This is officially the blog article that took the longest to write… And I will justify myself by hiding behind the cliché that French people are always late.
A few of us (namely Geraldine, Michelle, Stef, Karen, Karissa, Ross, Christine, Morgan and the legendary Raymond Dennis) had the chance to go to the Sunshine Coast (and I really insist on the word “sunshine”) at the beginning of June to participate in the 2016 Australian Masters Rowing Championships. What an epic weekend with Richmond taking part in not less than 28 events and bringing home a total of 11 medals. This is without mentioning the three days of non-stop thunderstorms that added a very special flavour to the whole thing (and a lot of water too) and prevented us from competing in more races since two and a half days of the regatta were cancelled due to the weather conditions (again, let’s remind ourselves that we were on the so called Sunshine coast).
One of the highlights for Richmond: the opportunity to admire Michelle’s strength and determination in getting the gold medal in the B single. A video can testify that “Go Micheeeeeeeeelle!!!” were the two words the most frequently pronounced (or should I say shouted) during the weekend.
Gerry represented the colours of Richmond very highly as usual, bringing back several medals, including a gold medal in a composite F double. She also represented Victoria in the interstate race for the womens D quad which finished up taking the silver medal.
Ray the legend won a gold medal as well in the I eight and a few other medals but an unfortunate injury prevented him from bringing more back home.
While they came fourth, the A quad with Michelle, Karen, Stef and Lisa got a consolation prize with the Fastest club crew medal.
Overall, a great week-end and for me personally huge pride to have been able to take part in the national championships!
To Richmond Rowing Club and the next season starting, Hip hip hooray!!
Lisa Ortu
Saturday 30 July – midday – BBQ & Drinks, Boat Naming and AGM
Keeping a rowing club in operation requires attention to financial, administrative and legal responsibilities, as well as the rowing and social activities. Our Annual General Meeting is a statutory requirement and a review of activities and financial situation is presented by your current committee members.
All committee positions are declared vacant and your new committee is elected to take on the running of the club for the next year.
NOTICE OF MEETING
The RRC Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Saturday 30 July 2016 at 12 midday in the clubhouse – 7 Boathouse Drive, Melbourne 3004.
The business of the AGM includes:
- to confirm the minutes of the preceding annual general meeting; and
- to receive and consider:
- the annual report of the Committee on the activities of the Association during the preceding financial year; and
- the financial statements by the Association for the preceding financial year submitted by the Committee in accordance with Part 7 of the Act; and
- to elect the members of the Committee; and
- to confirm or vary the amounts of the annual subscription.
Continue reading “Saturday 30 July – midday – BBQ & Drinks, Boat Naming and AGM”
Have your say!
It’s time to start planning and thinking ahead to next season and we need your input. Our annual planning day will be held on Saturday, 2nd July from 10am – 3.00pm at the boathouse.
Thank you to all those people who completed the feedback survey which generates essential input into our planning. If you have ideas about what we can do either on or off water next year, opinions about how things can be improved or just want to find out more about being involved at the club please come along to the planning day, it is open to all members and now is your chance to contribute.
The agenda for the planning day is attached below but we are always a little flexible to allow for where the discussion takes us on the day, so this is just a guide and if you can not stay the whole day that is fine too. For those who do I’m sure we can toast to our good work at the pub afterwards. However, the aim of the day will be that we have some initial plans for next seasons calendar of events and ideas of key areas to focus our energies to best benefit RRC and all its members.
If you have some time please think about or discuss with your friends/squad what you would like the club’s goals to be next year and specifically if there is an area that you can offer expertise or volunteer to help with. These could be things like recruiting new members, getting more crews racing in the season, increasing RRC competitiveness at certain grades, fundraising income, social activities etc. It is easy to come up with loads of ideas and goals, but if you had to pick just one or two goals for the club as a whole for next year, what would they be?
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me, [email protected] but the best way to find out more is to come along and get involved.
We look forward to seeing everyone who can make it and is interested in seeing RRC continue to grow on Saturday 2nd July.
