Latest news with #WindermereCup
NZ Herald
17-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Top NZ rower Zack Rumble apologises over Seattle incident, cops booze ban
Rumble said he 'deeply regrets' his actions. 'I take full responsibility for my actions, what I did was wrong, and I acknowledge that it was not okay, and will never be acceptable. I am doing everything possible to ensure that an event like this never happens again.' What police say happened after the party Rowing NZ has previously declined to provide any details of what led to one of its athletes being detained for nearly 48 hours at Washington State's King County Correctional Facility. However, the official arrest report, obtained through the Seattle Police Department's public records office, has shed further light on the incident. The report says Rumble was arrested on two counts of assault and one of obstructing a public officer following a dramatic escalation of events as a result of Rumble fleeing from police during questioning. The charges against the rower were later dismissed. Zack Rumble (third from left) is a member of the New Zealand's men's four crew. Photo / Rowing NZ 2025 According to the documents, police were called to the Seattle Yacht Club at 10.43pm following reports of 'two intoxicated guests fighting'. On arrival at the yacht club, officers were flagged down by staff and pointed in the direction of Rumble. The Kiwi was described by officers as initially being co-operative. However, according to the officer questioning Rumble, while she was awaiting her colleague to gather witness statements, the rower took a video call from a friend who encouraged him to join them at another party. 'About 30 seconds later, Rumble said, 'alright, bye', and pushed me on my left shoulder and took off running eastbound,' the officer described in her report. As her male colleague gave chase on foot, a member of the yacht club pulled up in their pick-up truck and offered the officer a ride. She climbed into the bed of the truck and joined the pursuit of the Kiwi athlete. Rumble was found hiding under a bush in the front yard of a residential property about 400m away, according to the report. The officer described Rumble as being 'non-compliant in coming out with his hands up'. He was eventually detained by another officer and taken into custody at 11.58pm. The scuffle The New Zealand rowing team made up of a men's and women's eight had been invited guests of the yacht club having competed in the prestigious Windermere Cup, which is traditionally held on the opening day of the boating season in Seattle. According to the event's website, prizegiving festivities kicked off at 12.30pm. Ten hours later, Rumble was at the yacht club. According to witness reports obtained by Seattle Police, Rumble had been causing 'multiple disturbances' at the party, including throwing empty cups at other patrons. Zack Rumble (third from left) in action with the men's four crew at the World Cup in Varese, Italy in June. Photo / Rowing NZ 2025 Eventually, Rumble left the group. When he attempted to go back inside the party, one of the patrons tried to talk to Rumble and advised him to go home as his teammates had left. The report states: 'Rumble then reached around and grabbed [the victim] around his waist. [The victim] advised that Rumble lifted him up off the ground' and he feared he would be thrown to the ground. Another patron then intervened and pushed Rumble into the wall to stop him from hurting the victim, according to witness statements. The Kiwi received a cut above the eye in the scuffle. When questioned by officers, Rumble gave several different versions of events. 'When officers confronted Rumble about his changing story, he advised that he did not remember what happened.' The officer observed that Rumble appeared 'highly intoxicated' but was 'co-operative the entirety of the time of waiting' until he fled the scene. She said Rumble ignored several commands from police to stop. The review The 'distressing' events in Seattle sparked major logistical and financial headaches for Rowing NZ officials. The national body previously told RNZ one of the coaching staff remained in the US to support Rumble as he dealt with law enforcement. 'This was a distressing time for the athlete and our team members and Rowing NZ has worked hard to make sure the athletes and coaches in our care have the support around them they need,' Wickham said. Upon the team's return, Rowing NZ engaged prominent sports lawyer Don Mackinnon to lead an independent review of the tour to 'seek learnings and recommendations'. But the national body's handling of the episode has reportedly caused division among the athletes in its elite squad. Rumble was allowed to travel to Europe last month to compete in World Cup events in Italy and Switzerland as part of the men's four crew, leading to concerns it demonstrated a lack of accountability for bad behaviour. Wickham said Rowing NZ's response had been measured and appropriate. 'Rowing NZ felt it was important to gather and consider all information before any decisions were made in regard to this tour and any future tours. The independent review ensured that any members of our team had the opportunity to express any views or concerns they had about the tour in confidence.' Following the completion of the review and discussions with Rumble, Rowing NZ imposed a range of sanctions and remedial actions. The sanctions include a 'significant financial penalty' and a final written warning, 'understanding any further breaches of the athlete agreement, code of conduct or Rowing New Zealand's core values may jeopardise Zack's future in the programme'. Rumble has also agreed to undergo professional counselling and complete an alcohol education course. He will be barred from drinking any alcohol while representing Rowing NZ, at least until the education and counselling programmes are completed. He will formally apologise to Rowing NZ and the athletes and staff affected. Wickham declined to release the full review, but he said findings indicate Rowing NZ can be confident the full squad 'behaved in accordance with expectations' on the tour, 'the significant exception to that being Zack Rumble's behaviours on the last evening'. 'Rowing NZ will continue to ensure that expectations around behaviours of our team [athletes, staff and all support team members] are clear and that being positive role models, being professional and maintaining high personal standards are a part of who we are and what we do.' -RNZ
