The Australian Masters Championships which end the season were this year held in the beautiful albeit somewhat cold and windy state of Tasmania. A small contingent of Richmond rowers made the trip across Bass Strait to take on the best masters rowers from around the country at Lake Barrington from the 10th-13th May.
The first morning brought with it plenty of rain but going forward the sun would shine and we would be treated to a stunning location and a memorable few days to experience the great spirit and competitive nature of a national masters championship. Thanks to Barry, our Tasmanian captain, pulling in a few favours we were able to borrow boats from some local clubs and RRC was represented in more than 20 different events.
There was coxing success for Dennis Henry on Day 1 picking up a gold with the Mixed Masters E4+ and Ray Dennis started his medal haul with a win in the Mens Masters I4-. Over the four day event Ray Dennis would go on to collect a total of 7 gold medals in a variety of eights, fours, pairs and one little double. With his highlight being a grudge match in the J-L pair (average age of crew >80) in which he and Derrick Wilson from Banks came out of victorious.
The Women’s Masters A four and quad were desperately disappointed to have lost their resident Tasmanian Zoe Maxwell from the crew a few weeks out from the championships to pneumonia but were delighted to welcome Sarah Houghton into the crew and with the experience of masters states and a couple of weeks of training behind them there was no stopping them! Victory in the heat helped grow confidence and an awesome race leading from start to finish in the final rewarded Michelle Joy, Karen Doggett, Kate Dyball and Sarah Houghton with a gold medal and the extra bonus of the fastest club crew with the majority of our competitors being made up of composite crews formed from members across multiple clubs. Despite headwinds that threatened to prevent anyone rowing down the course on Saturday they backed up the quad win with a victory in the coxed four as well again picking up the club crew medal joined by cox Christine Sullivan.
Christine continued the Richmond medal success combining with Leigh Sullivan, Lindsey Brown and Michael Heaton-Harris (Corio Bay) to pick up a bronze medal in the Mixed Masters C Quad. Further doubles, fours and eights would compete across the weekend in some great races many of which making finals but unfortunately missing out on more medals.
With just 9 RRC rowers taking part we punched well above our weight scoring 68 points in the club championship placing us 24th out of 88 clubs for the whole competition, but even putting the rowing aside the food and the wine on offer in Tasmania made the trip a huge success. Thanks to everyone who helped out by organising entries and boats, coxing and coaching through training sessions and generally being an awesome support crew through the power of social media. The RRC Masters Tigers had a great end to the season.
Karen Doggett
RRC adopts Rowing Victoria’s Child Safe Policy
On 1st January 2017, The Child Safe Standards were made law. The Standards now apply to all sporting organizations that operate and provide sporting services to children within Victoria.
It is important we understand our obligations to be a child safe club, specifically given our ongoing relationship with MLC, our tenant. RRC will not tolerate abuse of any sort whether that is within the club itself or in the boathouse or at rowing events. As a result the Committee has adopted Rowing Victoria’s Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Code of Conduct and would like to take this opportunity to communicate it to the members.
Rowing Victoria Child Safe Policy
Rowing Victoria Child Safe Code of Conduct
The aim of Rowing Victoria Child Safe Policy and the Code of Conduct is to protect children and reduce any opportunities for abuse or harm to occur, and if allegations are raised in relation to child abuse, to ensure that the allegations are properly addressed.
All Richmond Rowing Club Members are responsible for promoting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people by adhering to the RRC Code of Conduct, the RV Child Safe Policy and the RV Child Safe Code of Conduct.
Given the Rowing Victoria requirement for all Boat Race Officials (BRO’s) to have current Working with Children Check certificates we also encourage all our members to obtain Working with Children Checks. We are required to provide a BRO for every regatta we attend as a club, so we cannot ignore this requirement. They are available free at the following website, once complete please provide the details to our Secretary ([email protected]) for including on our membership database.
http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/
We have also considered and implemented Rowing Victoria’s Child Safe Policy (Standards) as follows:
Standard 1: Strategies to embed an organizational culture of child safety, especially through, but not limited to, effective leadership arrangements – The RRC Committee has adopted Rowing Victoria’s Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Code of Conduct. We encourage our coaches to obtain Working with Children Checks. In the situation where we have active under 18 members we require there to be a family member or coach with a Working with Children Check present at all times.