Season 2015-16 Celebration
On Saturday the 28th May the club celebrated the successes of the season and took the opportunity to recognise the time and energy of all those people who have voluntarily contributed to help achieve them at the Annual Presentation Night.
Whilst our Head of Rowing, Tim Evans hosted the night, members and friends enjoyed dinner and a few celebratory drinks. It was great to see representatives from all the squads acknowledge the efforts of all the volunteers who have given so much yet again to help.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Annual Club awards to the best rowers and cox based upon number of regattas attended, wins and time trial entries.
The John Sawyer award for best female rower was once again won by Geraldine Goss who was part of our one Victorian states winning crew, the WB4X+. Throughout the year she has represented the club at multiple regattas both in the club and masters season and ended the season rowing in the Victorian State quad at National Masters.
The Mal Scott award for the best Male Rower was won by Jon Roberts who was overseas and unfortunately unable to attend on the night but whose prize was accepted in his absence by the joint runners up who promised to look after and pass it on (I trust you Matt and Allan!). Jon competed right through the head racing season, sprint and masters competitions with wins all around the state.
The Don Edwards award for best coxswain went to one of our newer members, Christine Sullivan, who since transferring from Latrobe University Rowing Club has been a great addition to our womens rowing squad and a skilful and successful coxswain, always happy to jump in a help out.
Congratulations to all our winners and the runners up with the top five for each category listed at the bottom of this blog.
It was my great pleasure on the night to present the President’s award to a very worthy recipient who has devoted so much time and energy into the club over many years but specifically in the last season. Catherine Bower (or Cat Hardie as some of you may remember her before her recent wedding), has not only been working tirelessly in her role as fundraising co-ordinator this season on the committee but she has been the driving force behind a great group of rowers who completed the learn to row course at the club in 2015 and formed our very successful development squad for this past season. The organised and inclusive manner in which this was achieved and the great culture and positive atmosphere that was generated primarily by Cat is a perfect example of the values that make Richmond Rowing Club so special. I know that many people have dedicated time and helped to develop this group and this was so eloquently described on the night by the squad themselves in their thanks to the coaches. The achievements of this whole group and the comradery that they displayed is a great reflection on both Cat and the club as a whole and was the major reason for my pride in presenting this award.
Also presented were the annual RRC time trial winners awards where both male and female crews competed in our faithful regulation (tub) boats. With the single scull course being from the club to Swan Street Bridge and back and the Quad Scull event from the club, around Herring Island and back. The winners were:
Female Single (Time – 9:15) Sarah Houghton
Male Single (Time – 9:50) Jon Roberts
Female Quad (Time – 36:14) Stefanie Dudczig, Sarah Houghton, Erin Faulkner, Shern Timmins, David Micallef (cox)
Male Quad (Time – 35:08) Laurent Demay, Allan Randall, Matthew Ebbatson, Jon Roberts, Stefanie Dudczig (cox)
Finally the evening ended with a film/photo round up of the season. On the night it was shown on the big screen with a great accompanying soundtrack but unfortunately due to a few copyright laws the publicly available version that I have managed to upload to Utube does not include the soundtrack but you can watch the video here.
Congratulations to all for a great season and I just want to quickly thank everyone who helped with the set up and clear-up on night too. I really appreciated all the help.
Top 5 in all club awards
John Sawyer award – Best female rower
1st Geraldine Goss (30.5 points)
2nd Michelle Joy (29 points)
3rd Stefanie Dudczig (20 points)
3rd Shern Timmins (20 points)
5th Sarah Houghton (19 points)
Mal Scott award – Best Male Rower
1st Jon Roberts (28 points)
2nd Matthew Ebbatson (23 points)
2nd Allan Randall (23 points)
4th Leigh Sullivan (21.5 points)
5th Laurent Demay (20 points)
Don Edwards award – Best coxswain
1st Christine Sullivan (20 points)
2nd Derek Begg (16 points)
3rd Laurent Demay (10 points)
4th Michael Numa (9.5 points)
5th Sarah Houghton (8 points)
Flying Doctors Rowathon
Hey there Tigers!
