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This edition of Oar Talk...

• Hong Kong Tour

• RA Rower of the Year

• PSA Racing

• WAIS Awards

• All Abilities Gala Day - Calling all teachers!

• PBR Come & Try - today!

• Pennant Forum

Cover photo: Hong Kong athletes at the airport

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The Hong Kong Tour is well underway, with athletes from CUBC, UWABC, SRRC, WARC and FRC on water at Sha Tin Rowing Course as we speak!

Their travel went smoothly, despite a typhoon threatening to disrupt things, and they settled into their accommodation on Wednesday night. On Thursday, they paid a visit to the Hong Kong Sports Institute where they had a guided tour and met some coaches and athletes. They were able to get on the water on Friday and enjoyed a paddle on the regatta course.

The team race today and tomorrow at the Hong Kong Rowing Championships. They're targeting the Open Men's and Women's Eights, but will also split off into Fours, Quads and a Mixed Eight. They'll face off against not just clubs from Hong Kong, but also mainland China, Singapore, South Africa, and The Philippines!

The Eights

Heats are scheduled for:

13:34 - M4x (race 20) - heat
13:58 - M4- (race 24) - heat
15:24 - W8+ (race 29) - heat
16:42 - W4x (race 36) - heat
17:14 - M8+ (race 40) - heat

They're in the same time zone as WA - handy, right!

Explore the full regatta on Regatta Central here!

Watch the racing LiveStream!

Please cheer the following team members as they prepare to travel and race on the 16/17th November -   Emma O'Neill, Alessia Cirocco, Isabella Utley, Michelle Ryan, Olivia Park, Chloe Fleay, Ella Waddy, Lara Connolly, Harper Davies, Joshua Hantke, James Young, Harry Salfinger, Austin Vincent, Oscar Lourie, Liam Davies, Liam Jaeger, Angelie Ng, Rei Poon, Olivia Jones, John Gearing, and Mark Easterbrook. These athletes and coaches represent WARC, SRRC, FRC, UWABC and CUBC.

Thank you to our coaches, John Gearing (WARC) and Liv Jones (SRRC), RWA Tour Manager Mark Easterbrook, and many others who have assisted in getting this tour off the ground. 

This tour has been made possible by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and their Asian Engagement Grant. Thank you DLGSC!

I'll leave you with some photos of their time so far!

Rowers, coaches, supporters and volunteers from across the country converged on the Gold Coast last weekend for Rowing Australia's Rower of the Year Awards! Thank you to Rowing Australia for putting on a great event, on a busy week for them - coinciding with the Coaching Conference & the CEO Meetings and Strategic Forum.

This event celebrates folks from all walks of our community, and in doing so, recognises that the success of our sport depends on the hard work and outstanding abilities of those in a wide variety of roles. Without coaches, there are no athletes. Without athletes, there are no clubs. Without clubs, there is no HP system through which to produce Olympic teams. And so forth!

LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Craig James OAM, legend of WA rowing, was presented with his very well-deserved Life Member pin. You can be impressed by Craig's contributions to rowing by reading his Life Member bio here. (And I know Craig reads this newsletter - hi Craig, congratulations!!)

WA AWARD WINNERS

CLUB OF THE YEAR - Swan River Rowing Club

(SRRC's COTY win marks the fourth time in five years that a WA club has won this award - testament to the high quality, innovative, community-minded clubs here in WA!)

CREW OF THE YEAR - Annabelle McIntyre OAM/Women's Pair

GINA RINEHART AO LEADERSHIP AWARD - Annabelle McIntyre OAM

WA FINALISTS

OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR - John Murdoch, Grant Ford

HP CLUB OF THE YEAR - Swan River Rowing Club

In the sport that never sleeps, it shouldn't surprise you that the PSA season has crept up on us! Their season starts in Term 4 with three Head Races, hosted by schools on various stretches of the river. The nature of Head Races means that coxswains and cres are tested to the limits - long, winding courses ensure that the advantage goes to the most well-drilled tacticians!

At Aquinas on Canning, a bit of a breeze made for slower conditions than in 2023, but Aquinas and their Parents & Friends group put on an exceptional spread at the finish line to ensure spectators enjoyed the morning.

We saw 2024 HOR winners Hale School take the W in the First Eight in the fastest time of the day - 11:47.22. Trinity took out the 2nd and 4th VIIIs, and the Senior VIII, demonstrating their signature depth. Christ Church won the 3rd VIII convincingly with a 19 second gap back to TC. Scotch College impressed with their 10A VIII, who improved from a 6th place finish in this race last year.

The closest race of the day was found in the 10B VIII, where hosts Aquinas College squeaked a win over TC by just 0.23 seconds!

