It was wonderful to see so many members competing at the Melbourne Head Regatta. It was also a pleasure to spend the afternoon together as a club afterwards for a casual BBQ and drinks in wonderful weather (until the monsoon arrived!!!).
We received an urgent call to say the newest member of our fleet, a brand new men’s Sykes coxed four/quad, would be arriving that morning. There was no better time, than following the BBQ to get the club together to unveil the boat and name it through the smashing of a bottle of champagne.
As a top of the range boat which we hope will get plenty of use (and success) for the club at regatta’s, we wanted to ensure it was named after someone who has contributed so much to the club over the last few years. The Committee immediately knew who it would be appropriate to name it after – our outgoing president Karen Doggett.
Anyone who has been involved with the club ever since Karen became a member will know of her impact. Karen has been a successful rower for the club since she joined the club in 2008, with her first regatta win coming at Hamilton in a mixed eight. Since this time she has won at numerous regattas including State and National Championships, the most recent of these being in the Victoria State B grade quad in 2017. She has also been part of 2 Head of the Yarra winning crews.
In addition to this Karen has been a part of the Richmond Rowing Club Committee for the previous 6 years, initially as a general member and more recently as President of the club for 4 years until 2017. During this time Karen has shown tremendous dedication to the club, she was involved in the clubs 150th year celebrations and the club redevelopment which has left us with these magnificent facilities.
Her dedication and commitment to the role of President of the club was amazing and her legacy will continue on for many years through where the club is now and through this new boat.
We look forward to seeing this new addition to the clubs fleet at coming regatta’s, hopefully taking home some medals during the coming sprint season.
Spring Camp 2017
Rowing camp can instil a dreading fear in the best of us and I hesitantly left Melbourne on Friday evening with a h’anger and exhaustion that manifests after a hectic week in work. Challenged with the insight that I was likely to be rowing in a pair, I ensured to pack my goggles, banana hammock and trusty life-jacket…and planned for imminent hypothermia.
Much to my delight however, I arrived to a toasty cabin 42. Considering my previous experience of camp accommodation was a mouldy mosquito-laden bunked shed in (very) rural New Zealand, I’d fallen into 5 star camp conditions! I was sharing with a potential dream-team for box-biting; Rens, Cam, Keith, James and his partner Lizzie. We quickly commenced a (sober) practice session of box-biting in anticipation for Saturday night and enjoyed Richmond’s thumping of “so-long Geelong”.
We awoke to an awe inspiring view; with a peaking sun, clear skies and silky smooth waters. W.B. Yeats’ would have been proud, so we quickly (slowly) took off to arrive at 6.15am for camp initiation.
We were welcomed by a tenacious Tim and dangerous Dennis, who informed that rowing in pairs would form the morning session. Much to my own and Allan’s delight, we managed to stay afloat and zig-zag our way down the 2km course.
The mid-morning session consisted of a 7.2km row down the Goulburn to the forbidden fruit; a vineyard. Unfortunately the docking spot beside the sacred ground was occupied, and a merry Masters crew waved us past from the shoreline. Maybe next year…
Other crews were busy at work too, with over 50 of Richmond’s finest rowers weaving their wave down the Goulburn and Nagambie lakes park.
The long row did not go un-noticed though and we were rewarded by the “the roll that had it all”. Never in my wildest dreams did I envisage a roll so packed with wonderful surprises; beetroot, the finest cheddar cheese and crunchy ‘slaw… DELICIOUS.
The afternoon was sprint session of speedy proportions as we continued to knit as a 8 man crew. Stroked by “Usain” Allan Randall, we worked our way through a pyramid piece which fizzled the mind to the point of “just row, don’t think”. We left the water optimistic of our potential as a crew.
Next to the good stuff; the barbeque and box-biting… The food committee outdid themselves with ample supplies of coleslaw, potato salads, vegan options and bbq-classics. Rens was in dream land and gloried in a food coma induced by his first Australian barbeque experience.
