Founded by a local designer during a challenging job market, the brand emerged from within a small rowing club based in Kaiapoi, New Zealand.

Like many smaller teams, we struggled to get uniforms produced in reasonable quantities or timelines. Larger suppliers focused on bigger squads, leaving smaller clubs overlooked.

Lane 8 Sports was created to offer a more personal, athlete-focused approach to uniform design. From schools and clubs to universities and representative teams, our goal is to support athletes at every level with uniforms they are proud to wear.

Our name comes from a belief we held as a small rowing club. That regardless of where you start a race, you can still win. In rowing, Lane 8 is assigned to the slowest qualifiers; those who start in Lane 8 often count themselves out before they even start. Yet those crews are still racing, still competing and still capable of winning, the ultimate underdog position. 

Here we are starting from Lane 8. As a younger company, we're competing against larger, established brands. So we're embracing that underdog position. Lane 8 Sports exists to prove that thoughtful design, personal service, and genuine care for athletes can outperform size and scale.