Standard 2: A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety – RRC has adopted the RV Child Safe Policy
Standard 3: A code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children – RRC’s Code of Conduct and the RV Child Safe Code of Conduct establishes this expectation.
Standard 4: Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel – We encourage our coaches to obtain Working with Children Checks. In the situation where we have active under 18 members we require there to be a family member or coach with a Working with Children Check present at all times
Standard 5: Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse – RRC has adopted the RV Child Safe Policy which addressed this requirement
Standard 6: Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse – RRC encourages our coaches to obtain Working with Children Checks. In the situation where we have active under 18 members we require there to be a family member or coach with a Working with Children Check present at all times.
Standard 7: Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children – We have adopted the RV Child Safety Policy. We have also partnered with MLC as our tenant, who promote participation in rowing to children.
Victorian Masters State Championships 2018
written by Stefanie Dudczig
SATURDAY
It was a sunny 12.3 degree celsius Saturday morning (it felt more like 6.2) when we arrived at Lake Nagambie for this years Rowing Victoria State Masters Championships. The weather was actually very kind to us with lots of sunshine and warmer temperatures later on in the day.
The racing started off with the Mixed Masters A-B coxed Four consisting of Morgan, Lindsey, Allan and John C., coxed by Derek. They crossed the finish line ahead of Powerhouse by 4 seconds, winning the first (and unfortunately only) Gold Medal for Richmond.
A mentionable race, but no medal involved, was the Male Masters C Eight against Cardinals. A club I’ve never heard of before but according to Kim they had crew members that rowed at the 1980, 1989 and 1991 National Championships in the Men’s Youth Four and Youth Eight.
The boys of our Eight (Dennis, Jon R., Allan, John C., Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob, coxed by me) did well and gave everything, but were unfortunately no match for them. Later we found out that the Cardinal Crew were only training for 14 months!!!!! prior to this event. We had 14 minutes to the start line and a borrowed boat with more spiders than people in it.
Another medal for Richmond came from the crew of Denis, Phil, Guy and Leigh, coxed by Christine in the Male Masters E coxed Four. They secured themselves a Bronze medal beating Bairnsdale and Melbourne Argonauts Composite crews.
More strong performances of Richmond crews included:
-
Christine, Morgan, Guy, Leigh coxed by Denis in the Mixed C Four
-
the Female Masters Club Eight with Yash, Jodie, Dana, Sarah, Christine, Morgan, Lindsey, Cat (Note: she just came to Nagambie for this race! Thumbs up!) and Derek (cox) trying to make up a 19 second handicap.
-
Male Masters Club Fours: Richmond-1 with Allan, Jon, Dennis, John, me (cox) and Richmond-2 with Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob and coxed by Shern (who also just came up for this race…. and the Tahbilk winery).
-
Karen and Michelle making it to the Final in the Female Masters A-B double scull
-
Female Masters A-B coxed Four with Sarah, Dana, Jodie, Yash and Derek (cox)
-
Female Masters Club Quad Scull: Richmond-1 with Michelle, Karen, Kate, Lindsey and Richmond-2 with Sarah, Dana, Jodie, Yash, coxed by Christine.
After a successful race day, Rowing Victoria invited everyone for free drinks to the finish line. They definitely didn’t spare on beers, wine and bubblies. Whilst most drove back to Melbourne for the night, some stayed at the Big4 caravan park in Seymour taking advantage of the walking distance to the Pub and the inflated jumping pillow after 6pm.
SUNDAY
More racing followed on Sunday. It wasn’t cold, it was freezing!!! I finally gave up on squeezing my zootie over 10 layers and decided, that a black jumper with Richmond on the back was more appropriate than a bright orange jacked one of the other coxes were wearing. The sun was shining again, but this time with a bad cross wind. This made attaching the stern to the boatholders at the startline and staying in a straight line for the start quite difficult. Thanks to all the bow and 2 seat people for their endless tapping and backing.
The day started well with the girls of the Female Masters A-B Quad Scull (Michelle, Karen, Kate and Sarah winning) picking up silver, missing out on gold to the Victorian Nationals team.
The Male Masters A-B coxed Four (Allan, Jon R., Dennis, John C., coxed by me) got Bronze by beating the second boat of the Argonauts, leaving Gold to Power House and Silver to the Argonauts first boat.
