It’s time to think ahead to next season so we have our annual planning day this Saturday, 20th June from 10am – 2.30pm (approx) at the Boathouse.
Thank you to all those people who completed the feedback survey which is an essential input into our planning. If you have ideas on what we can doing either on or off water next year or have opinions about how things can be improved, please come along to the planning day, it is open to all members.
The agenda for the planning day will look something like this:[wpfilebase tag=fileurl path=’Agenda Planning Day 20 June 2015.doc’ linktext=’Agenda Planning Day 2…’ /]
We are always a little flexible to allow for where the discussion takes us on the day. However, the outcome of the day will be that we have some initial plans and ideas of key areas where we want to change or improve things next year.
Given the agenda, if you are coming, please think about what you would like the club’s goals to be next year.
These could be things like membership growth, increasing numbers of placing crews at states/hoty, increasing RRC competitiveness at certain grades, fundraising income, improved place in RV premiership ladder, more crews racing in season etc etc etc. As you think about it you may realise that some things are really secondary goals that feed in to a higher level goal. It is easy to come up with loads of goals, if you had to pick just one or two goals for the club as a whole for next year, what would they be?
Some other information that may be useful is a summary of the member feedback from the survey which you can find here: [wpfilebase tag=fileurl path=’End of Year Survey 2014-15.doc’ linktext=’End Of Year Survey 20…’ /]
and the draft RV regatta calendar for next year which you can find here: [wpfilebase tag=fileurl path=’2015-16 Competition Calendar – Draft – 18Jun15.xls’ linktext=’2015-16 Competition C…’ /]
We look forward to seeing everyone who can make it on Saturday.
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.
Venue hire setting up tonight (Wednesday)
For those heading down to the club tonight, please be aware that the caterers are setting up the tables etc this afternoon for the function tomorrow morning as it will be an early start. Please do not use or move any of the set out furniture.
Please also note that because Pilates will be in the gym area tomorrow morning, all the gym equipment has been moved to the side of the gym area. If you are using an ergo or other equipment tonight, please put it back at the side again so the pilates group does not have to do lots of clearing away before they start their class.
Thank you for your assistance in these matters.
Easter Roadtrip
For those veteran RRC members Easter weekend has always meant just one thing – Mildura road trip!
Well it’s been many years since RRC made the long trip up the Calder freeway to partake in the Mildura and Wentworth regattas but this year we did. Both the Murray and Darling rivers provided beautiful surrounds and calm waters for rowing (and swimming, as Erin can vouch for completing her swim test at the conclusion of day 1). The rest of us settled for a swim in the motel pool or dip in the spa before a refreshing beverage at the Mildura brewery.
We may have been few in numbers for the trip but I think we all agreed that the weekend was a great success. The rowing was of a great standard and once that toggle was released at the start there was no letup despite the almost 90 degree turn in the Henley on the Murray course or the bridge crossing the River Darling on Sunday. All those training sessions on the Yarra have taught us well that a bridge is just a marker to push off no matter what river you find yourself on.
Bec roared on the mixed eight and some quads while the Lucy Crunden (boat not person) went up and down the river countless times with all combinations of doubles crews pushing for the line.
The highlight for many had to be Michael Gehling’s Jesus moment though when preparing to race the single. Unfortunately for Michael but to the amusement of onlookers it turns out he can not walk on water 😉
The RV officials joined in the fun spirit of the weekend and coordinated a new event for the conclusion of each days racing – the pot luck eight. The aim of the event was to get everyone who wanted another row to put their name forward and get representatives from every club out on the water in real eclectic crews covering both sexes and all ages. The races pitched RRC vs RRC aswell as Mildura, Wentworth, Essendon, Nagambie, Rutherglen and Corio Bay. It really was a great fun event with fast and furious eights sprinting down the course in the afternoon sun. There was also some bling to be collected at the end for the lucky ones like Shern Timmins from RRC who claimed victory on both days.
Thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible especially Kathy Macrow and Barry Campbell for organising and to all those involved at the two regatta venues who showed great hospitality and in my humble opinion served the best egg and bacon sandwich I’ve ever had at a regatta. What more could one ask for?
Farewell Bob Stanley
We received the sad news this morning that Bob Stanley passed away in the night. Bob was a long time Life Member of Richmond and was President for a number of years. He has always been an active member of the club, still coming down to train on Sunday mornings with Rod Stewart until recently.
I will always remember Bob’s ready smile and happy sparkle in his eyes, always welcoming and always ready to lend a hand.
Our thoughts are with Ivy, Bob’s wife, and we have organised flowers on behalf of RRC members.
Conference on Thursday 5th February
If you are around the boathouse this Thursday please be aware that the Boathouse is being used for a conference. The caterers will be at the boathouse setting up from 7am, conference attendees will arrive at 9am.
Please help make this event successful by keeping to the changeroom and gym areas of the boathouse while the caterers set up and the conference is on.
Please remember to use the back stairs for access, even if the front door and stairway are open to allow the caterers to set up and for guests to arrive.
Thanks for your help. We would like to ensure this first conference is a success as we would like to aim to host more conferences during the year as these are hires that use the boathouse mostly when it is not being used and are also hires with no alcohol served which is beneficial for our Lease arrangements.
REMINDER RRC Christmas Party Thursday 6pm
A reminder to those who haven’t purchased their RRC Christmas party tickets …..You can still come to the party ….. but remember the ticket cost is now $30. Book your tickets using the link below.
Come in your tennis whites and celebrate in our new clubhouse and on our new deck Thursday 18th December, 6pm.
RRC Christmas Party
For more details, check out the earlier blog post or Facebook.
Gas works on Tuesday 2 December
There will be some remedial gas works at the boathouse on Tuesday 2 December so you may see workmen around.
The gas will be turned
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off for a short time while the pipes are reconnected at the end of the works.
Boathouse Warming Purchases
Thank you to everyone who purchased items on the Boathouse Warming Gift List. We are busy organising the purchase of these items and you will find that the crockery and serving bowls and platters are already at the boathouse (and have been used for recent club events!).
RRC has received a generous donation of a coffee machine from Thalia (thanks Thalia!) and we hope that you are enjoying coffee on the terrace after Sunday morning training. For those that made a donation to purchase a coffee machine, we would like to redirect your donation to another item on the list as not all items were purchased by members. Be assured that your donation will still go towards an item that was on the list that helps set up the boathouse for your use.
The sound system for the gym was fully funded by members and will be purchased in the next few weeks to help make those ergos more enjoyable!
Venue Hires
A quick update on venue hires as we are starting to get lots of bookings.
We have appointed 5 caterers to use the RRC Boathouse as a venue for bookings. You can see information relating to these on the Venues page of the website. These caterers manage all aspects of a venue hire for us, giving us a professional image.
All caterers have access to the boathouse for the purpose of showing potential clients the venue and also for setting up and holding functions. Mainly clients will visit during the day when most rowers are not around, but if you do see people who are clearly looking at the boathouse as a venue, please just let them continue – the caterers know everything they need to in order to sell the venue.
We are putting all our bookings onto the calendar on the blog so that you know when the boathouse will be booked. Venue hires are a major fundraiser for us – potentially worth a new boat a year – so please be considerate when a venue hire is in progress.
During a venue hire:
– You can still access the changerooms and gym as normal via the back stairs.
– You can open the wall between the gym and classroom if the classroom is not being used for the function but please ensure that all the blinds in the classroom are down.
– Please keep the changeroom, gym and internal boat bay doors shut to ensure security of your and the club’s possessions.
Caterers will have access to set up for a function from 2 hours before the start time. Once they start setting up, please do not enter function areas.
Caterers will close up after a function. However, rowers should close up the boat bays as usual and leave via the rear doors.
Thanks for you help in making the most of our fundraising opportunity from venue hires.