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!

Receipt of VicHealth Active Club Grant

Richmond Rowing Club was delighted to receive a VicHealth Active Club Grant to support our Tiger Social Rowing program.

The $2,890 grant has enabled the club to purchase four pairs of yellow handled sculling blades and 5 sets of boat lights.  This reduces equipment constraints allowing more rowers to be on the water during the peak Thursday night and Sunday morning crew and social rowing time slots.
The oars were “christened” by four of the twenty one participants in our first 2018 Learn to Row group on January 30.  We are delighted that a number of members from that class have already signed up to join the club.
Welcome….. we look forward to helping you to further develop your rowing skills.
Just a reminder that all club members are welcome to join the social rowing program on Thursday evenings 6.15pm or Sunday mornings 9.45am.  Please contact Head of Rowing if you want to participate and are not currently receiving the Sportsnoticeboard sign ups for Tiger Rowing.

Rutherglen Regatta 2018

The 13th and 14th of January were the dates this year for the much liked and well attended Rutherglen regatta, with more than 700 competitors contesting 340 races across the weekend. This was the 153rd running of this regatta, making it the oldest rowing regatta in Australia.
The 800m course on the Saturday and a short 500m sprint on Sunday leaves you with short, sharp, shocks of excitement over a fun packed weekend thanks to the quick race starts and the tricky boomerang bend.
Outstanding performances included Morgan Chandler and Lindsey Brown in the Female D grade pair on Saturday (800m) and Female open pair on Sunday (500m).

On Saturday, Michelle Joy was victorious in the Female B Grade single scull, with Sarah Houghton taking silver. Sliver was also the colour for Zoe Maxwell and Michelle Joy in the female open double scull (800m).
The newly formed mixed coxed eight enjoyed the second spot on both days, not a bad effort for a bunch of folks that had never set foot in a boat together prior to rowing to the start.
Stefanie Dudczig and Allan Randall were heroic in the Mixed Double scull on the Sunday picking up silver after a fantastic start – pipped at the post thanks to some pesky buoys and a reedy finish.

Praise too for the Wentworth Richmond composite Male Masters Eight who won on both days thanks to their great efforts and huge long and lanky Wentworth rowers. Our all Richmond masters eight gave it all they had, but a 6 sec handicap over 800m and 4 seconds over the 500m run made the race for a medal just out of reach.
There was lots of “in-boat” video footage taken over the weekend, and we can confirm the number of actual strokes it takes to complete the course. Over 500m the pair of Morgan and Lindsey took 64 strokes, the double of Dave and Charlie did it in 59 strokes, the men’s D grade coxed four took 58  and the mixed eight 54. Our male masters eight took only 49 strokes over the same distance. Loving the stats!

In addition there was the christening of a new member owned boat – the Hobbit.  The name has nothing to do with the height and furry feet of the crew – and any gossip is ‘fake news’.  Denis Henry also proved that he is still a wizard at Rock-Paper-Scissors (to keep Leigh and Christine’s daughter entertained).
Off the water – Freshly made bacon and egg rolls for lunch and awesome chicken parmies’ later in the pub, all washed down with plenty of coffee and beer. Mostly beer.

Chiltern – our host for the night is an idyllic, charming and historic town with plenty of laughs in the numerous bars. We visited most of them in search of the best table and the coldest beer.
All up it was an awesome trip, the weather was especially kind to us with day time temps hovering around the 27 deg mark. Many thanks must go to those that worked behind the scenes organising accommodation and boat transport. You all know who you are, and know that we could not have done it without you, and we can’t forget our effervescent Yash who volunteered as our BRO for the weekend. This is definitely one regatta we should all make an effort to attend. Bring on 2019.
Kim B. and Alex R.

Buy your RRC New Years Eve Tickets now!!! Earlybird pricing available until Friday 22nd December.