Otago Daily Times
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Uni club's success a team effort
It is hard to pinpoint one area that has made the Otago University Rowing Club a success. Maybe that is the beauty of the hard-working club — it is strong across the board and that led to it being named club of the year at the recent Rowing New Zealand awards. Club manager Glen Sinclair was thrilled at the recognition. "Very stoked for all of the people that work behind the scenes at the club and have done so much work for a very long time," Sinclair said. The club, which last won the award in the early 2000s, is home to about 95 competitive rowers, nearly 30 recreational rowers, 12 Special Olympic rowers, nine high-calibre coaches — an area in which Sinclair takes particular pride — and five volunteers. Each person contributes to the club's fibre and has helped it to be New Zealand's top university club for the past 16 years, and only losing the national universities regatta on overall points once in the past 26 years. Many athletes have received higher honours in the past year including Juliette Lequeux, who represented New Zealand at the Windermere Cup and has been selected for world cup events this month, and Hannah Matehaere, who joined Otago University as a novice, also represented New Zealand at the Windermere Cup and will compete at the World University Games in Germany. Jack Pearson, Cody Johnson and recent graduate Fred Vavasour are part of the national under-23 programme. Otago University also maintains strong relationships in Japan, China and Germany, competing in five international regattas in 2024 and holding programmes that benefited rowers from different countries. "No other club has anything like that in New Zealand. We work hard to make sure that is our special thing," Sinclair said. "Because of our club's relationships, we're setting up the training camp for the world uni games in Germany. "Even going back further, it was because of Otago Uni's relationships in New Zealand that we set up the camp for the New Zealand Olympic team for the Japan Olympics." The club also supports Otago Rowing with several events, helps secondary school rowing clubs with facilities and rowing machines, and hosts yearly waka ama events. Earlier this year, it also opened a new performance centre at Lake Ruataniwha. For the past 27 years, Sinclair has also run Special Olympic indoor rowing sessions with 12 athletes involved — including six who have been there since the beginning — and the students help as coaches. "What I love even more is seeing my athletes who coach it ... the rewards that they get out of it." Otago Rowing and North End life member Lauren Farnden received a national service award. After hanging up the oars, Farnden has given back to the sport through coaching at North End and St Hilda's Collegiate, led the Otago provincial team, directed Otago's winter development programme and contributed nationally. Since 2004, Farnden has moved through the administrative ranks as chairwoman of the Otago secondary school rowing association and serves on the Southern Rowing performance centre board. She has made her mark as an official and was the chief umpire for the New Zealand championships earlier this year, and internationally has officiated at the world cup in Poland and the world masters championships.
Scoop
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Top New Zealand Rower Arrested In The US Following Post-Regatta Incident
Rowing NZ has launched an investigation into a recent tour to the United States, after a top New Zealand rower was arrested for assault following an incident at a post-regatta celebration. RNZ has learned Zack Rumble, a member of the New Zealand men's elite team, missed his flight home from the US tour as he was in police custody following his arrest on suspicion of assault on 3 May. The national team, made up of a men's and women's eight crew, had been in Seattle for the prestigious Windermere Cup. According to records with Washington State's Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD), Rumble was held for 45 hours in the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle before being released without charge on 5 May. It is understood the alleged assault occurred at a private event at the Seattle Yacht Club, in which the New Zealand team were invited guests. A source with knowledge of the incident, who did not want to be identified, said the fracas occurred after an evening of drinking. The DAJD records indicate Rumble was arrested at 11.58pm - nearly 12 hours after the prize-giving festivities kicked off. The source said they believed the arrest was a result of a "misunderstanding with police, in a country where you really don't want to have misunderstandings with police". Another New Zealand athlete was said to have been present at the time of the incident, but was not involved. Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Wickham declined to be interviewed, but in a statement confirmed an incident had occurred on the tour involving a member of the men's eight, which meant "that athlete was not able to return home with the remainder of the team". "Rowing New Zealand made sure that athlete had our full support in the United States and their welfare was our first priority at the time. We had one of our Rowing NZ coaching team remain on the ground in Seattle to support the athlete concerned," Wickham said. "This was a distressing time for the athlete and our team members and Rowing NZ has worked hard to make sure the athletes and coaches in our care have the support around them they need." Wickham added Rowing NZ has engaged prominent sports lawyer Don Mackinnon to lead an independent review of the tour to "seek learnings and recommendations". But the national body's handling of the episode is reportedly causing division among the athletes in the Rowing NZ's elite squad. Sources have told RNZ some athletes are uneasy about being swept up in a broad, team-wide probe due to the actions of an individual, while others are concerned about the impact the incident will have on the team's upcoming World Cup and World Championship campaign. It is understood Rumble, who had been selected for the upcoming World Cup events in Italy and Switzerland, resumed training with the team shortly after returning to New Zealand. Asked whether the athlete would still be travelling to Europe in light of the events of earlier this month, Rowing NZ said the team announced on 21 March will attend the next World Cup event in Varese, Italy. Rowing NZ insists its approach has been measured and appropriate. "We have responded proactively with an independent review," said Wickham. "It would be premature to comment on any outcomes or actions until that review has concluded." Commodore of the Seattle Yacht Club, Randy Holbrook, declined to comment on the 3 May incident "to maintain the integrity" of Rowing's NZ's review process. However Holbrook said the New Zealand coaching staff displayed "exemplary professionalism in working with us". "We recognise New Zealand as one of the world's top rowing programmes and we'd be honoured to welcome them back to our Club on any future trips to the US Pacific Northwest." The Windermere Cup is an annual rowing event held as part of the Seattle Yacht Club's opening day of the boating season. Aimed at showcasing the might of the University of Washington's rowing programme, each year the college invites international teams to contest the trophy. This year Rowing NZ were invited to send a women's and men's eights crew to the regatta. The New Zealand men finished second behind the Washington crew, which included three oarsmen from New Zealand: Ben Shortt, Harry Fitzpatrick and Olympic silver medallist Logan Ullrich. In response to written questions, a spokesperson for the University of Washington said the organisation "would not have any comment on this". High Performance Sport NZ, which provides $6 million in annual funding to Rowing NZ's elite programmes, are understood to have been briefed on the incident and are being kept updated on the review. RNZ has attempted to contact Rumble without success.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
'A distressing time for the athlete': Top NZ rower arrested over incident in US
By Dana Johannsen of RNZ Rowing NZ has launched an investigation into a recent tour to the United States, after a top New Zealand rower was arrested for assault following an incident at a post-regatta celebration. RNZ has learned Zack Rumble, a member of the New Zealand men's elite team, missed his flight home from the US tour as he was in police custody following his arrest on suspicion of assault on May 3. The national team, made up of a men's and women's eight crew, had been in Seattle for the prestigious Windermere Cup. According to records with Washington State's Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD), Rumble was held for 45 hours in the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle before being released without charge on May 5. It is understood the alleged assault occurred at a private event at the Seattle Yacht Club, in which the New Zealand team were invited guests. A source with knowledge of the incident, who did not want to be identified, said the fracas occurred after an evening of drinking. The DAJD records indicate Rumble was arrested at 11.58pm - nearly 12 hours after the prize-giving festivities kicked off. The source said they believed the arrest was a result of a "misunderstanding with police, in a country where you really don't want to have misunderstandings with police". Another New Zealand athlete was said to have been present at the time of the incident, but was not involved. Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Wickham declined to be interviewed, but in a statement confirmed an incident had occurred on the tour involving a member of the men's eight, which meant "that athlete was not able to return home with the remainder of the team". "Rowing New Zealand made sure that athlete had our full support in the United States and their welfare was our first priority at the time. We had one of our Rowing NZ coaching team remain on the ground in Seattle to support the athlete concerned," Wickham said. "This was a distressing time for the athlete and our team members and Rowing NZ has worked hard to make sure the athletes and coaches in our care have the support around them they need." Wickham added Rowing NZ has engaged prominent sports lawyer Don Mackinnon to lead an independent review of the tour to "seek learnings and recommendations". But the national body's handling of the episode is reportedly causing division among the athletes in the Rowing NZ's elite squad. Sources have told RNZ some athletes are uneasy about being swept up in a broad, team-wide probe due to the actions of an individual, while others are concerned about the impact the incident will have on the team's upcoming World Cup and World Championship campaign. It is understood Rumble, who had been selected for the upcoming World Cup events in Italy and Switzerland, resumed training with the team shortly after returning to New Zealand. Asked whether the athlete would still be travelling to Europe in light of the events of earlier this month, Rowing NZ said the team announced on March 21 would attend the next World Cup event in Varese, Italy. Rowing NZ insists its approach has been measured and appropriate. "We have responded proactively with an independent review," Wickham said. "It would be premature to comment on any outcomes or actions until that review has concluded." Commodore of the Seattle Yacht Club Randy Holbrook declined to comment on the May 3 incident, "to