Box-biting was hilarious from the outset. Coopers Ale kindly supplied a box worthy of all our saliva and the chief umpire Dave was on hand to meticulously shave off 3.75 cubic centimetres from the box per round. Box-biting legends, Barry and Dave whispered invaluable tips on how to overcome the beastly box. “Avoid the soggy bit”, “aim for the opposite side”, “get caught beyond the catch” and choose the “right side to bite” still echo in my ears.
Much to my dismay, I bowed out during round three. The competition was far from over at that point though, as 4 heroes of the box entered a new realm of awesome. They really did demonstrate how to bite a box. Allan surprised us all in his flexibility skill-set and demonstrated the importance of active wear. Tina, 1 year on from delivering her first born was on hand to serve up sizzling single leg squats. Meanwhile, Keith and Edwina were at lager heads to become champion; stooping to new levels and re-writing the box-biting history books for good measure. There were shouts for the sport to be endowed as an Olympic event, as it went to the wire and 12 nail (and box) biting rounds. It led to a new box-biting record of 8cm from the floor to crown a winner. Keith rose above his bronze placed finish from last year and ousted Edwina off her biting throne to claim victory for a revering cabin 42.
The final day consisted of 2 further exhausting rows.
I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge set by the pair and can see the carryover back into the 8. I’m hoping my wrestling match with the oar is over and I’ll be more graceful in avoiding over-muscling the blade in such a sensitive boat.
What a winning weekend for Richmond Rowing Club! Huge thanks again to all the organising committee, coaches and participants.
I’m tapping out for now (or not). Looking forward to seeing all of the now familiar faces in training over the coming season. Let’s go Tigers!
John Carey and James Attenborough
Continued investment in our fleet announced at the AGM
Our AGM was held at the club on Saturday 29th July 2017 in our wonderful facilities. It was an opportunity for the members of the club to come together and reflect on the clubs operations over the past year. We continue to be able to present a healthy balance sheet. Thank you to all who attended and thank you to all the Committee members for their contribution through the year. The clubs healthy finances benefit greatly from our amazing venue and our ability to continue to hire the venue through the ongoing work of the Committee and Lucy as our Facilities Coordinator. As you will have seen from recent blog post about the kitchen and bar refurbishment we continue to invest in the club so we can maximise our income. We were pleased to announce at the AGM our ability to continue to invest in the renewal of the fleet as the outgoing Committee have placed an order for a brand new Sykes boat, a men’s Kevlar bow coxed quad/four.
A major part of the AGM is to elect a new Committee and Farewell any departing members from the Committee. The three Committee members who stood down will be sorely missed.
Karen Doggett, our outgoing president has been a member of the Committee for six years, four of them as president. During this time her dedication and commitment to the role and the club have been evident to all. She has also found the time for significant on water success during the time. The club is in a strong position as Karen leaves the Committee.
Dave Micallef has been the clubs Fundraising Coordinator over the past year, he has overseen a successful fundraising contribution that has allowed us to refit the gym and invest in some much needed new oars. Nick Forte steps down as ordinary member having contributed strongly to the fleet subcommittee and redesigning the gym.
The new committee for the 2017-18 season consists of:
President – Jon Roberts
Vice-President – Geraldine Goss
Secretary – Aline Dejaeger
Treasurer – Kathy Macrow
Captain of Boats – Barry Campbell
Head of Rowing – Tim Evans
Facilities Coordinator – Lucy Crunden
Fundraising Coordinator – Christine Sullivan
Two ordinary members – Yashwini Vegi, Laurent Demay
Congratulations and welcome to our newest Committee members, Christine Sullivan, Yashwini Vegi and Laurent Demay.
Following the conclusion of the AGM we celebrated the newest addition to our fleet, the Dennis Beck, our brand new women’s Kevlar bow coxed quad/four Mould 10. Dennis was on hand to swing the hammer and officially name the boat.
Thanks to everyone who then helped out with the bbq and bar afterwards.
Recruiting a head coach
I am excited to announce we are now actively recruiting for a head coach to join our team of volunteer coaches and work alongside the Head of Rowing to manage and implement a rowing program for the upcoming season.
Check out the attachment for the detailed job description and how to apply. Contact [email protected] for more information.
[wpfilebase tag=file path=’RRC-head-coach-.pdf’ /].