Early bird tickets are just $45 per person if purchased prior to 22nd December. Tickets are $65 per person if purchased after 22nd December. All funds raised going directly to the clubs fundraising goal of new equipment.
Click here for the Trybooking link —> Don’t wait, book early and save!!!
Price includes entry to RRC, snacks, BBQ and Salads
Drinks at RRC Bar prices.
Entry from 7pm New Year’s Eve. Ticket required (No ticket no entry)

HotY 2017

We started our journey in the men’s eight, in earnest, around September of this year. A “Head Season”, with unremittingly long distances, curves, bends and crashes was a completely new concept for me. Basil brought a new fiery intensity to the club; putting us through our paces with some grueling ergos and a new weights program. As well as some killer (literally) circuits. All the joys.
To think 12 weeks ago, I would go on to actually ENJOY sustaining a 28-30 stroke rate for over half an hour seemed laughable and virtually un-doable! However, I genuinely enjoyed every last minute of this year’s Head of the Yarra.
I’m a nervy race-day rower… as my team-mates will confirm from excessively detailed body-workings on our WhatsApp group; “Morning Glory”. I arrived 4 hours before the race; keen to revel in the atmosphere, cheer on other crews and wind down the nerves. However, the nerves quickly turned to an astute state of focus once I watched a few boats taking off from the judges’ box.
Tim gathered us together as a crew at 12.45 with a final few words of wisdom. “Lengthen” would be our call. Lengthen to tidy up your last stroke and reset. Lengthen to ensure a full and strong finish. Lengthen to get your body over for a tender catch.

The starting line announcer sounded mechanical and almost haunting. Boat names were being called out like the quelling from the Hunger Games, with one simple instruction; “ROW”.
“Boat 206… row”.
The race itself feels a little like a blur. I remember the relief of getting around “big bend” (I was sitting in three seat) and then faintly thinking about tanking up for the next corner…
Stef was clinical in her calls and coxing. She put in a stellar performance, driving her crew on for pieces and navigating a difficult course in what can only be described as a coxswain’s race. We managed to hunt down and pass a crew around the 3km mark. We had drawn blood! There was a hunger and a freshness in the boat, perhaps Basil’s intensity was finally beginning to rub off. We wanted more… Tim was screaming from the bank; ushering us on to take another boat down. He wanted the “bumble-bees” from Balmain… The rush of passing another crew lifted us. We soon entered a crash site. Argonauts, were the casualties, missing a bend and lodging themselves in the middle of the river. Quick thinking from Stef and an “oar”esome save from Club President Jon ensured we sailed past our rivals unscathed. We were still hunting right to the finish line; pressing Balmain on the line and perching ourselves right up the pecking order.
Our hard work seemed to be answered in the overall results. Although the results posted on the day had us in 4th place, further inquiry and clarification had us ultimately with a quality 2nd place finish from 12 D Grade Crews. Our time of 33.25 placed us into 90th place overall. Even without knowing the result, I felt an exhilarating rush of joy! We’d finally come together as a crew to put in a solid row. We drove hard right out to the end and we had the shared euphoria of a team’s effort. A beer well earned!
We couldn’t have put a Richmond men’s eight together without wider help from the club. We cannot thank Tim, Dave and Keith, Ray and Kimmy enough for stepping in during training sessions and keeping the momentum going. Special mention to Matt Ebbatson on this front, for stepping up on about a week’s notice to fill in for Tim on race day after Tim succumbed to injury. We also lamented the losses of Laurent, James and Cam to injury at earlier points in the campaign; watch this space! They’ll be back. And an extra special thanks to Basil, Tim, Dennis and Ger for driving us on as coaches. The feeling of vindication for all the training and mileage off the water made me feel like a proud, proud man!
And of course, the men’s 8 was far the only Richmond presence on the water at this year’s HoTY. First off the mark from the Richmond crews was the women’s masters A-C 8 at about 11.15am, coxed by Mike Numa. By all accounts they made a great start, pushing off strong and swiftly passed several crews through the first half of the course up to big bend. Although the coaching observation had to turn back after that, the crew pushed on to finish in a solid 8th in category in a time of 37:01. This is the first time Richmond has entered the masters category, competing with some very strong crews. They’ve now set the benchmark for those to come!

