Author: simon.crunden

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2011-12 season results announced – Presentation Night

Last night RRC celebrated yet another fantastic year of achievements for the club – both on and off the water – at our annual presentation night. The event was held at Tsubar (Melbourne University) where some 55 plus RRC members and friends enjoyed an evening of good food, company and excellent dress sense! Yes – it’s always nice to see each other in non-sporting gear.

Although there are occasions throughout the year to celebrate successes, this night presents an opportunity to reflect on the club’s accomplishments as a whole and importantly it is also when the club presents the awards for best female and male rower (John Sawyer and Mal Scott Trophies), the best coxswain (Don Edwards Trophy) and the President’s Award. Amazing John Sawyer himself presented the trophy for best female rower and shared the story of how this award came to be named after him.

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, the winners of the 2011-12 season awards went to:

  • Geraldine Goss – Best Female Rower
  • Gareth Brodie – Best Male Rower
  • Rebecca Lionett – Best Coxswain
  • Martin Foster – President’s Award

Congratulations!

In addition to recognising these members, and those that picked up numerous medals at Vic States, NSW States, Masters Nationals and the many other regattas RRC attended – we also thanked the work of our coaches – who sometimes go unnoticed. Beginning this season (2012-13) the committee would like to introduce a ‘new’ award to formally recognise this dedicated group of volunteers and establish the Don Dudgeon Trophy for ‘Best Coach’. This motion will be proposed at the upcoming AGM in July (last Saturday of

the month) for the membership to vote on and the details regarding how the trophy would be awarded announced then.

A couple of other big announcements were made – progress on the clubhouse redevelopment project, including the very almost final design (Note: I will be sending a separate email about this project during the week), and the plans for the club’s 150thbirthday celebration.

Yep – next year, 2013, RRC will be turning 150. There will be numerous events held from June onwards to honour this milestone, including a spectacular gala dinner at the Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday 14 September 2013 – so make sure you save the date now.

So as you can see RRC has some big things coming up over the next 12-18 months, making it a really exciting time to be part of the club.

Thank you again to all those that made last night possible – Vicki Brennan, Simon Crunden, Karen Doggett (who’s slide show of the last season we will send out soon) – and all of you who were able to attend and make it another fun and memorable night.

Emma Catford, President


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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.

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A big Christmas gift to the club

It is very gratifying to report to all the RRC members on our recent social and fundraising activities. When so many of you dig deep and help out we can make a big difference! Thank you!
RRC Christmas Raffle drawn 17 December 2011
We had a total of 536 tickets in the draw, that means a total of $2680 in ticket sales. After costs are deducted we should clear at least $2,000.
First prize, $800 Essendon Cyclery voucher was won by Jemma Evans. 2nd prize, $200 David Jones voucher, was won by Karen Bell and 3rd prize, $150 worth of mixed wines was won by Dennis Beck.
Thank you to all members who sold tickets and helped make this fundraising activity for the club a success.
RRC Port Melbourne Bunning Sausage Sizzle 18 December 2011
The committee would like to extend a huge thank you to all the members who helped with the sausage sizzle fundraiser. We had a grand total of 576 sausages donated and 15kg of chopped onions which amazingly enough were all sold plus a further 262 sausages bought on the day.
That’s a grand total of 838 sausages sizzled in the name of Richmond Rowing Club, which along with the sale of 364 soft drinks netted the club a total profit of $2189.
Special thanks to all those who donated their time and effort on site throughout the day to man the barbie and serving the endless flow of hungry shoppers.
The RRC Committee wish all the members a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
We look forward to another great year ahead with you as part of our wonderful club.

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Get into the Christmas Spirit with Richmond Rowing Club

This year we are running a fabulous Christmas Raffle as one of our major fundraisers with prizes that are going to ensure the winners have a Merry Christmas.
1st Prize: $800 voucher for Essendon Cyclery –  for everything bike related
2nd prize: $200 voucher for David Jones
3rd prize: Mixed dozen white and red wine
We are asking all members to please sell 10 raffle tickets to friends, family & colleagues (or buy the tickets yourself) and return the completed ticket stubs and money to RRC secretary’s box (at end of cupboards upstairs) before the Christmas Party on Thursday 15 December.  We would love you to sell more than 10 tickets, to get more see Karen Doggett or email [email protected]. The draw will be at 9pm on 15 December.