The 25th Annual Flying Doctor Rowathon is being held on 8th October 2016, starting and finishing at the Wentworth Rowing Club on the NSW/Vic border. The Flying Doctor Rowathon is a world class event and you can be part of it.
The rowathon is an 82km in a day event along the Murray and the Darling rivers. Not up for rowing the 82kms in a day on your own? No problem! You can row one or more of the four legs (approx 20kms each). Singles, doubles, quads, fours, eights and octos are all permitted. There are trophies and prizes to be won including the new Wentworth Perpetual Trophy. For more information check out the rowathon website.
We are seeking expressions of interest from the tiger community in order to coordinate crews and accommodation for the event. Christine Sullivan is part of the organising committee for the rowathon, and has put up her hand to organise the event for RRC. With the event filling up early last year, we are keen to get our entries in early this year to avoid disappointment. Can you please email Christine ([email protected]) detailing your interest, including boat type, KMs you would like to row, crew preferences (if you have them) etc by the 20/6/2016
Want to know more about the royal flying doctors in the services they provide? Check out the website here: www.flyingdoctor.org.au. You may even see a fellow tiger if you click on the About the rfds > governance tab. All funds raised from this event go to supporting this awesome cause.
Victorian State Masters Championships, 14 – 15 May 2016
For most tigers, the Victorian State Masters Champs is the last regatta of the season. So, lucky for us it’s now a two-day event with so many races that you won’t start missing rowing for weeks. We had a contingent of nearly 40 tigers down at Nagambie and I think everyone enjoyed the last hurrah of the 2015/16 season, with medals a plenty. Having the regatta held over two days also meant that the regatta also doubled as a Eurovision themed sleepover! Go Dami! (but also props to Belgium – you were robbed).
Although the mornings were chilly, Nagambie put on its best Autumn weather in the afternoons and some of our Anglo-tigers even claimed that they were sunburnt.
Naturally, there were loads of successful crews. Gerri Goss won about eight gold medals, and a couple of silver too – well done Gerri on another ridiculously successful season.
Continue reading “Victorian State Masters Championships, 14 – 15 May 2016”
RRC Triumph at Albert Park Lake !!
Now, getting right down to the business end of this blog ……. RRC walked away from this regatta with ‘the inaugural Albert Park Masters Regatta Perpetual Trophy’. Not only is this extremely impressive, you should try saying this quickly after two Coronas at the awards ceremony. Seriously though, I know we’re all proud of this achievement and it shows the effort and commitment displayed by all.
I have a soft spot for the Albert Park Lake Regatta as it was my first regatta three years ago and with it being so close to home, it’s always an enjoyable event towards the end of the season. Another reason I like it is that the conditions can vary from being nice and calm to you and your crew being bounced around like you’re on the Spirit of Tasmania.
The first race I watched whilst sipping on a coffee was the male single sculler who smashed into the wall which was dangerously close to the finish line, or the finish line was dangerously close …you get the idea. Amazingly, he rowed off with no damage to himself and minimal damage to his boat. However, as I looked down the course I soon identified his anxiety and what had rattled him so …. Dave was hot on his heels in second place. This was a good omen for the day (for us at least) as RRC seemed to be there or thereabouts in all of the races that I watched and we were always competitive.
Now, I don’t think it could be said up to now that I have ever mentioned ‘gender inequality’ around the club in any format whatsoever. However, now is the time!! To say that the RRC Women’s squad ‘smashed it’ and pretty much singlehandedly brought home the trophy is not an exaggeration.
Michelle Joy led the way with her single scull win early on in the day and Geraldine Goss closely followed that with wins in a composite female quad and a composite mixed double.