Strategic planning day Saturday 1st July
Thanks to everyone who took part last week in the rowing season review to help look at successes and areas to target for improvement next season for the rowing opportunities at the club. Along with the on water activities that form the foundation of our rowing club, Richmond encompasses much more than that and the success of our community managed volunteer organisation requires planning beyond the rowing program.
We are currently in a strong position with our facilities and finances thanks to the work by many over the last few years so now we must look forward and plan for the future to ensure the club continues to deliver and improve upon its current status. We want to set big picture goals and objectives and we need our members to help shape the direction for RRC going forward. Some of you may remember back in 2013 we undertook some strategic planning and we want to review and update this to help us focus our energy and resources on the key areas we see as priorities for the club.
I want to invite you all to attend our strategic planning session to be held on Saturday 1st July at the boathouse from 10am-1pm. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a member, what experiences you have or what you think you can contribute everyone is welcome (even if you don’t say a word) and its an ideal time to just find out a little more about what makes Richmond the club it is and how you can contribute to it.
We’re aiming to keep it very focused and to encourage lots of people to attend it won’t take up your whole weekend – just a few hours on Saturday morning after Winter sculling. So starting at 10am we will review the status of our last strategic plan and discuss the key areas we believe are still relevant and any new priorities or focus areas. We can then begin to formulate goals, objectives and action plans to help us achieve them.
You can find further details on our calendar including the agenda and summary from the 2013 strategic plan as a basis for the talking points and framework for the day.
This will be the first step in preparing a plan and setting goals to ensure the longevity and success of the club and in turn all its members and so we encourage input and assistance from you all. If you have any questions about how you can contribute or want to find out more please contact me. I look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday July 1st, 10am.
Tickets on sale now for RRC Presentation Night 2017
This years RRC Presentation Night is only a few weeks away on Saturday 27th May at 7pm. So pack away the zootie and dress to impress as we celebrate all the achievements of our club members for the last year. We’ve had some cracking races not too mention state club and masters titles. We’ll be honouring all of these along with our Annual awards including rowers and coxswain of the year. Club races and time trial winners will also be announced so make sure you’re there to receive your awards!
Tickets are on sale now at Trybooking. Bring along your partner or friends for what will be a special night at the clubhouse including a three course meal for $45. Drinks will be available to purchase at the bar.
This evening is also the perfect opportunity to thank everyone who has made the year possible including coaches, coxes and volunteers. It’s the ideal time to come together and celebrate all that is great about our special club and the friends we have there.
I can’t wait and I hope to see you all there too!
Vic State Champs
I was plied with alcohol when I somehow agreed to write the States blog for Karen, hence its lateness, as I had forgotten all about it by the time we got back from Nagambie for boat unloading!
The early birds scored Richmond some serious bling- Geri and Ainsley a Gold in their C Double and the boys (Laurent, Dave, Jon and Allan), championed by Stef had their Gold stolen by a bow ball in the D Four. Still I think Silver suits them quite well. We love medals but we also love it when everyone gives their best and the girls from “the eight” (Boat one: Shern Timmins, Catherine Dorian, Zoe Maxwell, Gabriella Ibbott, cox Derek Boat two: Yash Vegi, Karin Bouvin, Edwina Griffiths, Jodie Naisbitt, cox Stef) had some fierce competition in the D Fours. All this success before I even rocked up after a blissful sleep in, around 11am, to assume my previously acquired position at States as #1 cheerleader (this year as Toms Tigers ailed crewmate).
Wouldn’t be a complete blog without an interlude about the weather!
It was a far cry from the previous regatta. The wind still blustered away but the sun shone fiercely with no rain to speak of.
The medal trend continued through the afternoon with the successful combination of Geri, Ainsley, Michelle and Karen earning Bronze in the final of the C Quad (coxed by Sue Andrews) and Gold in the 2000m B Quad first and final (coxed by Derek Begg).
The ladies Eight fought hard in their race, alas the competition was fierce with Powerhouse taking the win.
