karen.doggett, Author at Richmond Rowing Club

October 14, 2015

A regatta first timer’s point of view

This year’s Saltwater Challenge hosted by the Essendon Rowing Club was a big one for me. While I’ve been rowing on an off since I was 17, I’d never yet had the chance to participate in a regatta.

Scheduled for the very start of spring, the annual Saltwater Challenge is a quad skulls race conducted in a time trial format and spans a gruelling 4.5km starting upstream at the Tea Gardens Reserve near Canning Street Avondale Heights down to the Club.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to row on, with sun glistening off the stunning Maribynong River. As we arrived in time for the third bracket of the day, rowers and spectators alike were dotted along the riverbank, calling out in support of their teams.

Joining my teammates at the Richmond Rowing Club marquee, we made quick work of the rigging – and I could feel a nervous-but-excited rush settle over me. By the time we made it through the race briefing, put the boat in the water, and settled in for the pre-race row upstream, I was really keen to get started. But being one of the first boats to leave the Club, and one of the last boats to start our time trial, I was to be kept waiting just a bit longer!

Coxed by Karen, our crew consisted of Rob at bow, myself at two, Ray at three, and Ben at stoke. While we were initially supposed to row in the Masters category, me being 25 meant that we’d all be rowing in D Grade. In preparation, our race plan was simple – to keep to a modest rating of 24, but once we set off, we exceeded this goal for most of the race.

While the water was beautiful and still, the course had a few tricky bends, and we really felt the value of having an experience cox lead the way. While I knew it would be different, I wasn’t truly prepared for the difference between rowing training, and rowing in a regatta. When you are pushing to your limits with every stroke, it’s both exhilarating and exhausting in a whole new way. Especially as we rounded the corner for the last stretch, I could feel my muscles screaming out in protest… but on we went.

As we crossed the finish line, the horn brought with it a rush of relief and the realisation that I’d done it: I’d rowed my first regatta… eight years after I first picked up an oar.

Now, back to the Club for a beer.

Thanks to everyone who helped out and contributed to make the day a success.

By Devindhe Ratnaayake

October 5, 2015

RRC fun in the sun

The past few weeks have seen much activity at RRC and the sun has been shining on us as we get stuck in to preparing for the head racing season.
There was the club races and delicious brunch put on by the mens squad a few weeks ago which gave us the perfect opportunity to get all the club mixing in a complete assortment of crews drawn randomly from a hat.
This was followed by the glorious conditions of our weekend training camp in Nagambie which saw crews really benefit from some intensive technical focus both on the lake and the Goulburn River. With 58 people (and one excitable dog) in attendance RRC took over the rowing peninsula for the whole weekend with 5 sessions on the water culminating in some spectacular handicapped racing. Thank you to all our coaches, coxes and helpers who pitched in to make the weekend a success, especially Barry for towing the trailer, Nic for bringing up the singles, Tim and Scott for towing the tinnies. All the tinnie drivers and coxes for the weekend, Geraldine Goss for developing the session plans and the DS squad who prepared an awesome Saturday night meal for the masses. A special mention to Kathy Macrow who was unable to attend and enjoy the weekend herself but still put in an enormous amount of work behind the scenes to ensure it ran smoothly.
Finally last weekend as the sun shone once more upon Melbourne we took advantage of our glorious deck and superb clubhouse to host a hugely successful AFL grand final BBQ. Despite the slightly one sided match everyone was kept entertained and enthralled as we watched to see if our lucky players scored a goal to win us a drink or the winning margin or Norm Smith medal winner would also win us some dollars. The day was enjoyed by all, even the West Coast fans congratulated us on a great party. Thanks to Cat Hardie for her fundraising exploits, Barry for his work on the BBQ and all those who blew up balloons, helped with set-up/clean-up and worked on the bar over the course of the day we couldn’t have done it without you.

Now the focus moves to the three big upcoming head races, Head of the Goulburn, Melbourne Head and Head of the Yarra. Crews will be selected in the next week and I remind all of you to ensure your coaches know your availability for these events and ensure that you sign up to the regular squad training sessions on Sports Noticeboard to guarantee we get the maximum benefit out of the next few weeks of training sessions. Our coach mentor, Sue Chapman Popa will be attending many of these and we want to have all crews prepared for a great head racing season. While you’re thinking about training bear in mind this weekend is Around the Bay in a Day so there will be no parking and restricted vehicle access to boathouse drive from Wednesday – Sunday so ensure you leave yourself enough time to get to the boathouse. You can check what’s going on in terms of club and boathouse drive events on the club noticeboard or anytime on our calendar so keep an eye out.
See you all the club again soon.

September 20, 2015

Grand Final BBQ

Now we know it will be the Hawks vs. Eagles!

Looking for a fun way to spend Grand Final next Saturday 3rd October?

