2023 Australian Henley Regatta

After the recent regattas in regional Victoria, it was a lovely change to have a racing day right on our doorstep on the Yarra. Melbourne put on a great show and the atmosphere was both festive and electric.
On the racing front, it was one of the most successful Henley regattas Richmond has had in many years, with both the men and women’s squads winning in key events.
The 71 year drought (’51 annual report, page 7) came to an end for the men’s 8, with their dramatic victory in the MB8+ event, beating Mercantile in the semis and Banks in the nail-biting final.
The women also came up with the goods, with 2 Richmond quads making it to the final of the FB4x+ and guaranteeing a victory for the club!
This is a great opportunity to thank our coaches who have been doing such a great job getting our rowers in top shape: Will Golding (who was recently awarded Coach of the Year by RV, a huge achievement!) and Ainsley Raggatt for the Men’s squad; Roy Zhang, Lucci Maegher and Stuart McShane for the women’s squad. Thanks for the hard work.

Winners

MB8+ Pavel Oborin, Jack Hellerstedt, Jon Roberts, Alex Pupko, Ben Wardle, Tim Foster, Pat Cook, Isaac Balemi, Coxed by D.Begg
FM4X+ T.Nishibata [MELB], P.Whiting [MUBC], Geraldine Goss [RCHMD], Helen Pearce [RCHMD], Cox: C.Lawrence [BANKS]
FB4X+ Caley Manzie, Emily Rouse, Kat Spinnler-Jenkins, Beth Rosenberg, Coxed by Sarah Houghton
FM8+ Kate Dyball [RCHMD], Helen Pearce [RCHMD], Amy Catlin [RCHMD], Geraldine Goss [RCHMD], C.Carr [YARRA], M.Ringersma [YARRA], Christine Sullivan [RCHMD], L.Rodriquez [POWR], Coxed by Ally Dejaegher [RCHMD]

Thank you to our volunteers

Sue-Virginia O’Hanlon and Emily Bourke – BRO duties
Helen Pearce – Organising the post-racing event and buying food
Cynthia Masters and Gabriella Bekir Fuente – BBQ chefs
John C, Gerry G, Amy C, Lily I, Dennis B, Jack H and Ally D – Bar service and BBQ dishes
Lily Innes-Irons – Making sure the bar is stocked and beer is cold for each event!


For more photos, check out the link below

2023 Rutherglen Regatta

After a few weeks of uncertainty, Rutherglen Regatta 2023 was confirmed to actually take place on Lake Moodemere, to everyone’s relief and delight. The recent Murray River flooding carved out a lovely little cliff on the river bank, which made launching boats a tad more challenging, but nothing could stop the good vibes and enthusiasm of participants. The contingent from RRC was strong this year, with over 30 members attending and 60 races entered over the weekend. Armed with Will’s spreadsheet, RRC was an unstoppable tsunami of boats and coxes on and off the water both days.


After the stifling heat on Saturday, it was deliciously refreshing to jump in the pool at the Lydoun Motel, our home away from home in Chiltern. This was followed by a lovely BBQ, expertly cooked by our team of volunteers and coordinated by Richie Healy.
It also gave us an opportunity to say farewell to Sep Tolboom, who has now returned to his native Netherlands after spending some time in Melbourne. He’s been a great addition to the men’s coaching team and a wonderful person to have around the club. Best of luck on your new adventures Sep!

Race of the weekend?

Big ups to Richie for catching the footage of the absolute barnstormer of a finish for the Sunday MB4x+ “too close to call”.

Wins

Saturday
MC8+ Will Golding, Allan Randall, Isaac Balemi, Pat Cook, Ben Wardle, Alex Pupko, Dennis Beck, Jack Hellerstedt, coxed by Ally Dejaegher
X2X Jack Hellerstedt & Ally Dejaegher
MB4X+ Pat Cook, Isaac Balemi, Ben Wardle, Will Golding, coxed by Jack Hellerstedt
FM4X+ Christine Sullivan, Cynthia Masters, Sarah Hardy, Diana Vernon, coxed by Stef Dudzig
FB2- Amy Catlin & Lily Innes-Irons
MC4X+ Emil Limansyah, James Merrett, Will Golding, Pat Cook, coxed by Jack Hellerstedt
FB4+ Caley Manzie, Kat Spinnler-Jenkins, Stef Dudzig, Gabriella Bekir-Fuente, coxed by Wan Emptage
FC4+ Emily Bourke, Dana Hill, Caley Manzie, Kat Spinnler-Jenkins, coxed by Christine Sullivan