There was just one steering-related Relegation this year - compared to Four last year, this was a great improvement from coaches and coxswains.

Click here for full Aquinas on Canning results.

Guildford on Swan is the closest you'll get to a 'Picnic Race' in WA rowing - and the picturesque scene at the finish line was made even more spectator-friendly by the Guildford Rowing Association's exceptional bake sale!

Hale's success at the Aquinas on Canning regatta was not to be repeated - Christ Church took the race by the scruff of the neck and beat home team Guildford to the finish line by 4 seconds. Aquinas College shook the standings up with a win in the 2nds, and CCGS' 3rd VIII and Trinity's 4th VIII showed impressive consistency by backing up their AoC wins. Scotch's Year 10 crews are showing positive signs, with wins in both the Year 10 Eights off the back of success at AoC.

Credit: Guildford Rowing Association.

The inclusion of Year 10 Coxed Quads in this regatta provides a valuable opportunity for some of the younger rowers to get on the water. Christ Church added to the success of their older crews by winning both the 10A and 10B Quads, while Aquinas took out the 10C Quad.

Click here for full Guildford on Swan results.

We're looking forward to the Trinity Bridges Regatta next weekend to round out the Term 4 racing!

Congratulations to Jacqui Swick, Gen Hart, Becky Pretorius, Ben Scott and Alex Baroni for being named finalist in the 'WAIS Young Athlete of the Year' for the 2024 WAIS Awards.

As anyone who reads this newsletter would know, each of these athletes has had a phenomenal 2024 season in Green & Gold (and club!) zooties. 

Jacqui Swick etched her name into the history book at the Paris Olympics, helping the Australian Women's Eight become the most successful W8+ Australia has ever boated at an Olympics!

Gen Hart and Becky Pretorius won Bronze at the Under 23 World Championships in the Womens Four, after an amazing domestic season where they were the, respectively, the 2nd and 3rd most successful athletes at the regatta!

Alex Baroni and Ben Scott also won Bronze at U23 Worlds in the Men's Eight, but being based in the US at College, their domestic season looked a bit different - Ben stroked the Harvard 1st Varsity Eight to Silver at the IRA Championship, and Alex was a key member of the Cal Berkely crew that finished just behind them in Bronze.

Good luck!!

Calling all Teachers!!

Rowing WA has joined forces with Rugby WA, Hockey WA and Football Futures for the inaugural All Abilities Gala Day!

If you are an Education Support School with high schoolers who love a run around and trying new things - the Gala Day is for you.

Bring your students for a fun-filled morning focused on skill development, building confidence and promoting inclusion both on-and-off the field. Students will rotate between the sports stations, giving them the opportunity to try each sport.

When: November 27, 2024 Time: 9AM - 11AM Where: Pat O'Hara Reserve, Morley

Register here or contact Lara Glendinning (schooldev@rowingwa.asn.au) with any questions!

Have you been dreaming about your own boat?

Your very own boat that's set up perfectly for you, that nobody else can bump and scratch, and that helps you get more out of every session?

This is your chance to try some fast and affordable 1x moulds before you buy, thanks to our major partners, Perfect Balance Rowing.

PBR invite you to come and try out the World Championship winning single sculls from Swift Racing Boats this Saturday 16 November at Champion Lakes Regatta Centre between 9am and 12pm.

This is an opportunity to try the same boat Aurelia Maxima Janzen of Switzerland used to win her U19 and U23 World Championship titles! Aurelia also used the Swift racing single at the Paris Olympic Games!

PBR have three single scull moulds available to try out;

- Carbon Elite Mould #122 (60-75kg)

- Carbon Elite Mould #123 (70-85kg)

- Carbon Elite Mould #111 (75-90kg)

The 123- is a very stable boat while the 111- is a long and narrow boat, super fast but twitchy! So a good opportunity to see what you really like.

All boats retails for $8,990 including GST. This includes;

- Full carbon honeycomb minimum weight boat

- Reverse aluminium wing rigger

- Quick Release rigger system

- Rigger cover

- Boat cover

- Tool kit

These boats will be available to purchase with a $500 discount after the day.

Booking are essential to ensure you are not standing around. Please contact our Western Australian representative, Rene Brovelli on 0481 995 443 or rene@pbrowing.com.au

The 2024 Pennant Forum will be held on Tuesday 26 November, 6 - 7:30pm, on Teams.

We encourage anyone from the Pennant rowing community to attend and be part of the conversation! The discussion will centre on participation and competition opportunities through the Pennant season.

Holding the meeting on Teams is designed to encourage more people to attend, and aims to make it a more accessible event for those who work full-time. 

Please register here: https://www.rowingwa.asn.au/events/265930

All registered attendees will be sent an invitation on Teams and the Agenda for the meeting in the week leading up to the Forum.