Sport + Motorsport
The Invercargill Masters Women's rowing crew have done it again, picking up gold at the South Island Masters Rowing Champs, and the trophy for the fastest 4 of the regatta.
Jacqui van Dam, Cecelia Russell, Katrina Allan and Ginny Sweney picked up several golds in the Mixed 4, Mixed 8, Women's Coxed 4 with Paula Burke and the Mixed Women's 8.
The Invercargill club also won gold in the Men's Mixed 8 and Jacqui said it was great to bring back home the trophy for the fastest Women at the competition as well.
"We knew we had won our age group but not the entire regatta," Jacqui said.
Held at Lake Rotoiti in Nelson at the end of April, there is no stopping these ladies, who came back into rowing again in 2019, after training together as teenagers.
In 2023 the team also won gold 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.
Two of the women are in their 60s, and the other two late 50s, and this year's South Island Masters was the first time they had all been back together rowing, after Ginny and Kat had been injured.
In 2024, they teamed up with another four masters women, to take on the Head of the Yarra in Melbourne in November.
Jacqui said the exciting part is that this time next year they will be in the starting blocks at the World Masters Games in Japan.
Held on the 11th of May 2026, the women will soon start a training regime through winter in preparation for the event, in around juggling work, life and for some, grandchildren.
"Life gets in the way but we manage everything. I'm just blessed to have a great bunch of ladies to row with," she said.
