There are 650 rowers from 54 clubs competing this week. The average for a championships at Lake Ruataniwha since the event was first held there in 1985 is 800.
The national championships are held at Lake Karapiro in the North Island and Lake Ruataniwha on alternate years. The Lake Karapiro champs always attract more competitors but even there numbers rarely top 1000.
Accommodation at Twizel for the championships is always at a premium and clubs often book 12 months ahead for their rowers.
A month ago, there was no accommodation available in the town, but beds became available as several clubs cancelled some of their bookings over the past two weeks.
Dunedin's Neil Burrow, the manager of the boat park, said some North Island clubs had opted not to send crews if they did not finish in the top three at the North Island championships.
The manager of the South Island Regional Performance Centre in Christchurch, John Wylie, said the New Zealand championships had always been about quality and not quantity.
"We have maintained our standards this year with rowers having to meet a high threshold," he said.
The big difference Wylie had noticed over the past few years was the dominance of small boats.
There were 54 entries in the men's club singles and only the winner of the repechage heat progressed to the semifinals.
"In the past there used to be much interest in the fours and the eights. The emphasis is on smaller boats today," Wylie said.
There are 4500 registered rowers in New Zealand but the economic downturn has meant that only crews with a realistic chance of reaching the finals have entered the championships this year.
Numbers at the Maadi Cup national secondary schools regatta remain high, as shown by the 2200 competitors who were at Lake Ruataniwha last season.
