The Jupiters Pan Pacific Masters Games are coming up at the start of November, so make sure you don't miss out on the early bird prices which end on the 31st of August. The Pan Pacs Games provide a great competition, as well as the opportunity to getaway with your friends and teammates to the beautiful Gold Coast! What more could you want?
More information about entries, accommodation and venues can be found here.
National Events Strategy Public Survey
This Friday is the last day to complete the Rowing Australia National Events Strategy Public Survey. This is your chance to have a say in the future of Australian Rowing Events, and Rowing Australia greatly appreciates any feedback you have. The survey should take 5-15 minutes to complete, depending on your answers, and is available here.
The Blazers Ball
Presented by the Regatta Hotel and Rowing Queensland, the Blazers Ball will be a sophisticated night dedicated to the celebration of rowing and the presentation of McVilly-Pearce Pins to Queensland's Australian Rowing Representatives. Tickets for the event can be purchased here, or if you would like to book for a group of ten or more and skip the booking fees, please contact the Regatta directly on 07 3871 9595 and ask for the Functions Department.
If you have rowed for a Queensland Interstate team and would like to purchase a Queensland team blazer, please contact the Rowing Qld office for sizing and ordering information. Blazers must be ordered by the 12th August to ensure they will be received in time for the Ball.
Australian Rowing History Questionnaire
Rowing historian, journalist, author and administrator, Robin Poke, is currently undertaking his PhD thesis, which will cover the entire history of rowing in Australia, from before settlement until the present day. However the thesis, titled A Socio-Cultural History of Australian Rowing, needs your help. In order to compile a wide-range of information, Robin is asking the Australian rowing public to share as much knowledge as possible on the sport. If you are interested in helping Robin with his research, please find more information and the questionnaire attached here. Return completed questionnaires torobin.poke@grapevine.com.au.
Only Four Days til Rio 2016!
The 2016 Rio Olympics kicks off this weekend and we cannot wait to see the world's best athletes in action, especially our Aussie Rowers! Keep an eye on our social media pages for updates and results.
Entries are now open for the Pine Rivers Premiership Regatta! Make sure you get your crews together for what will be a great day out at Lake Kurwongbah.
Important Memo Regarding Shotz Cappuccino Caffeinated Gels
Many of you may have seen information recently come from Rowing Australia's media team regarding Shotz Cappuccino Caffeinated Gels. We encourage all of our members to read the information HERE and become familiar with Rowing Australia's stance on the matter, and how it may impact you as an athlete.
FREE Online Training for Volunteers
The Queensland Government recognises the important role Volunteers play in local sport and recreation clubs and is pleased to partner with QFSR Skills Alliance to offer a number of online training opportunities through the Department's Building Active Communities Workshops program.
All courses are self-paced and take between 2-3 hours to complete. Please click the courses below to learn more.
Nominations are now open for the Queensland Sport Awards! Click here to read through the nomination categories, criteria and entry information. If you know a special person, group of people, or event, that you think deserves recognition, you can find the nomination form here.
Get Started Vouchers
Round 8 of Get Started Vouchersopens on Wednesday 13 July 2016.
The program provides eligible children and young people aged 5 to 17 (inclusive) who can least afford to join a sport or recreation club with a voucher valued at up to $150 for membership and/or registration fees. It should be noted that vouchers are issued on a first come, first served basis; therefore there is no guarantee that a child or young/person will obtain a voucher.
Over 3900 clubs have registered for the program. Clubs can apply for registration for Get Started Vouchers at any time. Registration is valid for the entire program period so there is no need to register for each round.
Fact sheets for clubs/parents/guardians/carers including information on eligibility criteria and promotional material for the program can be found here.
It was a very successful regatta for the Australian Rowing Team at World Cup III in Poznan over the weekend. Australia finished fourth on the medal tally for the final World Cup series regatta, claiming two gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Queensland athletes Maddie Edmunds and Jess Hall won a silver medal in the Womens Quadruple Scull, along with crew mates Kerry Hore and Jennifer Cleary, coached by QAS Head Coach,Tom Westgarth. Queensland legend Sally Kehoe also competed at the regatta in the Womens Double Scull, coming 6th place in the A-Final with partner Genevieve Horton. We are looking forward to watching the ARTeam in Rio, and best wished for their preparations leading into the Olympic Games!
Image Copyright Rowing Australia.
Left to Right: Maddie Edmunds, Jen Cleary, Kerry Hore and Jess Hall.
Australian Representative Soirée
A night set to be filled with drinks, food, live music and celebration for these young athletes. We encourage you to come along and have a great night!
We also have some great raffle prizes to be won, such as a 2 night getaway to Crown Metropol in Melbourne.