The female novice coxed four comprising of: Catie Macdonald, Roslyn Snaauw, Karissa Charlton, Iluka Davidson, coxed by Kathy Macrow romped home in impressive style. Now, that would be enough for most crews but no ….this same crew backed this up with a win in the female novice coxed quad as well, with Sarah Houghton coxing this time. Well done Ladies, great work!!
Later on, Michelle was back for some more glory with Karen with a win in the doubles.
Not to be left behind, the Female Masters coxed four of: Judith Hayes, Sue Powell, Hannah Harborow, Karin Bouvin, coxed by Derek picked up a very handy win towards the end of the regatta.
Now, huh-hmmmm, we come to the medal contribution made by the Men’s Squad. Fortunately Ray Dennis led the way with a win in a composite eight and……errr. Seriously though, it was a great effort by the Men’s Squad with a lot of close seconds and lots of commitment.
All in all it was a great day. Here’s to next year’s Albert Park Lake Regatta and the retention of ‘our’ trophy.
Cheers!!
Raymond O’Shea
Boathouse Drive lawn works
The more observant among us may have noticed some disturbances in the lawn in front of the clubhouse leading down to the river.
We have been informed by City of Melbourne and the parks department that following the preliminary investigations works to improve this area are due to begin next week. A document detailing the stages of the work can be found here.
Stage 3 ie. directly in front of RRC will be completed first, starting next Monday 9 May and then stage 1 and 2 thereafter. The works will only take one day and then be roped off for 5 weeks before proceeding to the next area. This should still allow access for rowers to the water without too much inconvenience but please be aware of the notices and restrictions and as always take care when transporting boats to and from the shed to the water.
Living on the Edge….of our Fundraising Goal!
I know a number of you have been eager to know how much was raised by the quiz night a few weeks ago. Well the cash has been counted and debts are being called in and we’re pleased to announce that the quiz night has raised a whopping $8.9K for the club. Well done to everybody who was involved in making the night so successful and lots of fun by all accounts!
That brings us ever closer to our total for this year which we are looking to put toward the purchase of a new stern coxed racing 4+ / 4x+. So far our fundraising total sits around the $17.5K mark with some key events, bar openings and other donations still to be included – so we’re well on the way to achieving what was set out at the start of the year.
Don’t forget to buy your tickets and purchase lots of drinks / have a great time celebrating the successes of 2015/16 season at Presentation night on 28th May.
Also we still need volunteers for the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle being held on Sunday 5th June – Please contact Shern Timmins on [email protected] if you can help!
Lastly as we approach the end of financial year if anybody would like to make a donation to the club through our fundraising partnership with the Australian Sports Foundation, donations to our equipment fund are tax deductible and can be done simply via https://asf.org.au/project/rrc-fleet-renewal-appeal/
Thanks and look forward to telling you all the good news about how much we’ve raised this year at the AGM in July!
Cat B
2016 Winter Sculling Series
As we head into Winter don’t despair that rowing will not be an option to keep you fit and active. The Victorian Sculling Association run a series of single sculling events in Melbourne which are very popular, to find out more about Winter Sculling visit their website.
If you are interested in competing in one, multiple or all of the available events listed in the attached document below we need to know as single sculls are a limited resource but we will work hard to ensure anyone who wants to compete has the opportunity.
RRC Fleet available
Tubs
Ray Dennis
Karen Azinger
Tracers 1x
Flying Tiger 55-65kg
Julia Avis 55-65kg
Jonathan Cantwell 80kg+
Tiger Shark 85kg+
Red JR Tracer 70-80kg Clogs
Black JR Tracer 70-80kg Clogs
Racing 1x
Punt Road 60-70kg
We also have potential access to boats from LURC and MLC as they are stored by us.
Geordie (LURC tub)
MLC Wintech Tracer 55-65kg (Clogs)
The organisers do attempt to schedule racing where rowers are sharing boats so we can work around resource limitations. However to help with planning if you would like to compete in any of the events involved in this series please contact Barry to request a boat allocation [email protected]
If you have any other questions about the competition some of our experienced single scullers have competed in previous years so please ask for advice.