country in Lithuania. Nathan and his crewmate Harry Lightfoot finished second place in the B final in the men’s double scull. 8th overall.
Nathan’s achievements are the result of his dedicated commitment to the sport, backed by the unwavering support of his parents.
New Zealand Rowing Team Results
The 2025 U19 Championships were held from 6–10 August in Trakai, featuring 594 athletes from 47 nations across 12 boat classes
Men’s eight – 6th in the A final.
Women’s quadruple scull – 1st in the B final.
Men’s Double scull – 2nd in F final.
Nathan gave this presentation at the Legion AGM during September 2025.
Angalla Carney
I just wanted to send through an email letting you know how my team and I got on at the U19 World Rowing champs and to thank you again for your support.
After a 6-week training camp based in Karapiro, we departed for Lithuania late last month. We spent a week training at the race venue in Trakai, Lithuania, getting used to the weather, conditions and equipment before racing began.
During the regatta, we had a few ups and downs. We came 2nd in our heat, which sent us through to the semi-finals, where we placed 4th. This meant that we qualified for the B Final. We were a little disappointed with this result as we had hoped to be in the A Final, but we had a fantastic race on finals day, and we ended up winning the B Final, coming 7th overall.
This whole experience has been absolutely incredible. I have learned so much, made lifelong friendships, and my rowing has improved immensely.
Thank you so so much to you and the Legions for your generosity and support. My family and I are incredibly grateful.
I have attached a couple of photos from worlds and the link to our final (watch from 27:25) if you would like to watch the replay.
Thank you again.
Kind regards,
Angalla Carney
Blake Cooper
First of all Thank you very much for your awesome and unexpected donation. After finding out about the increased cost of Juniors this came as a very pleasant surprise. My time at rowing New Zealand and at the world champs was extremely enjoyable and throughout the time I developed as a person heaps and am very thankful for the experience. Although we did well in the heats qualifying with the third fastest time unfortunately the final did not go our way. Despite this, 6th in the world is still an achievement that I’m proud of. Thank you again for the support and encouragement of the U19 team.
Kind regards
Blake
Jack Buckley
Thank you again for the money towards my u19 trip. it really meant a lot and helped immensely.
The trip was an unreal experience with many friends made for life, and so many memories made and I am very thankful for the opportunity that I had. As for the racing it was amazing the experience learnt from racing against amazing athletes was special and I’ll take with me to my next races on towards for the rest of my career!
Again thank you so much.
Cheers
Jack