Maadi Cup results: King’s College claim first title since 1960 at Twizel
For the first time since 1960, King’s College are Maadi Cup champions – breaking one of the longest droughts in secondary school rowing.
The U18+ crew led from start to finish in the penultimate race of the 2026 Maadi Regatta on Lake Ruataniwha at Twizel, seeing off the challenges of Auckland Grammar and St Bede’s College.
Billed by the race commentators as “1750m of hope and 250m of the truth”, it was 2000m of King’s College clinic as they powered to the front from the start and never looked like relinquishing first place.
King’s had sounded a warning in the heats, obliterating a field that included traditional powerhouse Hamilton Boys’ High School and defending champions Westlake Boys’ High School.
They carried the favourites tag into the final and their crew of Marcus McLeod, Jack Reid, Patrick Sandlant, Josh Haskell, Charlie Field, Finn Thompson, Jake Peacocke, Sammy Taylor and Ayden Miller (cox) did that justice with a display that will become part of King’s College folklore.
Two of the school’s old boys presented them with the trophy - Alistair Dryden from the last winning crew in 1960 and Murray MacDonald from the winning 1959 crew.
The winning boat was also named after Peter Masfen, who was a member of the winning crew in 1959.
After waiting 66 years to reclaim the most famous trophy in New Zealand secondary school rowing, King’s could be in a position to defend it in 2027. Their second boat also qualified for the A-final, providing invaluable experience for their younger rowers. Seven of the nine boys in their winning boat had tasted big race experience the previous year.
They’ll have to contend with returning crews from St Bede’s and Christchurch Boys’ High School, among others – but for the next 12 months at least, Maadi is all theirs.
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls made it a North Island double for the first time since 2014, claiming the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup ahead of pre-race favourites Rangi Ruru Girls’ School and defending champions St Margaret’s College of Christchurch.
It was a closer race than the Maadi Cup, but Waikato Diocesan were in control for much of the regatta’s final race on Saturday afternoon.
Amy Bryant, Pippa Melville, Lucy Turnbull, Kate Slyfield, Victoria Melville, Keava Burrough, Ryan Woods, Alexandra Hull and Kiri Ormsby (cox) will return the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup to their school for the first time since 2014.
The win in the U18+ event capped an incredible regatta for the Waikato girls’ school, which claimed the Star Trophy for best-performed school overall.
Waikato Diocesan will also take hometown advantage into the 2027 event that returns to Lake Karapiro.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.