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Welcome to a bumper edition of Oar Talk! Wrapping up this newsletter while reassuring coaches that yes, Pennant 3 is going ahead tomorrow despite the rain - bring a warm change of clothes if you're racing!

• Olympic Wrap Up

• "Mega Worlds" Preview

• All Schools State Championships Wrap Up

• U21 Asian Tour Opportunity - Selection & Dates

• ABC August

• Hour of Power: Performance Psychology for Rowers

• National Coastal & Beach Sprints Championships

• World Lightweight Rowing Alliance: Head of the Charles trip for WA athletes

• Blazer Update

Cover photo: Double Olympic Medallists Annabelle & Jess!! Credit: Rowing Australia/Art of Rowing NZ

And just like that, the Olympic Games are over for another quadrennial! The athletes have scattered to holiday destinations, back home, or are still soaking up as much Olympic atmosphere as possible in Paris, and of course the Para crews are finalising their preparations ready to take on Vaire-sur-Marne. Keep an eye out for World Rowing's 2023 Para Crew of the Year, Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers of the PR3Mix2x who have been unbeaten in their run into Paris!

Men's Eight rower Angus Widdicombe with Breakdancer Raygun before the closing ceremony.

A HUGE congratulations to Annabelle McIntyre OAM (Fremantle RC) and Jess Morrison OAM (Mercantile RC) who won a Bronze medal in the Women's Pair, becoming double Olympic medallists and firmly cementing their status as icons of Aussie rowing.

The Women's Eight (Bronnie Cox - UWABC, Giorgia Patten - WARC, Jacqui Swick - SRRC) achieved the best result ever for an Australian Women's Eight at an Olympic Games - fourth place. Fourth in the whole world!! What a crew!

The Men's Eight made it to the A Final and unfortunate last-minute illness - Josh came down with Gastro - meant Tim Masters from the M4- was subbed in and had a brave row to finish 6th.

We can only begin to imagine what it's like to come down after the Olympics and the intensity of training and focus that go into preparation, so we encourage everyone to be mindful about helping these athletes feel supported!

Everyone at Rowing WA is incredibly proud of everybody who pulled on a Green and Gold zootie in Paris.

Proud of everybody who learned to row on the Swan, Canning, the Reach or Champion Lakes.

Proud of Annabelle for becoming a Double Olympic Medallist!!!!

Proud of all our women in the W8+ who achieved something no other Australian crew has done - fourth at the Olympics!

Proud of Josh for being a steward of the Men's Sweep squad and for getting through what must have been an excruciating few days - substituded out for the Final with gastro. 

Proud of our coaches and support staff who went above and beyond the call of a "normal" job to chase a lofty vision.

Proud of all the networks of families and friends for their support of their athletes.

& proud of our community for coming together to cheer the Aussies on!

You can read race-by-race wrap ups on the AOC Website.

If you read the last Oar Talk you'd have heard all about our Under 23 and Under 19 (Junior) Aussie reps who have been hard at work training in preparation for their World Championships. This huge competition (aka "Mega Worlds""), taking place 18 - 25 August in St Catharines, Canada, is combined as a result of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In Olympic years, Senior categories are included in this World Champs only in non-Olympic/Paralympic boat classes (the Lightweight Single, Pair and Quad, plus PR3 Singles and Pairs). 

A reminder of the WA athletes racing:

Under 23 Womens Coxless Four

Gen Hart (FRC)

Becky Pretorius (SRRC)

Under 23 Mens Eight

Ben Scott (FRC/Harvard)

Alex Baroni (WARC/Cal Berkeley)

Junior Womens Quad

Sina Metzger (FRC)

Juliet Kelly (FRC)

Junior Womens Coxless Four

Greta Spencer (SRRC)

Lyla Fievez (SRRC)

The coaching team has good WA representation, with WAIS Head Coach Jamie Hewlett responsible for the U23W4- (with assistance from WAIS Physiologist, Dan Astridge), SRRC Head Coach Mark Beer with the U19W4-, and SRRC Women's Coach Liv Jones on deck through her scholarship with the AIS.