Join us to celebrate at the best ‘beer deck’ in Melbourne within earshot of the roaring crowd at the MCG. Whether you want to watch the game, enjoy a beer, sample a sausage or all of the above, Richmond Rowing Club is the place to be.

Purchase tickets here now (All proceeds go straight back into RRC)

If you can help out on the bar or BBQ on the day please let me know, [email protected]

September 15, 2015

Fundraising helps grow the RRC fleet

Did you spot this smiling men’s crew enjoying a beautiful day on Sunday testing their new boat? It gives me great pleasure to announce RRC have made an exciting new purchase of a men’s eight, complete with a set of oars, second hand from Scotch College.
The purchase was made possible by the great fundraising efforts of last seasons quiz night and through a donation to the club after some RRC male rowers starred in an advertisement. Other purchases from the quiz night funds included the two new model D ergos plus a set of sliders and the observant members of the club will have also noticed a new set of four sweep oars. As is evident fundraising is a vital part of keeping our fleet growing and serviceable so I ask you all to please help where you can with our fundraising efforts, starting with buying a ticket for our grand final BBQ.
The women’s squad have also recently benefitted from a successful application to Vic Active Grants that resulted in a complete new set of pink handled sculling oars for a quad and one extra set of yellow handled oars.
It’s exciting times at the club as we look forward to the upcoming head racing season and our training camp. I hope to see many of you down on Sunday 20th September to enjoy some club races followed by brunch before we kick off our focussed training for the head season. Please ensure you sign up on Sportsnoticeboard or contact your coach so we know to expect you.

September 4, 2015

Volunteering at RRC

Have you been wondering about what you can do to volunteer to help at RRC?
Every year we have to call upon our members to help in all sorts of ways and this year will be no different. Everyone can help in one way or another and here are just a few ideas:
Be a boat race official (BRO) at regattas – this is an easy task and it is an RV requirement that Richmond provide BROs for every regatta which we enter. To be eligible you must complete the Level 1 BRO course and this year that couldn’t be easier as it is being held in our own boathouse this coming Tuesday 8^th September, please register to attend using this link http://www.rowingvictoria.asn.au/eventsrsvp/1015/
Cox your friends and other crews – we are always short of coxes and experience in a boat from the coxes seat will no doubt help you become a better rower by having an appreciation of the feel or movement of the boat. It’s all about providing motivation and encouragement to the whole crew (as well as avoiding collisions). At RRC we require all members to complete their level 1 coxing accreditation within 1 year of membership to ensure you have a good understanding of river rules for you and your crews safety. Once again RV is holding a level 1 course in our very own boathouse on Monday 14^th September so if you haven’t already you can register here http://www.rowingvictoria.asn.au/eventsrsvp/1016/
Continue reading “Volunteering at RRC”

August 26, 2015

Training heart rate zones

At the season launch we discussed briefly the use of training heart rate zones: when you work out using a heart-rate monitor, you’ll aim to work out within a specific zone. Training within a zone means working within a particular percentage of your maximum heart rate during the workout—for example, 65 to 80 percent for most rows and 90 percent or more as you blaze to a fast race finish. For most of your workouts, your heart rate should fall into zone 1 (warmup/warmdown) or 2.
You can get an estimate of your maximum heart rate using the formula of 220 minus your age. (Note: this may overestimate the max heart rate for women: more precisely it has been found that the mean peak heart rate for women = 206 – (0.88 x age)).
Continue reading “Training heart rate zones”

July 28, 2015

AGM Boat Naming Celebrations

Thanks to everyone who joined us this Saturday for the RRC Annual General Meeting. When the official business was completed our attention turned to celebrating the naming of three new additions to our fleet and enjoying a good catch up after the Winter break, with thanks to our bar and bbq volunteers Lynn May, Karin Bouvin, Dennis Beck and Tim Evans.
Following our call out to members to nominate names for our new singles we celebrated two new creative names to the tiger fleet – Tiger Shark, previously fondly known as ‘Martin’s single’ and Flying Tiger, one of a pair of singles purchased through this years fundraising efforts.

We also took the opportunity to name a third single in honour of Julia Avis. Julia joined the club in 2001 and over many years served on the clubs committee as vice president and in the role of president from 2006-7. One of her great contributions to the club was the amazing amount of work she and others put in to the hugely successful ergothons of 2003 and 2004 which raised funds to enable the purchase of our current trailer. After completing her learn to row at Richmond she went on to win two state championships in the W8+ and Head of the Yarra in 2003. These are just a couple of her achievements and we were delighted to recognise her contribution with the naming of a single.
The 2015-16 RRC committee with one nomination per position was confirmed at the AGM.
President – Karen Doggett
Vice President – Geraldine Goss
Secretary – Kathryn Macrow
Treasurer – Vicki Brennan
Captain of Boats – Barry Campbell
Head of Rowing – Rochelle Stokes
Facilities Coordinator – Lucy Crunden
Fundraising Coordinator – Cat Hardie
2 Ordinary Members – Derek Begg & Shern Timmins

July 23, 2015

Blog document links

Apologies if the documents links have not appeared correctly on the email that was just generated from the published blog.
Please click on the title of the blog to be taken to the RRC website where the links to all the documents are available.
Sorry for any confusion, my IT skills need some improving.

