Club Races Archives - Richmond Rowing Club

January 10, 2023January 9, 2023

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

December 17, 2019

End of Year Regatta Recap and New Boats Named

It’s been a busy few months of regattas culminating with Melbourne Head, Head of the Yarra and Carrum Regatta just last weekend.
Congratulations to the 4 crews who represented Richmond at Head of the Yarra, a mixed masters crew, one female D grade crew and two male D grade crews. There were good performances by all following a large amount of training in the run up.
We made the trip to Carrum, for the Carrum regatta last Saturday for the final regatta of the year. Richmond was well represented at the regatta which saw a large amount of elite and school crews competing. A strong contingent competed in every category from Open to D Grade with crews in all boat classes except eights.
Competitive performances on the day saw wins for:

Dario Sportelli in the C-Single,
Lachlan Stewart, Richard Healy, Tom Brooks, Pavel Oborin coxed by Ainsley Raggatt in the D Grade Four
Kirstie Fergy in the D-Single
Amy Catlin and Lily Innes-Irons in the C-Pair
Dario and Ainsley in a composite mixed double
Thomas Brooks, Richard Healy, Lachlan Stewart, Pavel Oborin in the D Grade Quad
Kirsty Fergie, Aline Dejaegher, Jon Roberts, Allan Randall coxed by Rosie Dickson-Hoyle in the mixed quad

A day after Carrum we held our final club races for the year. Three eights took to the water to fight it out. Clearly the starter was not loud enough for one crew, with “attention” being the new “go”. Congratulations to the crew of Derek Begg (cox), Michael Gehling, Kim Begelhole, Jingyi (Alex) Huang, William Golding, Kathryn Spinnler-Jenkins, Lily Innes-Irons, Emily James and Red Skelton who took out the win.

We then gathered to name our three newest boats. Firstly, a double named Morpheus by Ally Dejaegher as part of our recent raffle to name a boat at Melbourne head.

Then Yass Queen, a new mid weight single named by Dana Hill, also as part of our recent naming raffle.

And finally the Riverboat Jasper, a single kindly donated by captain Barry Campbell.

Following the smashing of bottles we retreated to the club for our annual Christmas lunch to celebrate the year gone. We also wished Kathy Macrow a happy 60th birthday on the day!!!

Happy Christmas and don’t forget your New Years Eve party tickets!!!

November 27, 2019

Tickets for Christmas Lunch Now on Sale

It’s time to get festive and celebrate at the club. We will be holding our annual RRC Christmas club races followed by lunch on Sunday, 15th of December.
Club races start from 9.30am (sign up on sportsnoticeboard) and lunch from 12.30pm.
Check out the Facebook event and buy your tickets at https://www.trybooking.com/BGWXK. $30 per adult, $20 per child.
Ticket sales close Wednesday 4 December for catering purposes.

July 28, 2019

2019 AGM and our most recent boat naming

The Richmond Rowing Club Annual General Meeting was held at the club on Saturday 27^th July 2019. Thank you to all Committee members for their significant contributions through the year. A brief summary of the year’s activities is provided below; the full Annual Report including all Committee member reports is attached RRC Annual Report 2018/19
Membership Growth – Following a 14% increase in members last year, our financial member numbers grew by a further 13% to 161 (from 142 last year).
Member number growth continues through our Learn to Row program transitioning into our Development squad. As a result we have invested in increased coaching for this group of new members to continue to increase their skill levels as they start to compete at regattas and look to progress into other squads. Whilst we will continue to focus on Learn to Row courses in the coming year we will focus them on the summer months to maximise numbers and retention so the Development Squad continues to have a critical mass.
Member Engagement – Our events continue to bring the club together socially while generating funds for clubs fleet expansion. We held 6 major events, a number or smaller events and our training camp during the year from casual BBQ’s to Quiz Night, Presentation Night, New Year’s Eve. Thank you to Christine Sullivan for leading the Fundraising role with support from many of our members, a special thank you to all of the members that have helped out during the year.
The Committee has also turned their mind to our environmental impact as a club, implementing recycling bins in the club, facilitating the use of rain water for boat washing and supporting the Yarra River keepers Association as part of their projects to tidy the Yarra.
Demonstrate Club Success on the Water – In 2018/19 we expanded the number of paid coaching resources to support our volunteer coaches and we will continue this in the coming year.
It has been great to see excellent participation and regatta results throughout the year, lots of successes and members competing in their first regattas. In particular the results at the State Championships, where we picked up three golds including Michelle Joy and Kate Dyball in the Women’s A Grade Double.
Governance and Finance – Our venue continues to generate significant income through day and evening rentals resulting in a strong financial position.
We have continued to invest in the rowing program, but we must also continue to invest in our facilities to generate this revenue. Surplus funds generated are split between fleet and facility, with funds prudently reserved for significant capital works expected on the building in coming years. During the year the club invested in re-racking the rear middle section of the shed to increase boat capacity, at the same time we renegotiated the MLC sublease to progressively take back part of the third bay for our own use as the fleet expands.
We again invested heavily in our fleet, christening three new Sykes boats, a coxless quad and men’s and women’s double/pairs, and a second hand Wintech mid-weight single. We also expanded the number of oars and added a further 4 ergos to the gym.
In the coming year we have committed to further expand the fleet, replacing the Jennifer Campbell with a 5 year old Sykes 8+, buying a second-hand Sykes double and a new mid-weight Wintech single.
A major part of the AGM is to elect a new Committee and saying farewell to any departing members from the Committee.
Stefanie Dudczig and Yash Vegi have been the 2 ordinary members as part of the Committee over the last year. Stef has provided great assistance to the Secretary with the new member process and Yash has worked closely with Tim in relation to the Learn to Row organisation. Both of them will continue to assist with these areas in non-Committee roles. Thank you to both of you for your contribution to the Committee.
The Committee for the 2019-20 season (the 157^th RRC Committee) consists of:
President – Jon Roberts
Vice-President – Aline Dejaeger
Secretary – John Carey
Treasurer – Kathy Macrow
Captain of Boats – Barry Campbell
Head of Rowing – Tim Evans
Facilities Coordinator – Lucy Crunden
Fundraising Coordinator – Christine Sullivan
Two ordinary members – Kim Begelhole and Amy Katlin
Congratulations and welcome to our newest Committee members, John Carey and Amy Catlin.
At the conclusion of the AGM and as part of our fleet renewal program we proceeded downstairs to name our newest fleet addition, a Sykes Women’s Eight. We were very pleased to be able to name this boat after one of our life members who continues to row successfully today, Ray Dennis.