Just shortly before the men’s 8 was to kick off, the women’s D grade 8 made their dash down the course, starting at about 1.20 and coxed by Derek Begg. Again, some strong crews were amongst the competition. The reports are again that the team pulled down the course strongly. They ultimately finishing 8th in category in a time of 41:51, improving on their overall placing from 2017. Ed has passed on her take on the girl’s tilt: we made a good start, the boats who were going to pass passed and then we had a steady row down to big bend. The bend was tricky in shallow water and rowing started to get difficult. With no other boats in sight it almost felt like any given Sunday row. We got a second wind going pass Scotch and eventually make it over the line, exhausted. Once we’d cooled down with some beers in the shade, the pirates rowed the eight home, and the highlight was cap’n Derek who did not give his pirate voice a break the entire 8.6km back. Thanks for keeping it fun Derek!

In addition to those full crews, Tigers were on the water in other boats. Gerry Goss, as well as coaching all of the Richmond crews at various times, scorched her way down the course in a composite Nagambie boat in the women’s masters F-K category. Her crew won their category in a time of 33:55! Ray Dennis also competed in a composite Banks crew in the men’s masters I-K 8, which crossed the line in 35:15. And we can’t forget Basil of course, who ended up scoring a seat in a masters Argonauts crew at the last minute.
There were also Tigers on the water in the coxswain’s seat. Shern Timmins was on the water early, coxing a composite Year 10 MLC/Tara schoolgirl’s crew from Sydney – Shern’s second HoTY in the cox’s seat! Nicole Stupka also steered an Adelaide crew down the course. And Lindsay Brown added an international element, taking control of a mixed crew from New Zealand.
Although some names have already been mentioned on the coaching front, it never hurts to say them again and to make sure that everyone is included. All the coaches put in a huge amount of effort and time, which is almost entirely out of their dedication to the club and their passion for rowing. They also fulfil multiple roles, as Derek (coach/cox), Mike (coach/cox), Tim (coach/rower) and Dennis (coach/rower) all demonstrate. We’d like to say again thanks to Basil, Tim, Dennis, Derek, Mike, Gerry and Barry.
With all that, another HoTY down – bring on HoTY 2018!
John Carey (telling the story of a first HoTY experience) and Andrew Yuile (doing the round-up on all RRC involvements)

Tickets released for New Years Eve – book now!!!

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with great friends and unrivalled views of the city’s midnight fireworks from our very own clubhouse deck.

Early bird tickets are just $45 per person if purchased prior to 22nd December. $65 per person if purchased after 22nd December. All funds raised going directly to the clubs fundraising goal of new equipment.
Don’t wait, book early and save!!!
Price includes entry to RRC, snacks, BBQ and Salads
Drinks at RRC Bar prices.
Entry from 7pm New Year’s Eve. Ticket required (No ticket no entry)

LOCATION

The Deck, Richmond Rowing Club
7 Boathouse Drive, Southbank

CONTACT DETAILS

Chris Sullivan
[email protected]

Christmas Club Races and BBQ Sunday 17th December

Richmond Rowing Club will be having our Xmas social BBQ on Sunday 17th of December from 12 pm with Xmas Club Races from 9:45 am.
Friends and Family are welcome to come enjoy some Xmas cheer and cheer some club racing.
WHEN: Sunday 17th December
Club races from 9:45am, Christmas BBQ from 12pm
BBQ Price: includes Gourmet BBQ and Salads (please advise Barry Campbell of any dietary requirements at time of booking)
$25 per person Tickets can be purchased via Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/338721
Drinks: RRC Bar open post club races –Drinks at bar prices
VENUE:
Richmond Rowing Club
7 Boathouse Drive
Melbourne, Vic
 

Our newest addition to the fleet – the Karen Doggett

It was wonderful to see so many members competing at the Melbourne Head Regatta. It was also a pleasure to spend the afternoon together as a club afterwards for a casual BBQ and drinks in wonderful weather (until the monsoon arrived!!!).