Toms Tigers (Lindsey, Morgan, Lisa and Carolyn, coxed by Derek) plowed through their heat to the hotly contested final, where there’s no doubt they left nothing in the tank making Coach Tom in his flash crew teeshirt pretty proud. The men’s pairs was a fun race to watch with Tim and Jon racing against Nic and Dave. It was a tough race with a pretty happy Tim and Jon getting the Silver. The Men’s Quad championed by double n Dennis had 50% of the original DEMN crew as Martin kindly stepped in to fill Charlie’s seat with Mike C and Andrew. Even Nicole was in the coxswain seat for the heat. They pushed through and collected a Bronze. Perhaps Martin might consider a come back after all!
All in all a pretty successful year at the 2017 Vic State champs for Richmond. Bring on masters season!
Sarah Houghton
Shiny New Boat (and it's first win!)
Thanks to everyone who put forward suggestions for the name of our newest RRC fleet addition. As a committee we thought long and hard about the choice for this new boat. It is a brand new Sykes coxed quad/four for women that will no doubt get extensive use and be with the club for many years to come (if we look after it very well! – please). As a result we believed it was important to name it after a person who embodies the Richmond Rowing Club spirit and who has contributed throughout many years, continues to do so today and hopefully will continue for many years to come, so it is my pleasure to announce it is to be named the Dennis Beck.
Dennis has been a smiling face around the club for many years and has been an active and very successful rower, representing RRC at state and national levels. Most current members will know him as regular coach, cox and substitute extraordinaire happy to jump in and fill a seat or do what is necessary to ensure crews get on the water and have fun. He is never far away when we call for a volunteer to BRO at regattas, serve drinks on the bar, or man the BBQ. Along with this he has served on the committee in the role of captain and been a constant helpful hand at the club. The current committee believe he is very well deserving of this honour.
Can you recognise the man throughout his RRC career? and some other familiar faces.
I was delighted to be at the club with the man himself when the shiny new boat was delivered just over a week ago and also very proud to be involved in its maiden voyage at Nagambie last weekend. Now just over a week old the brand new boat has received its first bling with a successful row on Saturday with the WC4X+ winning through a heat, semi and the final to take out the title at Australian Henley.
Let’s hope for many more successes in this beautiful boat (and with some more fundraising maybe we can buy another one 😉 – don’t forget to buy your Quiz night tickets for 18th March now).
The time is near for new year…
Celebrate New Years Eve with great friends and unrivalled views of the city’s midnight fireworks from our very own clubhouse deck.
We will be opening the doors and the bar of the boathouse at 8pm on NYE to ring in 2017.
Tickets are just $40 for members and $50 for non members with all proceeds going directly to the clubs fundraising goal of new gym equipment. Tickets are on sale now so purchase them before you miss out!
Toughest row in Australia – and we did it!
Mildura Airport has many wonderful features. An expansive, comfortable departure lounge offering stunning runway views, a wide range of fine dining establishments serving quality deep fried fare, and the finest set of boarding stairs to be offered by a North West Victorian regional airport. Sadly, I do have one slight criticism, and it is slight, but I found the lack of an aeroplane to be a little disappointing.
This blog post is a collective effort, compiled by bored and fatigued Richmond rowers (and one Argonaut) anxiously awaiting the arrival of their continuously delayed flight back to Melbourne. In truth the president had a captive pool of potential blog posters imprisoned for the next two hours and we were all too scared to refuse her ‘request’. Ho hum, it passes the time I suppose.
Anyway, in case you haven’t twigged by now, a contingent of RRC have been in Wentworth this weekend taking on the challenge of the Royal Flying Doctor’s 25th Rowathon, and what a challenge it was! Sadly, due to strong currents on the Murray river, this year’s event was constrained to the Darling, but the surrounding scenery was wonderful nonetheless, with almost perfect conditions allowing us to appreciate it. In total we fielded four boats <cough>and even brought a spare<cough>, all coxed quads. The full course comprised two return trips to the (now) famous Bob Hill’s farm, a 20km slog each way. As such rowers were able to nominate their target total distance, either 20km, 40km, 60km or the full 80km. RRC crews opted for a variety, with myself picking off the first and third stages for a total of 40km of rowing. The next bit I can only really describe from my own perspective….