Bronze also for the Female Masters Club Four (Michelle, Karen, Kate, Sarah, coxed by Denis H). Their race had one boat on GO (Latrobe University G crew) and 7 crews with a 25 – 30s handicap. Our girls came solid third with only 1 second behind Melbourne University in second and 5 seconds behind Power House in first leaving two Melbourne crews, 2 Latrobe crews and Yarra Yarra behind.
The probably most exciting and nerve-wracking race was the Mixed Masters A-B Eight. Michelle in stoke seat lead Karen, Kate, Sarah, Allan, Jon R., Dennis, John C and myself (cox) to a silver medal. Whilst sitting just slightly behind Melbourne for the first 600m of the race Michelle found the turbo button that made us zoom past them in the last 300m finishing in second place 4 seconds ahead of them. You should have seen their faces… shocked to see the Richmond crew overtaking them. Well done everyone!
A last bling for the day came from the composite crew with Latrobe University. The Mixed Masters F Eight with Leigh, Guy, Phil and Denis won silver beating a Argonauts composite crew by 5 second.
More great performances came from the following crews:
-
Male Masters E quad scull with Leigh, Guy, Denis and Phil
-
Male Masters A-B Eight (Dennis, Jon R., Allan, John C., Tim, Kim, Ray, Rob, coxed by me)
-
Male Masters Club Quad Scull (Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob coxed by Christine)
-
Female Masters A-B pair (Lindsey and Morgan)
-
Male Masters C coxed Four (Allan, Jon R., Tim and Dennis coxed by myself). This boy’s did a fabulous job staying next to Power House of the start. It looked promising until the steam started to run out after 250m…..
Check out all results, crews, handicaps and times here: https://vic.rowingmanager.com/
GENERAL COMMENTS and THANK YOUs
Kim our Richmond cameraman on site, was full in action taking footage of the mens Eight and Men’s four whilst racing. I’m pretty sure that we will see some of the actions shots at our soon upcoming presentation night.
Denis Henry is the man with the most medals won at this Regatta (silver and bronze for coxing, silver and bronze for rowing).
Allan and John C. managed to collect the complete set (one of each: gold, silver and bronze).
Big “Thank you” goes to:
-
Phil, Kim and Christine for volunteering as Boat holders at the start line. Kim unfortunately missed out on this unique job as there were more than enough people in his session.
-
Leigh for pulling the trailer to Nagambie and back
-
Tim and Barry for organizing boats, crews, people and for being there for us.
Ahhh… and I nearly forgot one of the highlights of the whole Regatta: the BBQ food van. OMG! This brisket and pulled pork burgers were AMAZING! Ask John C. for the full tasting experience as he managed to sample everything. And I think we all agreed that the pulled pork loaded potato was the winner of the whole menu. We are looking forward to see them again at future regattas.
Geelong Masters Regatta 2018
April 7th marked the start of the 2018 Masters season. The rowing Gods put on an amazing show of glorious weather.
The racing for Richmond started off with Rob in the single scull. Next up was the Men’s Coxed four competition with two Richmond teams head to head. In the end it was Jon, Dennis, Tim and Allan Coxed by Stef who managed to beat Phil, Denis, Guy and Leigh Coxed by Christine by less than 1 second.
The first medal for the club came when Zoe, Karen, Michelle and Kate Coxed by Derek beat their competition during the Coxed four. Follow up medals for all continued during the doubles races of Zoe and Karen, and Michelle with Kate. The superstar team also claimed gold for their performance in their quad race, overcoming a handicap of 9 seconds to still win by a margin of 14 seconds.
Another valiant effort from Yash, Jodie, Sarah and Dana Coxed by Derek in their quad scull event. However, the quad event on everyone’s agenda to watch was Dana, Shern, myself and Yash Coxed by Stef. After a textbook smooth entry into the boat we were off, managing to secure 2nd position out of a 2 boat race.
Rounding out the competition was our mixed eight boat achieving 3rd containing Rob, Phil, Christine, Sarah, Jodie, Anthea, Guy and Leigh, Coxed by Denis.
Well done to all that competed and thanks to our wonderful coxes, boat towers and riggers.
The next regatta for the season was to be Ballarat the following Saturday the 14th. However, it was all over before we’d loaded 2 boats, the club choosing to withdraw due to the wild weather on Friday night. A fantastic decision seeing as the event was officially cancelled early Saturday morning.