Sunday
MB8+ Pat Cook, Jack Hellerstedt, Jon Roberts, Alex Pupko, Tom McKay, Ben Wardle, Will Golding, Isaac Balemi, coxed by Ally Dejaegher
FC4X+ Gabriella Bekir-Fuente, Marie Bergmann, Caley Manzie, Emily Bourke coxed by Amy Catlin
FB4+ Caley Manzie, Kat Spinnler-Jenkins, Stef Dudzig, Gabriella Bekir-Fuente, coxed by James Merrett
MC4X+ Emil Limansyah, James Merrett, Allan Randall, Dmitri Maksoutov, coxed by Geraldine Goss

Thank yous

Huge thanks to our team of volunteers for making this event possible:
Fiona Morrison for organising accommodation at Lydoun Motel
Christine & Leigh Sullivan, for towing the trailer to and from Rutherglen
Leigh Sullivan for BRO duty on Saturday
Richie Healy for organising food logistics and planning the Saturday BBQ
Pat Cook, Gerry Goss, Will Golding, Jon Roberts & Dennis Beck for cooking up a storm on Saturday night and making sure everything gets cleaned up
Jack Hellerstedt for crisis re-booking the pub, creating the photo album, picking up BBQ food and double checking boats were tied down properly
Kim Begelhole for the boatloading plan
All members who coxed, helped to get boats on and off water, boatloaded/unloaded and generally helped out over the weekend. Your assistance is really appreciated!

Link to album

2022 Club races and Christmas lunch

We had a big day on Sunday 11th December with club races, boat naming and the club Christmas lunch. Thankfully the weather was glorious for most of the day, only turning to showers at the very end.

Club races

3 Richmond eights were ready and keen for the splash and dash 300m course and the competition was fierce.
Ambush – coxed by Jack: Cynthia, James, Millie, Alex, Rohan, Pat, Allan, Tim E
D. Begg – coxed by Kathy: Caley, Keith, Pavel, Mikey G, Tom, Kim, Sep, John B
Minerva – coxed by Will: Rebecca, Emily B, Lily, Anthea, Andrew, Ben, Dennis and Justin, who also ended up winners! Well done to all participants.

Boat naming

Richmond RC is very lucky to have acquired a beautiful Hudson 8, graciously donated by the Sullivan family and sponsored by Leemark. Heartfelt thank you to Chris and Leigh Sullivan for their incredibly generous gift, which will no doubt be appreciated for many years to come.
The boat naming celebration was setup at the front of the club and the 8 has been christened the “Minerva”, roman goddess of wisdom and counterpart to the Greek deity Athena. She was the goddess of justice, strategic war and victory, who emerged fully formed and armoured from the head of her father Jupiter. More importantly, Minerva is also the name of one of Richmond RC’s very first boats in the 1863 original fleet. An apt name and a lovely throwback to the club’s origins.

Christine Sullivan and some exploding bubbles on the Minerva

Christmas lunch

All our squads came together to decorate the hall & make sure we were in full festive spirit for the afternoon. The food was delicious, crackers popping with terrible jokes enjoyed by all, along with spectacularly Christmassy music. But the best part as always was the company.

Thank yous

Helen Pearce – Event organisation, marketing & desserts
Christine Sullivan – Club race logistics & crews
Will Golding, Jack Hellerstedt & Kathy Macrow – Coxing for club races
Amy Catlin – Christmas lunch catering
Diana Vernon – Serving food
Anthea Amos, Kathy Macrow, Dennis Beck, Amy Catlin, Lily Innes-Irons, Kim Begelhole & Ally Dejaegher – Bar service
James Merrett & Jack Hellerstedt – Clean-up & dishes
All Women & Men’s squad on the day – Christmas decorations and set-up

2022 Indoor rowing championships AIRC

In a foreshadowing of the state of the head race season, it was a welcome return to erging in-person at the shed for AIRCs this year.

Richmond posted up 35 entries from 18 athletes from age brackets ranging from 19-29 up to 75-79.

first place
Helen Pearce, 40-49W, 500m, 1:30.8
Kate Dyball, 30-39WL, 500m, 1:38.9
Alex Silber, 75-79M, 500m, 1:40.9
Helen Pearce, 40-49W, 2000m, 6:54.7
Kate Dyball, 30-39WL, 2000m, 7:09.1
Helen Pearce, 40-49W, 1000m, 3:20.1
Kate Dyball, 30-39WL, 1000m, 3:30.4
Lily Innes-Irons, 19-29W, 1000m, 3:31.7
Alex Silber, 75-79M, 1000m, 3:44.8
Anthea Amos, 65-69W, 1000m, 4:31.8

second place
Geraldine Goss, 60-64W, 500m, 1:46.9
RRC relay, 19-39W, 2000m, 6:37.4
Ben Wardle, 19-29M, 2000m, 6:32.4
Jack Hellerstedt, 30-39ML, 2000m, 7:03.5
Kirsty Fergie, 30-39W, 2000m, 7:31.1
Kirsty Fergie, 30-39W, 1000m, 3:36.4
Geraldine Goss, 60-64W, 1000m, 3:51.7