These rowers are all at the tail end of a very long season - selection for these crews began last year through the erg and time trial benchmark testing, then in earnest through the domestic regatta season and the various selection trials processes.

Prior to travelling to Canada, the U23s had a training camp in Princeton, New Jersey USA, using the Princeton University rowing facilities. The rowers in the U238+s have come through the US-based selection process and hail from US college rowing programs, so they are making the most of the strong relationship between the Aussie U23 team and the US College system. 

And a fun fact for you all regarding the strength of the US college system - excluding the US crews, 48% of female athletes and 31% of male athletes in all the U238+ crews are current or former students at US colleges (Source: Daniel Spring).

Tentative Schedule (exact race times subject to the official draw)

B = U23, J = U19

READ: JRN Preview: U19 Women (lacking in Aussie mentions but a good overview of the competition)

READ: JRN U23 Previews (some big boat previews yet to be published)

MORE INFO: Regatta Website (World Rowing)

Follow Rowing WA's Instagram page for the best local updates.

Photos: The JW4- (left) and JW4x (right) in action during training. Credit: Greta Spencer.

Photo: The U23W4- training in the USA. Credit: Becky Pretorius.

Photo: Scenes at Princeton University. Credit: Becky Pretorius.

The 2024 All Schools season came to a dramatic close last Saturday afternoon, with a marathon-length regatta showcasing the best racing yet!

Photo: The finish line of All Schools State Champs - perfect weather!

A beautiful sunny day greeted participants as if the universe itself was giving a tick of approval to the regatta. Close-to-record participation this season meant a long program, with racing commencing at 8:30am and going almost non-stop until 4:45pm. Athletes, coaches, BROs and supporters were kept entertained by great racing on the water, fantastic commentary by the UWABC volunteers (and the Shenton students who got up there!), and the Act Belong Commit Mindfulness Zone where they could find jenga, soccer and comfy chairs.

UWABC/Shenton's exceptional catering effort kept everyone fuelled and happy (shoutout to the phenomenal pumpkin soup), and the provision of Zooper Doopers kept the rowers in good spirits at the end of the day.

For the uninitiated - rowers at All Schools compete in Heats & Finals at State Champs and the winner of the Final gets bragging rights and a shiny medal. Clubs can win medals but don't earn points in the Overall Schools Points competition - only school crews earn points for this, encouraging school programs to blossom and students to represent their schools.

So in the overall Medal Tally (capturing both School and Club crew medals), Shenton College came out on top with 16 total medals and 8 overall wins, followed by Fremantle with 10.5 medals and SRRC with 8. 

Last year's All Schools Trophy winner Guildford fought valiantly to retain their trophy but in a nailbiting finish, Shenton College prevailed by just one point to claim their first All Schools Trophy since 2018.

Photo: Shenton College rowing Year 12s accepting the All Schools trophy, alongside City of Armadale Deputy Mayor John Keogh.

Congratulations to all participants who have done so well across the whole season!

You can explore the full results here.

Presentation photos are here on our Facebook page.

Under 21 Rowers, Coxswains are invited to apply for an exciting rowing tour, heading to Japan or China at the end of 2024!

Coaches are also invited to apply to coach one of two eights on this trip.

Introduction

Rowing WA will be selecting two Youth (U21) eight crews and 2 coxswains (18 athletes in total), to participate in an international event in Japan or China (final regatta TBC). There will be one male and one female crew selected. Coxswains can be of any gender. This initiative forms part of a joint athlete development and cultural outreach program, partially funded by a grant from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC). The grant from DLGSC will offset approx. 50% of the Athlete Seat Fee. The tour offers a unique opportunity for youth athletes to gain valuable international racing experience. 

Tour Philosophy 

The primary aim of this tour is to provide U21 athletes with exposure to international racing and training environments. It serves as a platform to nurture talent aspiring to compete at national and state levels. Given that small boat racing is pivotal in underage Australian representation, tour selection will emphasize performance in scull and pair combinations. 