We received an urgent call to say the newest member of our fleet, a brand new men’s Sykes coxed four/quad, would be arriving that morning. There was no better time, than following the BBQ to get the club together to unveil the boat and name it through the smashing of a bottle of champagne.

As a top of the range boat which we hope will get plenty of use (and success) for the club at regatta’s, we wanted to ensure it was named after someone who has contributed so much to the club over the last few years. The Committee immediately knew who it would be appropriate to name it after – our outgoing president Karen Doggett.

Anyone who has been involved with the club ever since Karen became a member will know of her impact. Karen has been a successful rower for the club since she joined the club in 2008, with her first regatta win coming at Hamilton in a mixed eight. Since this time she has won at numerous regattas including State and National Championships, the most recent of these being in the Victoria State B grade quad in 2017. She has also been part of 2 Head of the Yarra winning crews.

In addition to this Karen has been a part of the Richmond Rowing Club Committee for the previous 6 years, initially as a general member and more recently as President of the club for 4 years until 2017. During this time Karen has shown tremendous dedication to the club, she was involved in the clubs 150th year celebrations and the club redevelopment which has left us with these magnificent facilities.
Her dedication and commitment to the role of President of the club was amazing and her legacy will continue on for many years through where the club is now and through this new boat.
We look forward to seeing this new addition to the clubs fleet at coming regatta’s, hopefully taking home some medals during the coming sprint season.

Spring Camp 2017

Rowing camp can instil a dreading fear in the best of us and I hesitantly left Melbourne on Friday evening with a h’anger and exhaustion that manifests after a hectic week in work. Challenged with the insight that I was likely to be rowing in a pair, I ensured to pack my goggles, banana hammock and trusty life-jacket…and planned for imminent hypothermia.
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Much to my delight however, I arrived to a toasty cabin 42. Considering my previous experience of camp accommodation was a mouldy mosquito-laden bunked shed in (very) rural New Zealand, I’d fallen into 5 star camp conditions! I was sharing with a potential dream-team for box-biting; Rens, Cam, Keith, James and his partner Lizzie. We quickly commenced a (sober) practice session of box-biting in anticipation for Saturday night and enjoyed Richmond’s thumping of “so-long Geelong”.
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We awoke to an awe inspiring view; with a peaking sun, clear skies and silky smooth waters. W.B. Yeats’ would have been proud, so we quickly (slowly) took off to arrive at 6.15am for camp initiation.
We were welcomed by a tenacious Tim and dangerous Dennis, who informed that rowing in pairs would form the morning session. Much to my own and Allan’s delight, we managed to stay afloat and zig-zag our way down the 2km course.
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The mid-morning session consisted of a 7.2km row down the Goulburn to the forbidden fruit; a vineyard. Unfortunately the docking spot beside the sacred ground was occupied, and a merry Masters crew waved us past from the shoreline. Maybe next year…
Other crews were busy at work too, with over 50 of Richmond’s finest rowers weaving their wave down the Goulburn and Nagambie lakes park.
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The long row did not go un-noticed though and we were rewarded by the “the roll that had it all”. Never in my wildest dreams did I envisage a roll so packed with wonderful surprises; beetroot, the finest cheddar cheese and crunchy ‘slaw… DELICIOUS.
The afternoon was sprint session of speedy proportions as we continued to knit as a 8 man crew. Stroked by “Usain” Allan Randall, we worked our way through a pyramid piece which fizzled the mind to the point of “just row, don’t think”. We left the water optimistic of our potential as a crew.
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Next to the good stuff; the barbeque and box-biting… The food committee outdid themselves with ample supplies of coleslaw, potato salads, vegan options and bbq-classics. Rens was in dream land and gloried in a food coma induced by his first Australian barbeque experience.
Box-biting was hilarious from the outset. Coopers Ale kindly supplied a box worthy of all our saliva and the chief umpire Dave was on hand to meticulously shave off 3.75 cubic centimetres from the box per round. Box-biting legends, Barry and Dave whispered invaluable tips on how to overcome the beastly box. “Avoid the soggy bit”, “aim for the opposite side”, “get caught beyond the catch” and choose the “right side to bite” still echo in my ears.
Much to my dismay, I bowed out during round three. The competition was far from over at that point though, as 4 heroes of the box entered a new realm of awesome. They really did demonstrate how to bite a box. Allan surprised us all in his flexibility skill-set and demonstrated the importance of active wear. Tina, 1 year on from delivering her first born was on hand to serve up sizzling single leg squats. Meanwhile, Keith and Edwina were at lager heads to become champion; stooping to new levels and re-writing the box-biting history books for good measure. There were shouts for the sport to be endowed as an Olympic event, as it went to the wire and 12 nail (and box) biting rounds. It led to a new box-biting record of 8cm from the floor to crown a winner. Keith rose above his bronze placed finish from last year and ousted Edwina off her biting throne to claim victory for a revering cabin 42.
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The final day consisted of 2 further exhausting rows.
I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge set by the pair and can see the carryover back into the 8. I’m hoping my wrestling match with the oar is over and I’ll be more graceful in avoiding over-muscling the blade in such a sensitive boat.
What a winning weekend for Richmond Rowing Club! Huge thanks again to all the organising committee, coaches and participants.
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I’m tapping out for now (or not). Looking forward to seeing all of the now familiar faces in training over the coming season. Let’s go Tigers!
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John Carey and James Attenborough

