A big sigh of relief, and the tingling of nervous excitement.
That was the feeling in Twizel this afternoon as New Zealand's rowing community reacted to the Prime Minister's announcement that the rest of the country outside of Auckland would move to Covid-19 Alert Level 1 from 11.59pm tonight.
Members of Mercer Rowing Club congregated around the television in their accommodation, anxiously waiting to hear Jacinda Ardern utter the words for them to move to Level 1.
Once she did, the teenagers were sent into raptures, while several parents and coaches also broke down into tears.
The announcement means racing can begin tomorrow in a revamped three-day event, something all the rowers including Mercer's Ella Henry were excited to get underway.
"I was just honestly stoked," Henry said.
"We've all worked so hard to get here so being able to actually race is amazing."
"My palms were very sweaty, I was just freaking out because this is the last regatta of the season so not being able to race would've hurt a little bit."
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