July 23, 2015

Rowing season 2015-16

Last Sunday the administration side of rowing commenced at RRC.
The season launch included the following information:

Squad and general rowing organisation for 2015/2016 season – Presented by Tim Evans Men’s Squad Coach
Training plan overview/thresholds/prescription – Presented by Geraldine Goss
New boat booking and rowing sign up procedure – Presented by Catherine Hardie

SQUAD ROWING APPROACH[wpfilebase tag=file path=’Squad approach 2015-16.docx’ /]
Tim Evans produced a discussion paper and presented at the Strategic Planning Day. Upon review it was passed and presented at the season opening coaches meeting. The coaches supported the change in organisation.
There is also a draft of FAQs [wpfilebase tag=file path=’Frequently asked questions from Rowing Approach.doc’ tpl=download-button /]
If you have questions please consult your coach.
The training plan overview is attached here
[wpfilebase tag=file path=’RRC Training Program Overview 2015.pdf’ /]
The weekly training prescriptions will be posted up on the training blog link same as last season. http://rrctraining.wordpress.com/ SUBSCRIBE to this blog and you will receive the weekly training prescription to your email. If you are in a competitive stream, you must subscribe to the weekly training blog.
Squad Training days for 2015:- (note these times are on the water)
Monday                      6am (coached)
Tuesday                      6am (uncoached)
Wednesday                 6 am (coached)
Thursday                     6:30pm (coached)
Sunday (senior women) 8:00am (coached)
Sunday                        10am (coached)
Ensure you are up to date with the boat booking process by checking out Sports Notice Board. This year we will be using this new online tool to manage boat bookings and squad session sign ups (instead of sportsplanner).
Most of you will have received an invite to join the Richmond Rowing Club sports noticeboard via email yesterday. If you did not receive this invite, please register yourself via this link:
http://www.mysnb.com.au?reg447ax33213cr130
Once you set up a login you are now able to book boats out via the “club resources” section.
Your coaches will add you into relevant teams and set up the training sessions shortly. All you will need to do is RSVP to attend each session. You should start to have access to this over the next week.
There is also a mobile version of the site which you can access once you’ve set up your login (www.mysnb.com.au) which will allow you to book boats and rsvp for training sessions via your mobile phone
Be sure to plan early for regattas – a simplified list of important dates for the competitive stream can be found here[wpfilebase tag=file path=’RRC Competitive stream calendar.pdf’ tpl=download-button /]
A general calendar is still in preparation with lots of social events to add now the regatta calendar is finalised but here is the draft for people to start saving the dates.[wpfilebase tag=file path=’RRC club calendar 2015-16.pdf’ /]
Hopefully all the information you should need for the upcoming season should be here and will be displayed on the noticeboard at the club for your reference.
Prepared by: Head of Rowing

June 15, 2015

RRC 2014-15 Awards

Thanks to everyone who came together on Saturday night to celebrate the achievements of RRC for the past season. From the comfort of our beautiful boathouse we remembered the great wins, the closes races, the fun nights, the early mornings and the special friendships we have built.
We also presented the annual awards based on entries and race wins throughout the season. In some very close point counts congratulations goes to:
Mal Scott Award (Male rower of the year) – Michael Gehling
John Sawyer Award (Female rower of the year) – Geraldine Goss
Don Edwards Award (Cox of the year) – Derek Begg
Oar bender Award – Kieran Burke, for his impressive display in breaking the shaft of a sweep oar during a race at Ballarat this season.
Keith Millar Time Trial – Tub 4+ around the island
Winner of the Women’s
Jodie Niasbitt, Vicki Brennan, Suzzane Mullner, Stefanie Dudzig, Cox : Dave Micallef
Time 35:53 (altered course due to river dredging at the island)
Winner of the Men’s
Robert Gordon, Ray O’Shea, Enrique Mai, Lachlan Molesworth, Cox : Sandrine Balbo
Time 40:16
President’s Award – Vicki Brennan, for being an all round amazing help and super efficient treasurer. I can not thank her enough for her time, effort and support over the last couple of years. On top of all those jobs she takes on as treasurer she is also the person you can thank for the bar being stocked at our functions and more often than not she will even volunteer to serve you that drink.
The evening concluded with a slideshow of this seasons highlights, if you want to see it take a look here.
Now the season is concluded we want to look forward to the next one which will be here before you know it. This Saturday we will be hosting a planning day at the boathouse from 10am, it’s your opportunity to have your say and we welcome your opinions so please come along or contact [email protected] if you want more information.