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The Passing of Don Dudgeon

Don Dudgeon one of Richmond Rowing Club’s greatest members passed away on Saturday 23 July after a brief illness in hospital. Don was very influential at the club as an athlete through the 1950’s and 1960’s and then as an administrator and coach during the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. Don was in someways a controversial character, but his love and passion for the Richmond Rowing club was extraordinary and his dedication to the development of the sport, in particular sculling is legendary.
Don was one of the greatest scullers the club has produced, representing the Victoria four times in the President’s cup and rowing in countless national and international regatta’s during his competitive rowing career. After retiring from major competition, Don continued to make his mark on the sport in masters rowing and through coaching and mentoring athletes along the Yarra River including a number of world championship and Olympic level athletes.
As an administrator, Don served Richmond Rowing Club over several decades in a number of roles including president, captain, secretary, treasurer and general committee member and was a long serving president of the Victorian Amateur Sculling Association.
Very much a traditionalist, Don was a great believer in the old methods and continued to row with timber macon oars in his immaculate Sykes timber single and double sculls well after carbon fiber boats and big blades became the benchmark in the sport. Don’s knowledge of rowing was extra ordinary, and his ability to rig a boat was second to none, but unfortunately for most difficult to follow, as his measurements were always calculated in imperial which was the mark of the man and his methods.
Don was a great mentor and friend to me and many others over a number of years. He provided me guidance and support during my competitive rowing career and as a coach and administrator of the club. There will be many words spoken about Don in the coming weeks as people reflect back on the life of the great man and his passing will bring much sadness to a number of people who knew him well. He will be deeply missed.
Don leaves behind his beautiful wife Mariee and three children Julia, Greg and Stuart.
Simon Crunden

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Richmond’s Remarkable Masters Season

As the days get shorter, wetter and colder it can only mean one thing, the 2010-11 rowing season is coming to a close with only masters racing left to go. So the months of April and May saw the slightly more mature members (you have to be 27 or over to compete at masters) of RRC take to the water for a few memorable weeks of racing.
The familiar site of the Yarra was the location of the first masters event of the season with the Banks club hosting. It turned out to be a great day for the girls of Kev and Leonie’s hard-working squad with all three lanes of the novice 4 and womens A-C 4 being filled with Richmond boats. Healthy inter-club competition led to wins to the crew coxed by Mike Numa consisting of Karen Bell, Lindsey Brown, Jodie Naisbitt and Sarah Knight. Rachael Button took out the womens A-B single scull and Richmond life member Ray Dennis also came away with a gold from the male maters H double scull.
The following weekend both boats and rowers made the short trip through the city to Albert Park Lake where once again Rachael won in the single and Geri began her assult on the 2011 masters competition with wins in the mixed quad C-E, female double C-E and female quad B-C. Derek’s coxed four consisting of Tamara Lowe, Karen Doggett, Christine Prosser and Sarah Knight found themselves at the start line of the 1km course giving a 30 second headstart to their competitors in the A-G womens coxed four race due to their youthful combination and the aged handicaps of masters racing. Much to their disbelief and delight they managed to power home to victory to round up another great day of racing.
The wild weather of Carrum saw that Masters regatta cancelled and so RRC moved onto Lake Ngambie, the setting for the Victorian State Masters. The early start was well worth it for Mike Numa who coxed the men’s novice four of Charlie Burke, James Farrar, Michael Calvert and Nigel Ainslie to victory in a very exciting, memorable and hard fought race. Only the cheering of the Richmond squad and the appearance of medals persuaded the boys of their win and their reaction was matched by their proud coach Franzi who heard the news whilst back in Melbourne and who is rarely lost for words. The good results continued to flow with bronze for both the women’s four (Tams, Sally, Lindsey and Vikki) and novice quad (Tams, Sally, Lindsey and Sandrine), silver for the female double combination of Karen and Nikki (a new friend from Melbourne) and another surprise result with a gold to Barry and Karen in the mixed double after only one training session. Ray Dennis once again picked up a medal this time in the male F-J coxed four and Geri continued to collect Masters bling in two different quad and double events. Some good natured rivalry saw Geri pip Carolyn to the glory in the female C double, only to have the roles reversed when they came up head-to head in the female C single with the gold going to Carolyn.
Huge congratulations to everyone who has taken part and contributed, a big thanks to Barry for trailoring and organising all the boats and equipment and apologies if I’ve missed or confused any results but as you can see the number of incredible performances has been amazing. The season climaxed at National Masters in June, so watch this space for a round-up of the Tigers triumph in Tasmania – coming soon……
Karen Doggett

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Richmond receives grant

Richmond Rowing Club has been awarded a grant from the Victorian State Government to be used for development of the growing number of volunteer coaches we now have at the club.