Now on to States at Nagambie!
Amy Catlin (first regatta at Geelong!!!)
Victorian State Championships 2018
The pinnacle of the racing season arrived after weeks of on water training, ergos and circuits. The Victorian State Championships were held on March 3-4 this year on the ever-unpredictable waters of Lake Wendouree.
Squad training for the men’s and women’s crews started early this season, kicking off in earnest in December 2017 with a demanding training program overseen by Richmond’s Head Coach, Basil Amin.
Solid preparation paid dividends for all rowers who competed at the State Championships this year, with impressive individual and crew performances seen on both days of the competition.
The first day of racing saw Michelle Joy secure a convincing win in the D Final of the Open Single Scull event.
The women’s quad scull (Michelle Joy, Karen Doggett, Kate Dyball, Zoe Maxwell, coxed by Derek Begg) finished off their States campaign on a high. Keen to push the boundaries this year, the crew began their weekend of racing with a strong performance in the Open Coxless Quad Scull event. (The post race debrief with Basil about human stretching techniques to match the heights of the 6 ft. plus competition being (mostly) in jest).
The crew went on to secure a gold medal in the C Grade Coxed Quad Scull and silver in both the A Grade and B Grade Coxed Quad Scull events.
The men’s four (Allan Randall, Jon Roberts, Charlie Burke, John Carey coxed by Ally Dejaegher) added more silverware to the Richmond medal tally, with a nail biting performance in the D Grade Coxed Four. In a race which made for great viewing at the finishing line, the men finished less a canvass behind the winning Melbourne crew to claim a silver medal. The men went on to put in a good performance in the C Grade Coxed Four event later in the day.
The women’s quad (Edwina Griffiths, Shern Timmins, Jodie Naisbitt, Yash Vegi, coxed by Derek Begg) put in an impressive performance in the highly competitive D Grade Coxed Quad Scull event, finishing a close second in their heat and boat lengths ahead of nearest rivals, Footscray City and Hamilton & Alexandra.
Lindsey Brown and Morgan Chandler capped off a successful season at States, with strong performances in both the B Grade and C Grade Pair.
Sarah Houghton rounded out a successful racing season with second place in her heat of the C Grade Single Scull event – finishing a mere 0.7 seconds behind the winning boat. Sarah went through to the C Final and also raced the B Grade event.
With only a few practice rows under their belts in the weeks leading up to States, Rochelle Stokes and Edwina Griffiths and Andrew Yuile and Dennis Beck put in good performances in the D Grade Double Scull and the C Grade Pair, respectively.
It has been said that success is a journey, not a destination, and the 2018 season is a testament to the truism.
The rowers who represented Richmond at the State Championships achieved gains over the season as individual athletes and as crews. With many wins and close finishes in regattas in the weeks leading up to States and crews across the board stepping up to compete in divisions they had previously not thought possible – this season was a comprehensive success for Richmond Rowing Club.
For all this our thanks must go to those who worked tirelessly to make Richmond’s States campaign success a reality – especially our Head of Rowing, Tim Evans, Head Coach, Basil and Captain, Barry Campbell.
Thanks must also go to expert coxen’s Derek and Ally, who dedication and motivation each helped give their crews the winning edge this season.
Zoe Maxwell
Club Working Bee – 18th March 2018
Has that mould in the showers been bugging you? Has that squeaky wheel been annoying you? Do those dirty slides leave grease marks on your calves? Grips on your oars all slippery? Have no idea where things go? Then grab your favorite marigolds, workwear and be ready to pitch in and lend a hand on the 18th of March at 12pm after training (you can start earlier if you want!!).
There will be something everyone can do from labelling to spring cleaning in the gym with your favourite tunes, cleaning those oar handles and much more. Come down pitch in and have a laugh.
When we all pitch in it keeps our club and equipment in ship shape condition and in the way that we like to use it.
It’s expected that all members could do a little around the club. If you can’t be there it’s OK ask Barry or Lucy what’s on the list to be done and have a go at something in your own time. Don’t forget to let them know what’s been done, so we can take it off the list.
Please get involved it’s your club!!
