My name is Samantha Voss and I am a rower based in Cambridge.
I began rowing in 2012 with St Peter’s School, and spent two seasons there before moving to the Waikato Regional Performance Centre (WRPC). I have achieved podium finishes every season since my rowing career began and I have been very fortunate to compete as a part of the New Zealand Junior, Under 21 and Under 23 teams.
This year I travelled to Poznan, Poland, as a part of the Under 23 team. I competed in the single scull against 18 other competitors. I qualified fastest for the A final and went on to win the gold medal and be crowned the World Rowing Under 23 Champion in the Women’s single for this year. This is most certainly one of my proudest achievements to date and I have goals of winning at Elite and Olympic level in the future.
Alongside my rowing I am also studying part time at the University of Waikato toward a Bachelor’s degree in Health, Sport and Human Performance. This has allowed me to cross over what I have learnt through my own sporting involvement with what I now learn in the classroom. Being able to study alongside my training is a great way to practice my time management skills and gives me something else to focus on that isn’t just rowing.
I am so thankful for the financial support of the Adastra Foundation, but as well as that the workshops I have been a part of have been engaging and fantastically informative on a wide range of topics, helping me to better myself as a person and widening my thinking.