Ray has been a member of the club since 1957 and continues to wear the Richmond zootie, including picking three Gold medals in the 2019 Australian Masters Regatta.

We then proceeded to take to the water for some fun with club races. We ran a Head Season format, with time trials from the Island to the Club. Congratulations to all those who took part and the winning 8.
Thank you to everyone who helped with the BBQ and bar afterwards.

July 17, 2019

AGM's and Boat Namings!!

We are continuing our fleet renewal program and will be naming our new Women’s Eight after the RRC AGM which starts at 10am on Saturday, 27 July. We look forward to seeing as many members present as possible, the running order for the day will be:
10am – AGM
10.30am – Boat naming
11am – club races
12 onwards – BBQ and bar
As part of our fleet renewal program to make space for newer boats we donated one of our older single sculls to the Bendigo Rowing Club last year. We have received many thanks for Bendigo for this donation and they have in turn spent time refurbishing the boat.
I was pleased to receive a letter from the Bendigo Rowing Club, thanking us for this donation and also letting me know that they intend to name the boat after our current Head of Rowing Tim Evans.
As most of you will know Tim has a deep connection with both clubs, having been introduced to rowing in Bendigo by one of their life members Denis Nihill. Tim has also rowed successfully for Richmond for a number of years, served on our Committee in multiple roles and is a Life Member of Richmond Rowing Club.
The Tim Evans will be formally named following the BRC AGM to be held at 11am, Sunday 28 July at Lake Weeroona, Bendigo. Tim will be present and I will also attend to represent the club. The Bendigo Rowing Club has also invited any members of Richmond Rowing Club who would like to attend. Please let me know and I will pass on the details.
In their correspondence with me the Bendigo Rowing Club has also recognised our participation in the annual Bendigo Sprint Regatta and they look forward to seeing us this year again. Highlighting the number of former Bendigo rowers who have continued their rowing on relocation to Melbourne by joining our club, they also hope that the naming of the boat will further strengthen the connection that exists between our clubs.
Congratulations to Tim on this honour from his hometown club!!

April 21, 2019

Club races and our latest boat naming

Club Races
Fast and furious – with lots of splash – is how four eights competed in Sunday’s Club Races. Around 20% of the competitors were in their first club races and it was great to see our DS members joining in and experiencing some racing. After the heats, crews competed in an A Final and B Final.
The winning team of the A Final was Andrew Yuile, John Carey. Alan Randall, Leigh Sullivan, Kim Begelhole, Cristian Udovicich, Imogen Aitken and Kate Riley, coxed by Stef Dudczig.
Our selectors of crews did a pretty good job, but then tried to outfox us with the use of French on the starter’s line! Derek managed to video the finals so if you want to see your form check out the Facebook posts.
BBQ
It was great to see lots of our current Learn to Row group enjoying the BBQ and deck with the rest of the club. It won’t be too long before they’re rowing in the next Club Races!
The Development Squad under the leadership of Sarah Hardy organized a fabulous BBQ. And Sarah even co-opted Matt (hubby) and Bridgette (daughter) to help out on the BBQ while we were all racing. Thanks to the salad providers… Pavel, Alysia, Emma & Matt, Amy and Sarah Hardy. Sarah even provided homemade vege/vegan burgers – yummy! The DS (including Oliver & Mikey G) also did a great job setting up the tables and cleaning up afterwards and photographing the day.
Bar server thanks go to Ally, Kathy, Dennis, Gypsy, John C, Amy and Kim B. And thanks to Gypsy for coordinating the bar.
Boat Naming
We were pleased to name the latest acquisition to our fleet – a secondhand midweight single. (It’s a Wintech 2016 Club Trainer 75-85kg ACW honeycomb kevlar/fiberglass – for those interested in the technical details).