Participants must be over 18 by the departure date of the tour unless otherwise advised. Contact RWA if you are Under 18 but would like to be considered.

Selection Document & More Information

Expression of Interest Form

Jess Stout is the founder and Principal Psychologist at Flow to Flourish, and is a Performance and Mindset Coach who has worked extensively with athletes both individually and in a group setting. 

Register here

We welcome all athletes, coaches & parents to join Jess in this session as she covers:

- How to manage pressure

- Keeping perfectionistic tendencies in check

- Overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome

Venue: Swan River Rowing Club

Date: 18 August

Time: 4:00 - 5:00pm

Performance psychology is an incredibly valuable service that many people have not yet had access to - this is your opportunity to get brilliant advice on how to tame the all-important mental game.

Thank you to our Major Partners, Healthway and Act Belong Commit for their support of the 2024 Hour of Power series!

Thanks to their support, we are able to offer the 2024 series free of charge to everybody!

Members of clubs or school programs can earn points for attending Hour of Power & Club Development seminars, as part of the E.R.G Challenge!

Points will be tallied at the end of the season and the winner of a BRAND NEW CONCEPT 2 ERG will be announced at the Rower of the Year Awards!

Get involved in ABC August to improve your mental health and wellbeing, and to earn points for your club or school in the ERG Challenge!

How to earn points:

LEADERS TABLE

More info on ABC August and the ERG Challenge!

The Australian Coastal Rowing and Beach Sprints Championships (yes, it's a mouthful) is underway on the Sunshine Coast with our very own Blake Whyatt taking to the beach today to win a Silver medal in the Open Men's Beach Sprint Solo! Blake has been selected to the Australian Beach Sprints team ready to represent us at the 2024 World Championships.

Congratulations Blake!

Blake will race again on the weekend in the Open Mixed Beach Sprint Coxed Quad Scull - with none other than his new teammate and Olympian Georgie Rowe! We will keep you up to date on his progress through our social media channels.

Umpires Grant Ford and Lynne Bayliss are on the Jury of this event in order to learn the ropes of this new discipline, and RWA's Nick Wakeford is also in attendance to assist RA in running the event and bring some helpful hints back to WA.

Hard work!

And if you have truly been living as a recluse, a reminder that Beach Sprints will be an Olympic discipline in 2028! Beach Sprints is a form of the sport that even staunch traditionalists will admit is hugely fun. RWA will be running a Beach Sprints activation at the 2024 State Championships regatta so keep an eye out for promo around this, as well as a number of Come & Try events through the summer.

The future of lightweight rowing has been given a new lifeline with the World Lightweight Rowing Alliance supporting two Australian crews to race at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, USA.

Jake Sangster and Jacob Cassey (Fremantle RC) have been selected into the Men's eight and are seeking support to raise money to assist them with travel costs.

You can support the crew by donating to their ASF page.

Jake was one of the top lightweight rowers in the country in the 2023/24 Nationals season and narrowly missed out on selection to the Australian team. Jacob was his pair partner for much of the season and is an exceptional athlete in his own right. Both men represented WA in the State Team this past year with Jake being part of the Bronze-medal-winning Penrith Four.

From Rowing WA GM Operations, Nick Wakeford:

We wanted to update you on the progress of this initiative. Unfortunately, we have encountered significant challenges with our original supplier, which has led us to reconsider our approach.

At Rowing WA, we are committed to ensuring that the blazers we provide meet the highest standards of quality and represent our organisation with pride. While this may delay the process, please be assured that our focus remains on delivering an outstanding product that you will be proud to wear.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work through these challenges. I will keep you informed of any further developments and will let you know as soon as we have a clearer timeline for delivery.

If you have expressed interest in a blazer to RWA you should have received a similar email during the week - please get in touch with Nick at gmoperations@rowingwa.asn.au if you have additional questions.