Third place
Pavel Oborin, 30-39ML, 2000m, 7:32.8
Alex Pupko, 19-29M, 1000m, 3:06.9
Jack Hellerstedt, 30-39ML, 1000m, 3:25.1
Caley Manzie, 19-29W, 1000m, 3:36.4
Philip Munson, 65-69M, 1000m, 3:39.2

With a total of 316 points amassed, RRC took third overall in club standings behind Gippsland Grammar (353) and Sunshine Coast Indoor Rowing Club (348).

Big thanks to Helen for being the mastermind of the event, and hostess extraordinaire while sweeping her events, Will for entries & IT architecture, and Ally, Richie, Emily, Sean, Alex, for running the ergos throughout the day.

link to album





8/22 club races



The sun was out for some short notice club races Sunday August 28th.

Lily, Alex K, Rosie, Caley, Andrew, Dimitri (FIRST TIME IN A SWEEP BOAT- well done), Cynthia, Dennis, Will, Pat, Ben, Isaac, Pavel, Alex, John C, Gerry, with coxes Derek and Kat.

Starter was Helen, finish line manned by Diana and Chelsea.

Lily organised the bar AND manned the BBQ with Alex K.

Thanks to Christine, Leigh, George and Barry for help at the bar.

album link

2022 RRC AGM – Saturday 30 July

Richmond Rowing Club’s Annual General Meeting will be held on the morning of Saturday 30th July. The meeting is currently planned to start at 1130am, following the club races planned for 10am. There will be a club bbq following the close of the meeting.

At the AGM all Committee members stand down and positions are available for club members to stand for election to the RRC Committee for the coming year. Generally the incoming Committee is a blend of new and experienced members.

To present yourself for election, you are required to have been a member of the club for more than 2 years and be willing to help out with the club’s organisation. If you are interested, feel free to chat to any of the current Committee members to get some more background information. The Committee positions are:

President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary
Head of Rowing
Captain of Boats
Fundraising Coordinator
Facilities Coordinator
Ordinary Member (two ordinary member positions are available which assist with a number of areas)

During the AGM, outgoing Committee members will briefly go through some of the highlights of the year, as well as a summary of the club’s financial situation and the main achievements compared to the goals we set out last year. This usually takes less than an hour and we warmly invite all members of the club to attend.

The meeting will be available in a hybrid format, with a link to follow for those who wish to participate but are unable to make it to the club.

If you wish to present yourself for election, please complete a nomination form (available here) and submit it to the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the meeting (by COB 15th July). If 3 signatures on a pdf is logistically difficult, the Secretary is happy to accept emails from the proposer, seconder, and nominee stating their support of the application.

2022 Presentation Night

On Saturday 18 June we celebrated the ’21/’22 season, with the following awardees:

Derek, Millie, Chelsea, John & Jack with their club race glasses

Club race winners:
Jack H, Keith W, John C, Chelsea C, Anthea A, Mikey G, Kerrin H, Millie C, Alex P, coxed by Derek B

Mal Scott Male club rower of the year:
Ben Wardle

Male Masters rower of the year:
Phillip Munson

Male Masters composite rower of the year:
Ray Dennis

John Sawyer Female club rower of the year:
Kate Dyball

Female masters rower of the year:
Michelle Joy

Eye of the Tiger:
John Carey

Captain’s Award:
Helen Pearce & Kirsty Fergie

Don Edwards Coxswain of the year:
Derek Begg

The President’s Award:
Sue-Virginia O’Hanlon

Special thanks to Amy Catlin for organising the evening, helpers Kirsty Fergie and Sarah Hardy and to our bar manager Lily Innes- Irons and all the helpers on the bar. Set up and clean up was done by Amy and Gerry with some helpers on the night.

2021 Christmas Lunch & Club Races

It was a perfect sunny day on the 12th for our club races followed by Christmas lunch. After a morning training session our Head of Rowing, Christine, published the crews for club races and it was game on! Four crews eight fought out the heats, followed by a final. Afterwards members and friends dined in the club decorated with the famous black and yellow Christmas tree…followed by drinks on our fabulous deck in the sunshine.

the winning crew(s)


The winning crew of the day:
cox: Derek
Keith
John C
Michael G
Alex P
Jack H
Millie
Anthea
Kerrin/ Chelsea

Big thanks to Stu & Alex for running the races from the bank! And Amy for organising lunch afterwards, as well as the bar staff volunteering from Karen, Christine, Kathy, John C, and Barry!