A very different Presentation Night was held for the 2019/20 season. Around 60 of us gathered via Zoom to relive some of the statistics from the year along with saying thank you to our coaches and volunteers following what has been an unusual year.
We celebrated our Male and Female rowers of the year. These prestigious awards are determined through participation and success at regattas, club races and club time trials. The winners on the evening were:
- Mal Scott Award – Male Club Rower of the Year – Dario Sportelli
- John Sawyer – Female Club Rower of the Year – Kirsty Fergie
Due to the early end to the season no Masters awards were presented this year.
The Don Edwards, Cox of the year award was presented to Derek Begg.
The President’s Award was presented to Stefanie Dudczig, reflecting her dedication to Richmond Rowing Club. Stef is a great contributor to the club, acting as our New Member coordinator, communicating with and welcoming new members to the club. Stef volunteers whenever she can, regularly coxing our crews, this year she also completed her Level 1 BRO accreditation Stef also actively competed for Richmond through the year.
The Hendley Family Mixed Quad Time Trial was presented by Rod Hendley to Michelle Joy, Dennis Beck, Red Skelton, Geraldine Goss and Derek Begg (coxswain).
The Keith Millar male coxed four Round the Island time trial was won by Alan Randall, Jon Roberts, Michael Gehling, Dennis Beck and Derek Begg (coxswain).
The Keith Millar female coxed four Round the Island time trial was won by Michelle Joy, Kate Dyball, Karen Doggett, Geraldine Goss and Ainsley Raggatt (coxswain).
The Jim Barton Males Tub Single time trial was won by Dennis Beck and the Jim Barton Female Tub Single time trial was won by Kirsty Fergie.
A number of other awards were presented on the night including:
- Box Biting Champion – Keith Wong
- Captains Award – The Trailer Drivers
- Eye of the Tiger Award – Gypsy and Lily
- Best and Furriest – Amy Catlin
- Tough Tiger – Dennis Beck
We also celebrated our Victorian State Championship winners in 2020, pictures of these crews will be displayed in the club. The crews were:
- Female A Grade double: Kate Dyball and Michelle Joy
- Male B Grade single: Dario Sportelli
Thank you to all those who contributed to such a good night including Tim Evans our MC for the evening and Kim Begelhole for sharing videos from the season.