The departure was early. Bacon and eggs were served in the dark, and with first light the boats of nervous rowers began to deploy onto the Darling. Once comfortably on water my crew spotted the cunning practical joke I had set for them. Whilst Alan did debate the possible consequences of rowing 20km with our seats on backwards, the crew eventually decided it would be wise to invest the time to refit them, for the sake of our posteriors. And with the onlookers thoroughly convinced of our professionalism we pulled away from the start, mind half drifting to the pain which lay ahead. Moments later, without anyone having spoken a word, Laurent our coxswain cheerfully declared we had just put 4km behind us. “Really?”, “Lies!’ sounded the crew, but Laurent protested his integrity, and apparently it was true! Things were going much faster than we had anticipated. Perhaps it was the lack of Yarra landmarks? Perhaps it was the current? Regardless, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all? With some “pushes for 10” the next 16km slipped under the hull pretty smoothly and we pulled across the line after a pleasing 1hr35mins on water. Greeting us were the worlds finest scones laced with jam and cream, a smiling Shern and Nic providing a dry change of clothes, and three burrowing chickens that nobody but myself seemed particularly interested in.
All change at this point, with crews swapping out rowers for the return run, whilst those of us not rowing hitched a lift back to Wentworth on the bus. Well I say all change. Some things today would remain impressively constant. Four of the intrepid Richmond women, Sophie, Michelle, Ainsley and Karen, had decided they were going the full distance. Seeing them climb back into the boat after a thoroughly inadequate recovery period I was both full of sympathy and admiration. They rowed off strong with smiles and determination, I settled into my soft, comfortable bus seat to contemplate the next leg. But first lunch.
As is now the tradition Wentworth laid out a wonderful spread for lunch, and whilst munching on our salad sandwiches we were able to give the returning crews some triumphant cheers as they pulled across the line.
By 12:30 it was all back on. I was back in the boat again, this time with Sarah F, Stef & Alan ahead of me, with Dennis H positioned in the coxswain seat. As we got underway Dennis allowed us a moment of relaxation, directing our attention towards a fluffy line of signets tailgating their mother. “Aww…now heads back in the boat, you’ve got 20kms ahead of you!”. And so we pushed on again, a little hotter and a lot more worn down. The distance seemingly took longer to cover this time, but as we entered the last 5km Dennis found his racing spirit. The battle-hardened girls had snuck up onto our tail and Dennis was determined to hold the racing line whilst we could. Successive pushes kept our heads firmly in the boat and the boat speed up. Eventually Kathy (coxing the womens quad) found an opportunity to push past and the chase lessened, but it was great fun whilst it lasted!
Soon we pulled back over the line again with, what I must say, felt like a tidy finish, thanks to some inspiring words from our cox. And that was my days rowing over. A quick bite of cake and we were once again seeing off the returning crews. The womens quad looked tired but never more determined.
On the way back to Wentworth I kindly declined the bus drivers offer to visit the River Lock and Fish Ladder (what?!), instead choosing to soak up a bit of late afternoon sunshine on the grass. There wasn’t much time to relax however, as weary crews soon began to appear. One by one we cheered the triumphant crews and, if we’re honest, adding a little more gusto for the Richmond boats. Everybody looked exhausted but proud to have achieved their lofty goals. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly seeing the Richmond Women’s quad pull across the line for the final time, home at last, having put an amazing 80km under their belts over the day. Well done ladies, outstanding effort!
During the evening’s frivolities (apparently a little too frivolous for some officials!) it was announced that the event had raised a whopping total estimating to be approx $40,000 for the great work of the Royal Flying Doctor’s, with $4480 of that coming from sponsorship of Richmond rowers and extra through the skillful bidding of some RRC members at the fundraising auction. Well done guys!
The whole event took an epic amount of organisation, with 34 RRC rowers competing and various extra support crew helping out. Thanks must go to everyone who contributed with organising boats (including a boat loan from Latrobe University Rowing club), co-ordinating trailering with Hawthorn and Melbourne Rowing clubs, finding us some accommodation and generally ensuring we were all where we needed to be when and with the right stuff – never an easy task. Good job all!
Matt Ebbatson