A Wallabies jersey, signed by the entire team will be up for auction on the night.
$50,000 Cloud Hosting Voucher
MACH Technology has generously donated a $50,000 Cloud Hosting Voucher, to be auctioned in an online silent auction, with proceeds going directly to the Queensland athletes selected in the Australian Rowing Team. MACH Technology is a leading ICT business in Australia who has successfully used next-generation systems and technologies to assist businesses with their technological puzzles since 2005. Their innovative solutions and effective online subscription services could benefit your business with a three-year Hosting Subscription Service! To view all services offered by MACH Technology visit https://mach.com.au/
To bid on this outstanding prize, access the online silent auction HERE.
Safety Message
With the recent deluge of rain we have had there is plenty of debris being washed in to our waterways. Please keep an eye out, and call out to other rowers if you see them heading for a collision with some debris. Also, where possible, it would be great if coaches in tinnies could pull any debris they come across in to their tinny and take it out at their shed, in an attempt to help clear the rivers. The tree branches will take a while to become water-logged enough to sink, so if coaches could help out on this that would be much appreciated.
AMRC Survey
If you were in attendance at the Australian Masters Rowing Championships in please take 5 minutes to complete this survey. All responses are greatly appreciated, access the survey HERE
Support Tamar Rowing Club
After the recent wild weather that ravaged the East-Coast of Australia, Tamar Rowing Club was left decimated due to flooding of the Tamar River. Just as Brisbane clubs experienced in 2011, the heartbreaking loss of club facilities takes a huge toll, and the Tamar Rowing Club require assistance from the rowing community. To show your support for the powerhouse Tasmanian rowing club, head to their Australian Sports Federationcampaign page, to donate and learn more about the cause.
Australian Representative Soirée A night set to be filled with drinks, food, live music and celebration for these young athletes. We encourage you to come along and have a great night!
We also have some great raffle prizes to be won, such as a 2 night getaway to Crown Metropol in Melbourne.
A Wallabies jersey, signed by the entire team will be up for auction on the night.
The Brisbane Campaign Number One briefing will take place tomorrow evening, Friday 10th June 5pm, in the Winterford Room, upstairs at the Regatta Hotel.
The briefing is an open invitation for all people interested in the high performance direction of rowing leading into 2020, RSVP to Cassie Powter oncpowter@rowingaustralia.com.au
Level 1 Online Coaching Course
Rowing Australia has announced the launch of its Level 1 Online Coaching Course. The course was created with the assistance of the University Of Queensland School Of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, as well as an expert coaching panel. Ensuring consistency for coaches across the country, the education and accreditation program will provide access for regional and remote coaches also.
The course will take up to 4 hours to complete, and pre-requisites are you must be a minimum of 16-years-old and have completed a free ASC Online Community Coaching General Principles course.
Further information can be found on the Rowing Australia website, and course registration can be found here.
Rowing Queensland is proud to once again hold the Brisbane Winter Racing Series. Your club/school crew now gets to pit itself against it’s peers, in a series of 5.5km progressive races through June and July, culminating in the grand final day to decide the overall champions in each division. Racing will be held from the Oxley Creek Opening to the Somerville Sheds Pontoon.
North Shore Rowing Club (Sydney) has picked up 4 black sweep riggers, named Chapman and Lamarou, if these belong to yourself or your club, please contact the Rowing Queensland office on 3842 1200.
Alternatively, if you had picked up any equipment that doesn't belong to you, or if you are missing anything following the regatta, please let us know.
Rowing Australia has released the list of athletes invited to the underage selection trials to be held in Penrith, April 6-10. With a large number of Queenslanders on the list, we wish all athletes the very best as they trial for positions on the Australian Rowing Team for 2016.
Para-Rowing
Included in the Sydney International Rowing Regatta was a number of para events, which this year saw 26 athletes compete. The most contested para event was the LTAM1x, with 10 competitors, requiring two heats, repecharge and A and B finals. Mac Russell, from UQBC won the gold in this event, a fantastic achievement for the sculler, in his first year out of school.
For the second year, Rowing Australia also invited all para rowers to take part in a 2000m handicapped exhibition race for a boat categories, in preparation for a possible FISA change to race distance in 2017. Mac once again had great success in this event, winning the bronze medal, behind Australian Rowing Team and World Championship medalists Kat Ross and Gavin Bellis in first, and Erik Horrie in second.
The interstate regatta also saw para events included for the first time, the LTAW1x and LTAM1x were the first events of the Sunday afternoon, with Cam Kosmala putting on the maroon zootie for Queensland in the men's event.
A new shed for Tablelands Country Rowing Club!