maintain the integrity" of Rowing's NZ's review process. However Holbrook said the New Zealand coaching staff displayed "exemplary professionalism in working with us". "We recognise New Zealand as one of the world's top rowing programmes and we'd be honoured to welcome them back to our Club on any future trips to the US Pacific Northwest." The Windermere Cup is an annual rowing event held as part of the Seattle Yacht Club's opening day of the boating season. Aimed at showcasing the might of the University of Washington's rowing programme, each year the college invites international teams to contest the trophy. This year Rowing NZ were invited to send a women's and men's eights crew to the regatta. The New Zealand men finished second behind the Washington crew, which included three oarsmen from New Zealand: Ben Shortt, Harry Fitzpatrick and Olympic silver medallist Logan Ullrich. In response to written questions, a spokesperson for the University of Washington said the organisation "would not have any comment on this". High Performance Sport NZ, which provides $6 million in annual funding to Rowing NZ's elite programmes, are understood to have been briefed on the incident and are being kept updated on the review. RNZ has attempted to contact Rumble without success.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Top Kiwi rower arrested over incident in US
By Dana Johannsen of RNZ Rowing NZ has launched an investigation into a recent tour to the United States, after a top New Zealand rower was arrested for assault following an incident at a post-regatta celebration. RNZ has learned Zack Rumble, a member of the New Zealand men's elite team, missed his flight home from the US tour as he was in police custody following his arrest on suspicion of assault on May 3. The national team, made up of a men's and women's eight crew, had been in Seattle for the prestigious Windermere Cup. According to records with Washington State's Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD), Rumble was held for 45 hours in the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle before being released without charge on May 5. It is understood the alleged assault occurred at a private event at the Seattle Yacht Club, in which the New Zealand team were invited guests. A source with knowledge of the incident, who did not want to be identified, said the fracas occurred after an evening of drinking. The DAJD records indicate Rumble was arrested at 11.58pm - nearly 12 hours after the prize-giving festivities kicked off. The source said they believed the arrest was a result of a "misunderstanding with police, in a country where you really don't want to have misunderstandings with police". Another New Zealand athlete was said to have been present at the time of the incident, but was not involved. Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Wickham declined to be interviewed, but in a statement confirmed an incident had occurred on the tour involving a member of the men's eight, which meant "that athlete was not able to return home with the remainder of the team". "Rowing New Zealand made sure that athlete had our full support in the United States and their welfare was our first priority at the time. We had one of our Rowing NZ coaching team remain on the ground in Seattle to support the athlete concerned," Wickham said. "This was a distressing time for the athlete and our team members and Rowing NZ has worked hard to make sure the athletes and coaches in our care have the support around them they need." Wickham added Rowing NZ has engaged prominent sports lawyer Don Mackinnon to lead an independent review of the tour to "seek learnings and recommendations". But the national body's handling of the episode is reportedly causing division among the athletes in the Rowing NZ's elite squad. Sources have told RNZ some athletes are uneasy about being swept up in a broad, team-wide probe due to the actions of an individual, while others are concerned about the impact the incident will have on the team's upcoming World Cup and World Championship campaign. It is understood Rumble, who had been selected for the upcoming World Cup events in Italy and Switzerland, resumed training with the team shortly after returning to New Zealand. Asked whether the athlete would still be travelling to Europe in light of the events of earlier this month, Rowing NZ said the team announced on March 21 would attend the next World Cup event in Varese, Italy. Rowing NZ insists its approach has been measured and appropriate. "We have responded proactively with an independent review," Wickham said. "It would be premature to comment on any outcomes or actions until that review has concluded." Commodore of the Seattle Yacht Club Randy Holbrook declined to comment on the May 3 incident, "to maintain the integrity" of Rowing's NZ's review process. However Holbrook said the New Zealand coaching staff displayed "exemplary professionalism in working with us". "We recognise New Zealand as one of the world's top rowing programmes and we'd be honoured to welcome them back to our Club on any future trips to the US Pacific Northwest." The Windermere Cup is an annual rowing event held as part of the Seattle Yacht Club's opening day of the boating season. Aimed at showcasing the might of the University of Washington's rowing programme, each year the college invites international teams to contest the trophy. This year Rowing NZ were invited to send a women's and men's eights crew to the regatta. The New Zealand men finished second behind the Washington crew, which included three oarsmen from New Zealand: Ben Shortt, Harry Fitzpatrick and Olympic silver medallist Logan Ullrich. In response to written questions, a spokesperson for the University of Washington said the organisation "would not have any comment on this". High Performance Sport NZ, which provides $6 million in annual funding to Rowing NZ's elite programmes, are understood to have been briefed on the incident and are being kept updated on the review. RNZ has attempted to contact Rumble without success.