The grant for $2,330 will be presented to the club president Emma Catford (thanks Jim) by the Member for Northern Metropolitan Craig Ondachie on Sunday 22 May at 10:00 am.

Further details will be posted in the coming week including the possibility of club races.

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We Came, We Hunted, We Collected

Woke up this morning,
from the strangest dream
I was in the biggest army,
The world has ever seen
We were marching as one,
on the road to the holy grail
OK so we didn’t have Mark Seymour on the road with us, but RRC still had a holy grail of the sprint regatta season: the opportunity to row on the 2000 Olympic rowing course at the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC), Penrith. Under the glow of the Olympic Rings, what a 5 ring SIRC-us it was to perform in and to hopefully secure a medal on the presentation dias.
An RRC squad of 35 hit the road and the air to seek fortune and glory the weekend of the 09th and 10th April, to proudly represent their club, Richmond with the painted-but-not-tainted claws of a tiger and the shrill, chill haka from Lone Grey Goosen echoing in our heads for daily inspiration.
The New South Wales Grade State Championships are a hotly contested regatta, represented by over 42 Rowing Clubs. We quickly realised that our competition was not only NSW Clubs, however International Rowing Clubs including Hanoi (professional rowing squad representing Vietnam…. in Australia for a 6 week training camp) We were also up against crews from Canberra, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Barwon, the Sunshine Coast and others.
Women’s Squad Results
Umm pretty good actually. Big fields in the sculling events, lots of strong wins through the qualifying heats and semis. We were able to show strength and staying power across all grades entered, and as a squad we proved to be distinctly better than almost all takers in the first & final sweep events.

WC8+ Gold
WD8+ Gold
WC4+ Gold – Pump up the Jam, pump it up!
WD4+ 4th in final
WC4X Bronze (Professional Hanoi crew pot hunting for Gold)
WD4X Silver
WC2X Zara/Sophie 5th in semi
WD2X Rochelle/Kate (endearingly titled, Pocket Rockets, with rival club members asking while they were on the dias, ‘are they your club coxes’?)
(you should have seen the size of their competition)
WD2X Karen/Leonie 5th in final (Won their heat and 2nd in Semi)
WC1X Kate (blown away in the final…Penrith unleashed her winds)
WC1X Rachael (conserved her strength in the heat for…)
WD1X Rachael Silver
And that meant that each women’s squad member received at least one medal. Their coach is mightily impressed with their dedication, willingness to reach for new heights and competitive spirit.
They are all pretty happy with how it went too. Did we mention crushing strong performer Leichardt? Yeah, did that. Big-noting Griffith Uni Surfers Paradise? Yup.
Man Squad Results (as overheard by the women’s squad)
Yeah so Sam and Nick cheated by actually training but I suppose good on them to win Gold in the C double. Then Nick in the single, what is he on anyway, and where can I get some? Oh yeah, Sam showed us all up with a Bronze in the B single, and then pimped his citizenship for Silver in an exhibitionist race against Hanoi, won by some Balmain guy with a pot.
Man Squad Results
MC2x – Gold
MB1x – Bronze
M1x (sprint) – Silver
Women’s Squad Results (as overheard by man squad)
M1: “Chicks did alright, eh.”
M2: “Whatever”
Social Correspondent’s Report
Darlings, we all know what happens at Penrith stays at Penrith.
So your social correspondent is simply unable to make sense of any of the following late breaking stories:
• man squad’s repressed competitiveness. Gosh, which really is the fastest way to Penrith?
• a little boy lost in Woolworths
• the true meaning of “a glass of wine with dinner”
• did the quarry start work early or was Captain B.C. Snoralot crowing the dawn?
• one male rower’s fructose-friendly product endorsement of Gordon’s
• Nick’s special relationship with Dijon mustard
Finally however we look to the dear reader to enlighten us on an announcement to the packed regatta crowd of the name of the NZ river where Sam Morrison won his international sprint regatta title. Just as it was announced we were distracted by a stray 6-pack, so dites-moi was it:
• North End
• Living End
• Whakapapa
• Fukatani
• all BS to begin with
We started out, seeking fortune and glory, it’s a short song, but it’s a hell of story….. How the Tigers went to Sydney Town and bathed in the Holy Grail.
All the locals scattered, they were hiding after the row
We were so far from home, but man did we know,
there’d be nothing left to plunder as we
Coveted the Holy Grail!
Well done Tigers, Our Richmond Rowing Family the Schoutens and Derek for following every race on Tiger Wheels making sure we did our best!
Derek Begg with Rochelle Stokes