The committee has discussed over the past year the possibility of acknowledging and honoring the traditional owners of land on which our boathouse stands and the waterways on which we row.
What better way than naming a boat which is regularly in view of our members and other river users as well as to visitors to Melbourne.
The Boonwurrung elders have given us permission to use the word “Gurrong” – which means canoe in Boonwurrung language – on this, our newest fleet acquisition.
Kathy Macrow

July 28, 2018

Further fleet investment announced at the 2018 AGM

The Richmond Rowing Club Annual General Meeting was held at the club on Saturday 28^th July 2017. It was an opportunity for club members to come together, hear from the Committee about the clubs operations over the past year. It was great to see so many members present on the day.
Thank you to all Committee members for their significant contributions through the year. A brief summary of the year’s activities is provided below; the full Annual Report including all Committee member reports is attached RRC Annual Report 2017/18
Membership Growth – During the year, we increased the number of our financial members from 125 to 142 at 31 May 2018, a 14% increase. This achievement was through a combination of attracting new members and retaining existing members.
In particular, we increased the number of Learn to Row courses to four and scheduled three courses on summer evenings resulting in increased retention of Learn to Row participants. Our Development Squad is maintaining good numbers with dedicated coaching focused on improving their skill levels. We plan to continue this in 2018/19, continuing our Learn to Row program and transitioning Development Squad rowers into the competitive and social rowing squads.
Demonstrate Club Success on the Water – As a major step forward for the club, we engaged our first paid head coach resulting in focused training programs, squad structure, selection criteria and focused coaching. This has contributed to some excellent regatta performances through the year. Although Basil has returned to the UK, we have appointed Matt Wilson as our Head Coach for the coming year – he will be starting with us in early August.
Member Engagement – The club runs a number of events to bring club members together, from our Training Camp and regular circuit sessions, to social events like Quiz Night and New Years Eve. In 2017/18 we held 6 successful major events at the club and a number of smaller events.
The Committee plans to continue this level of events in the current year. This takes a significant effort to arrange and we are always looking for volunteers to assist. Our club would not be able to operate without all of our members who volunteer their time in so many ways. As we look towards the coming year, we will be asking for more help and creating more volunteer roles to take some of the pressure of the usual suspects. If you have a special skill or would like to help regularly, please reach out to the Committee as we would love your support.
Governance and Finance – The clubs finances remain strong, underpinned by income from hiring our amazing venue. This allows us to invest in the rowing program, but we must also continue to invest in our facilities, to generate this revenue. This year we refurbished the bar and kitchen to bringing it up to the standard of the rest of the club.
During the year, we also invested heavily in our fleet and equipment, christening both a men’s and women’s brand new top of the line Sykes quad/four and investing significantly in our refurbished gym. We were also able to purchase a new set of oars for the men’s eight and pair, whilst benefiting from a VicHealth Active Club Grant for a set of sculling oars.
In addition, the Committee is pleased to announce we have ordered 3 more brand new boats to improve our fleet with a men’s and women’s double/pair and a coxless quad for our most competitive crews. These additions will also allow other crews greater access to better quality boats as we replace our oldest boats in our fleet.
A major part of the AGM is to elect a new Committee and saying farewell to any departing members from the Committee.
Geraldine Goss, our outgoing Vice-President has been a member of the Committee for four years, the last three years as Vice-President and Fundraising Coordinator before that. During this time, she has supported two different Presidents and numerous Committee members. She has been active within the Fleet subcommittee and in considering Richmond’s licensing requirements. Whilst at the same time she has been incredibly successful as a rower. Thank you for all your assistance.
Laurent Demay steps down from the position of ordinary member having contributed strongly over the past year with new member communications and fundraising activities.
The new committee for the 2018-19 season consists of:
President – Jon Roberts
Vice-President – Aline Dejaeger
Secretary – Kim Begelhole
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, Stefanie Dudczig
Congratulations and welcome to our newest Committee members, Kim Belgelhole and Stefanie Dudczig.
Following the conclusion of the AGM we took to the water for some fun with club races. With a change in formal to get us ready for Head Season, the races were a time trial format from the Island to the Club. Congratulations to all those who took part.
Thank you to everyone who helped with the bbq and bar afterwards, especially Gypsy, John and Laurent for preparing the food and Karin and Dennis for looking after the BBQ.