Trivia Night tickets on sale – 24 March 2018
Following our recent club events (Xmas BBQ and NYE) our fundraising total for the year is currently above $7,000. Thanks to your great work, we are well on our way to our goal for the purchase of a new shiny boat! Look out for upcoming communications on additions to the fleet.
With that in mind, the annual RRC trivia night is only a month away, starting at 7pm Sat 24th of March. The theme for this year’s quiz will be Arabian Nights – so get your Aladdin suits ready, hop on your magic carpet and get ready for an amazing night!
Tickets are strictly limited to 100, so get in early through Trybooking. Prices are $25 per person or $225 for a table of 10.
The one and only Justin Thomas will be writing the quiz questions from the other side of the world with help from Aline Dejaegher, Simon Crunden is back to MC the evening and Derek Begg will be on hand as our auctioneer for the night.
Don’t forget, as one of our major fundraising events we are looking for auction items, the more unusual the better. You can donate your time, your one off skill, that vintage zootie or the dozen bottles of wine you have been saving. Contact [email protected] with any items you can donate.
It’s always a great night and you can bring along your friends, colleagues and family to enjoy each other’s company at the club. The event is BYO food, with drinks at bar prices. Prizes for winning team and best dressed, and don’t forget to decorate your table!
Richmond Rowing Club Planning for 2014-15
The 2013-14 season may be officially over (don’t forget to buy your tickets now for next Saturday’s wrap up and celebration at the Kingston Hotel) but before you know it we will be frantically preparing for another blockbuster season with regattas, camps, fundraising and social events.
It’s important for us all to take the time over the Winter break to evaluate what we have done well this season, what we can improve on next season and most importantly look forward to what we would like to achieve next season. The committee is asking for your input with this and we invite you all to participate in this very quick survey to give us an overview of your thoughts. Your feedback and input is vital for the success of this process.
The results of this survey will be analysed and discussed at this years planning day which will occur on Saturday the 14th June. The venue will be the home of Geraldine Goss in Hawthorn, as our clubhouse will be undergoing major exciting improvements at this time, please contact me for the details. We would like to invite you to join us to help plan and constructively evaluate Richmond Rowing Clubs performance. If you are interested in getting more involved (perhaps standing for the committee next season) we would love to hear from you. Could you please let me know if you are able and intend to attend this day by emailing [email protected] so we have an estimate of numbers. Continue reading “Richmond Rowing Club Planning for 2014-15”
RRC Trivia Night – March 17 @ RRC the Boathouse
Fantastic auction prizes Games BYO food, but do not BYO drink. As with any good race, be at the start line for a quick start, at 7pm.
The entry fee is being kept at an inflation busting $20. Book yourself a place by e-mailing Mike O’Neil on [email protected].
Prizes for the quiz winners and the best dressed / best decorated table and your chance to pick up a bargain or a holiday in a French villa at the famous RRC trivia night auction.
RRC Quiz Night…the drum
Yes indeed – just when you thought training at RRC only involved doing tuff with your legs, we now want to give those brain cells a work out too. Your IQ will be put to the test in order to raise money for the club and more specifically to our ageing fleet. So on Saturday March 20 you and your friends, family and work colleagues will be able to impress the committee both through brain power and cold hard cash!
Last year on the same weekend we raised $3300 on the night and speaking on behalf of all those who attended we had a lot of fun doing it too. We have set a higher target this year and I am confident that we can achieve it.
The format of the evening will be a little like this:
Food, Drinks, Quiz, Live and Silent Auction and of course some cool games.
So what’s required from you at this stage?
1. Keep Saturday 20 March from 6.30pm free
2. Start brushing up your knowledge on geography, pop culture and Justin’s favourite chocolates – Justin will again be our Quiz Master, don’t worry I won’t let him make the questions too hard
3. We are going to be running an auction so if you think you have something that we could sell off please contact either Justin or myself. Examples of items that fetched a tidy sum included Mike Numa – Handyman services, tickets to play on Margaret Court, holiday house for the weekend, etc.
4. Assistance. While Justin and I will organise the bulk of things we could also do with some help, this includes both set up and pack down on the weekend of the quiz as well as general stuff beforehand. If you have some time and would like to get involved – again touch base with either of us, we would love to have you on board.
More info, including a proper flyer, will be coming your way soon – so stay tuned.
Justin ‘Quiz Master’ Thomas