Queenstown rower takes Paris
Year 13 Wakatipu High School student Marley Smith has been selected for the New Zealand under 19 Men’s 4x Rowing Crew and will be competing for the World Championship in Paris this month. He’s the first Whakatipu Rowing Club member to win the New Zealand selection since the 70s – he and his family are currently over there for the event.
The 17 year old has a long list of accolades including an impressive academic record. He won the Open Men’s (Adult) Single Scull title at both the Otago and Canterbury Championship Regattas during the 2023 season, something not achieved before by a school-aged male rower.
inspired to get into rowing when his older sister was rowing when she also attended Wakatipu High. His dad, Bas Smith, explains that while rowing is New Zealand’s second-biggest sport (behind rugby), it gets more funding than any other sport in the country and flies a little under-the-radar.
“Every little town in New Zealand that’s close to a waterway has a rowing club,” says Bas. “Whakatipu Rowing Club has had a rowing club for a long time – we’re based in Lake Hayes – and just over the last ten years or so, we’ve seen a resurgence in kids performing out there and there’s been a growth in the attention parents have given it. We’ve built it into a pretty cool club these days.”
Over the past few years the club has seen an increase in the amount of talent coming through. They’ve won the President’s Trophy for the Top Sculling School in New Zealand for the past two years. Marley has been a top single sculler in New Zealand for the past two years for his age group and this year won the under 18 Single Scull at Maadi Cup, which is the biggest national school championship competition.
“I’ve done a lot of work with the school over the last couple of years to try and relate the effects – Wakatipu High is really big on the positive effects of organised sport. Rowing is one of those sports that is really quite measurable to show how good the kids are doing from it. It is one of those sports that requires a lot of commitment, early mornings and late nights, but what you see as being a part of it is the reason that private schools and big budget schools actually put time into this is because it creates really amazing young people. They get a great buzz out of it – they’re better at school, they’re more organised,” says Bas.
In sports, Marley looks up to former Wakatipu High School student and NZ rowing elite squad member, Ben Mason. He’s thankful to his family – to his mum, Cesca, for teaching him to work hard, that family comes first and to always look after his mates, and his sister, Lucia, for teaching him to chat with girls.
“Growing up here in Wakatipu, my parents’ mates are an amazing bunch of humble legends. We can be on the chairlift, skiing hard for a few runs with someone and later my dad says, ‘he’s climbed Everest six times, or she started that well-known company...’ Down here you learn to get out of bed early and just get after it,” says Marley.
The future for Marley looks bright – he hopes to gain a full US college scholarship to row and study abroad. He’s already been approached by several top rowing colleges in the States and in the meantime will be enjoying time with his family and friends, ski touring in the winter and biking in the summer.