Head over to their Facebook page for updates on the new shed currently in construction on the beautiful Lake Tinaroo.
Entries are now open for AMRC 2016. Be sure to keep an eye out about the AMRC official functions and special hotel deals, to be announced soon!
The 2016 Interstate Regatta saw some incredible performances from Queensland crews across all boat classes.
The first pointscore event saw Sally Kehoe line up for Queensland in the Interstate Women’s Single Scull, and there were high hopes for her after her trifecta in the Open Women’s sculling events earlier in the week. Sally led into the first 500m, and then settled into a comfortable second place throughout the remainder of the race, winning the silver medal, behind World Champion single sculler and Victorian Kim Brennan.
Queensland representative Ben Morley lined up against a number of Australian Rowing Team members to race for the Interstate Men’s Single Scull title. Morley came out of the blocks at the back of the field, but with a blistering last 500m was able to secure 6thplace.
Queensland fielded a very young Lightweight Women’s Quadruple Scull, but this didn’t put a limit on their success. Although missing Hannah Every-Hall from the crew, the lightweight women came out fast and sat in silver medal position the entire race, only a fraction behind the gold medal crew from Victoria.
The QLD lightweight men put on an impressive performance in the Interstate Lightweight Men’s Coxless Four- the title which they have now held for four consecutive years. The crew were the fastest over the first 500m, and every 500m after that, winning in convincing style.
Straight after the success of the lightweight men, the youth women followed the same fate with gold in the Interstate Women’s Youth Eight. A tight first 500m meant the crew had to push through reigning champions Victoria, in the mid-parts of the race but eventually secured an 4.5 second margin to claim the win.
The youth men came away with the silver medal in the Interstate Men’s Youth Eight. It was a fantastic race by the Queenslanders, who for the entire race were right on the tail of eventual winners, New South Wales.
In the Queens’ Cup, it was the Queensland crew who laid down the pressure to the favourites and 11-year-reigning champions in the event, Victoria. The Queenslanders came away with an incredibly well-deserved silver medal in the Interstate Women’s Eight, after a tight race all the way to the finish.
The final race of the day, concluding the 2016 Interstate Regatta was the Kings Cup. Dominating the field for a number of years has been the crews from Victoria and New South Wales, however the Queensland crew challenged for the bronze medal position the entire race. In the sprint towards the line they put the pressure on the South Australian crew, but narrowly missed out on a podium birth by 0.65 seconds, finishing in 4th position.
Congratulations to all athletes who represented Queensland in the 2016 Interstate Regatta. It is clear to see in the results, the pride all crews had when wearing the maroon. Full Interstate Regatta results can be found here.
SIRR2016
Sydney International Rowing Regatta, comprising of the Australian Open Rowing Championships, Australian Open Schools Rowing Championships and Kings and Queens Cups Interstate Regatta, was held from March 14-20. It was a very successful regatta for all athletes, coaches and support teams involved. In particular, were a number of Queensland athletes who made multiple podium finishes in their respective events. A full summary of the Queensland successes at SIRR 2016 can be found on the Rowing Queensland website here, or you can read more in the article here.
A reminder to secure your tickets for the the Interstate Team Function to be held at the Regatta Hotel on Friday 4 March. Tickets can be purchased here
ASADA Education
ASADA have advised that, as always, there is a very real possibility of drug testing occurring at SIRR2016. It is important that all athletes, in particular youth and junior athletes, are aware of this process and educated before the regatta.
Follow the link here to a short educational video.
The ASADA eLearning website is the best resource for athletes to use to get up-to-date with testing, testing procedures, athlete rights and responsibilities.
The eLearning fact sheet can be read here.
Start Playing Stay Playing
Excellence Awards
These awards acknowledge achievement in the sport and recreation industry for individuals, teams and organisations who aim to increase and enhance sport and recreation for females in Queensland. Nominations are now open for the Inclusions, Innovation and Inspiration categories.
For further information on the awards and to nominate, please read the Awards Guidelines or visit the Start Playing Stay Playing website.
Nominations close Thursday 31 March.
Rowing and Queensland School Sport
On the 22nd of February, Rowing Queensland received support from the Met North School Sport board to commence a submission to Queensland School Sport for rowing to be included as an official sport. This is a two year process and the transition to this model will be managed by a rowing specific sub-committee of current and past teachers from around the state. This will see two main changes for the way regional and state school regattas are run. Firstly, all events will be age based, not year level based. Secondly, the interregional races at the QLD School State Championships will be based on the QSS Regions. This is a trial for both rowing to fit with QSS and QSS to fit with rowing, so we will be seeking your feedback at the end of the year.