Continued investment in our fleet announced at the AGM

Our AGM was held at the club on Saturday 29th July 2017 in our wonderful facilities. It was an opportunity for the members of the club to come together and reflect on the clubs operations over the past year. We continue to be able to present a healthy balance sheet. Thank you to all who attended and thank you to all the Committee members for their contribution through the year. The clubs healthy finances benefit greatly from our amazing venue and our ability to continue to hire the venue through the ongoing work of the Committee and Lucy as our Facilities Coordinator. As you will have seen from recent blog post about the kitchen and bar refurbishment we continue to invest in the club so we can maximise our income. We were pleased to announce at the AGM our ability to continue to invest in the renewal of the fleet as the outgoing Committee have placed an order for a brand new Sykes boat, a men’s Kevlar bow coxed quad/four.
A major part of the AGM is to elect a new Committee and Farewell any departing members from the Committee. The three Committee members who stood down will be sorely missed.
Karen Doggett, our outgoing president has been a member of the Committee for six years, four of them as president. During this time her dedication and commitment to the role and the club have been evident to all. She has also found the time for significant on water success during the time. The club is in a strong position as Karen leaves the Committee.
Dave Micallef has been the clubs Fundraising Coordinator over the past year, he has overseen a successful fundraising contribution that has allowed us to refit the gym and invest in some much needed new oars. Nick Forte steps down as ordinary member having contributed strongly to the fleet subcommittee and redesigning the gym.
The new committee for the 2017-18 season consists of:
President – Jon Roberts
Vice-President – Geraldine Goss
Secretary – Aline Dejaeger
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, Laurent Demay
Congratulations and welcome to our newest Committee members, Christine Sullivan, Yashwini Vegi and Laurent Demay.
Following the conclusion of the AGM we celebrated the newest addition to our fleet, the Dennis Beck, our brand new women’s Kevlar bow coxed quad/four Mould 10. Dennis was on hand to swing the hammer and officially name the boat.
Thanks to everyone who then helped out with the bbq and bar afterwards.
Naming Dennis Beck