It is safe to say Bryce Abernethy has proven his father wrong.
Abernethy (20) has been named in the New Zealand under-23 rowing squad and will compete in the world championships in Bulgaria at the end of July.
The former Taieri College pupil is moving to Cambridge today to prepare for the world championships, where he will compete in the lightweight doubles with Canterbury's Matthew Dunham.
Abernethy took up rowing only four years ago, joining the Otago Rowing Club as a 16-year-old.
''My dad used to row when he was my age and then he came back as a master,'' Abernethy said.
''When I was 16, I asked dad if he thought I would be any good at rowing. He said, 'No, you're not disciplined enough. You would be awful'.
''The next day I went to the club and asked them if I could row. They made me do a 1km on the erg in jeans because I came in on the motorbike, not expecting to do anything.''
It was not long before Abernethy became the first Taieri College pupil to compete in the single scull at the Maadi Cup.
After finishing school and studying physical education at the University of Otago, Abernethy caught the eye of Otago University Rowing Club director Glen Sinclair.
''He saw something that no other coach saw,'' Abernethy said.
''He chucked me into high performance training and asked me to trial for the Southern RPC.
''I went up north and raced in the single against Matt Dunham and I beat him on the first day. All the selectors were like, ''Who is this guy? He came out of nowhere'.''
Abernethy has been a part of the Southern RPC, a selection of the best rowers in Canterbury, Otago and Southland, the past three years.
A year after missing out on making the under-23 squad, Abernethy, who represented the national under-21 squad two years ago, got better news earlier this month.
''I've never sweat so much in my life [at the announcement],'' he said.
''I went up there with all the aspirations last year and then got sent home. Going into this season, I had big goals to make the team.''
Now that he has a ''foot in the door'', Abernethy plans to make the most of it.
He hopes to at least make the A final at the world championships, which will increase his chances of being named in the summer squad later this year.
''That would be ideal,'' he said.
''If [Dunham] and I can excel in this double together, and because we are still young, they may look to invest us into the next Olympic cycle.
''We have both got one more year in the under-23 level before heading up to elites. It's a pretty exciting time, because there are so many opportunities that can come from it.''
Abernethy was in good form the past summer, highlighted by winning the men's premier lightweight coxless pair and lightweight double with Canterbury's Jared van Vianen at the national championships at Lake Ruataniwha last month.
The Otago Rowing Club celebrated Abernethy's selection last Friday by naming a boat after him.
