They will all be there for the finals day of the Aon Maadi Cup secondary schools' rowing championships involving 1724 competitors from 105 schools throughout New Zealand.
It is an impressive sight along the turquoise lake, coloured by the glacial water from Lake Pukaki.
About 70 tents and marquees, some two deep, line the side of the lake to meet the needs for the rowers at the regatta - one of the biggest single-sport events in the southern hemisphere.
Schools' rowing teams managers and coaches, along with parents and supporters, have created the "Maadi Village''. Sponsors and rowing equipment suppliers add to the village, along with craft and food shops.
Even the armed forces and police have got into the act with recruiting stands.
"Rowers have the sort of qualities they want,'' the championship's liaison officer, John Wylie, of Canterbury Rowing, says.
Yesterday and today for the finals - the namesake Maadi Cup for the under-18 boys eights final will be the last event scheduled today at 4.10pm - the village population is expected to reach between 5000 and 6000 people.
While the regatta may be called the Maadi Cup, the most sought-after trophy is the Star Trophy for the school with the most points from the A finals.
It is held by Christchurch's Rangi Ruru College which won it last year at Lake Karapiro.
"That's a major achievement for a single-sex school,'' Mr Wylie says, with a hint of Canterbury pride. Other co-ed schools have rowers in boys' and girls' finals, a better chance to gather points.
Rangi Ruru's pride in its rowing is reflected in its marquee, decorated out daily with cut flowers, floor coverings, warm-up equipment, a big gas gourmet barbecue and impressive food and sports drinks.
Others have a basic bare tent, but some schools have gone to great lengths to create a home away from home, even gathering up rocks from the lakeside to decorate entrance ways, adding brightly coloured oars and potted plants.
Some of the more impressive include Christchurch Girls' and Boys' High Schools, Waikato and Craighead (Timaru) Diocesan Schools (which have joined their marquees together), St Bede's College (Christchurch), Christ College and St Margaret's College (the latter two Christchurch schools next to each other).
Rowers wear their rowing colours proudly, some pupils producing special T-shirts for the event with slogans that go into a competition.
The predictable ones are there - "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going'' and "It's Not the Size of the Dog in the Fight, but the Fight in the Dog''.
Others are more original - "We're Addicted... Are You?'' and "I'm Right, You're Wrong, So Sit Up and Row''. But the most eye-catching was "And People Say Rowers Aunt Brite'' on Macleans College's fluorescent shirts.
While the off-water atmosphere of community, camaraderie and competition of the Maadi Village - dominated by teenagers - is a buzz in itself, it is the rowing people have come for.
The regatta alternates annually between Lakes Ruataniwha and Karapiro.
It starts on a Monday, although some schools start arriving on the Friday or Saturday before.
The first three days are taken up with heats and repechages, followed by the semifinals, with the first two going into the A finals and the next two into the Bs. The finals are raced on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is a spare day, in case weather disrupts the event.
"The message is clear - no-one makes concrete plans to leave on Sunday,'' Mr Wylie says.
Races are held every five minutes over a 2000m course, running up to 10 hours a day, starting at 8am.
For some spectators, it is just as hectic as for the competitors. Schools position supporters at strategic points along the course, the biggest numbers from 1000m in.
Coaches and supporters pound mountain bikes along the lake edge, shouting encouragement to the finish.
It takes about 150 volunteers to run the regatta and some Maadi Cups have attracted up to 2100 competitors.
Increasingly, girls are out-numbering the boys, and South Island schools "punch above their weight'', he says.
Although South Island schools may make up about 40% of competitors, honours are usually shared 50-50 in finals, and Rangi Ruru holds trophies for the champion school and under-18 girls' eight.
The make-up of crews has also changed. Increasingly, Mr Wylie says, there are more competitors in singles and doubles than in fours and especially eights, perhaps reflecting social changes and the interest in individual sports.
Singles and doubles over age groups can have 50 to 60 entrants. This year there are 22 under 18 boys' eights and nine in the girls' under-18 eights.
"The mystique of the whole event revolves around the Maadi Cup,'' Mr Wylie says, even though the top achievement is the premier Star Trophy for the best secondary school.
