Kiwi rowers representing different US universities will be facing off at two Division 1 rowing finals tomorrow.
A spokesperson for RowingNZ said 19 female athletes were expected to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship and 23 male athletes at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship.
The women's National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship finals will take place at Lake Lanier Olympic park in the state of Georgia on Sunday May 31 Eastern Standard Time.
The men's Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship finals will be held separately at Lake Natoma in Northern California on the same date in Pacific Time.
The racing features multiple boat classes, the Varsity VIII, Second Varsity VIII and the Varsity IV, for the women and an extra third VIII racing in men's competition.
Athletes have already raced heats and semi finals and will be gearing up to race in A/B/C or D finals tomorrow.
Racing in Georgia, Mackenzie Tuffin, originally from Wellington will be leading Syracuse's Second Varsity VIII in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships.
Tuffin's crew will be racing petite final (B final) on championship Sunday EST (Monday NZT).
After a year of "living and breathing each other" she felt the trust her team had built was awesome.
Tuffin described her crew as having underdog potential: "I'm nervous because we can do something super exciting."
Tuffin said some thunderstorm threats earlier in the weekend had lead to an opportunity to catch up with Kiwi athletes from other programmes.
"I feel like I was transported back home for an hour which is so nice," said Tuffin.
Tuffin said racing against other Kiwis felt like a win-win, ultimately she hoped to place ahead but seeing other New Zealand athletes succeed was just as exciting.
"It almost makes it like more fun and exciting because you're like 'oh like they're my friends' and you just wish the best for them all."
Racing at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on the other side of the country, Max Cossill — a kiwi rower in Northeastern's third VIII — echoed the sentiment.
Cossill put the number of Kiwis in his crew at 6-7, but said regardless of team affiliation it was "quite inspiring" seeing Kiwis racing abroad.
Cossill said it was awesome to see New Zealand had a strong athlete presence across top teams,
"I've seen probably at this stage one, nearly one kiwi per most top college programs".
Friday and Saturday's racing had Northeastern set to race the B final across all boats, a race which — if they won — would set them up for a historic placing.
"If we do well in the finals tomorrow, we'll hopefully finish sixth on the points ladder, which would be the best result Northeastern has ever had.
"So we'll really just put our best foot forward," said Cossill.
At last year's National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship, Stanford University took out the top spot, Kiwi athlete Lucy Burrell raced in the University's Second Varsity 8 boat.
Burrell said she had fond memories of racing in the NCAAs, which she described as the pinnacle event of the season.
"It's the event that everyone's trying to qualify for and everyone's trying to do as best as they can for their program," said Burrell.
"Last year we were able to win the team title, which was very surreal."
Burrell said it made her proud to see other Kiwis achieving results across teams, "it's very cool to be out there racing other Kiwis at their schools, seeing the Kiwi camaraderie".
When asked for his advice to Kiwis racing in this year's championships, Burrell said: "Go hard but have fun at the same time. It's a very special experience. Be in the moment and enjoy it."
In a statement to 1News, Rowing NZ said: "We want to wish all of our Kiwi athletes racing at the IRAs and NCAAs the very best for the championship season."
The organisation said that the ultimate takeaway from the experience would be growing community, and creating connections.
"Rowing is about more than results, and those experiences are hugely valuable."
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