Henley Fundraiser Roaring Success by Kendall Brodie

Members, crew and family mingled as the night began with welcome drinks and canapés, the duck pancakes being notably delightful. Before taking our seats the MC Andrew Rowley drew the guests’ attention to a screen set up at the front of the room where a live feed of the Women’s Henley Regatta was playing. Everyone gathered around the screen to watch the Sydney composite junior women’s quad convincingly win the quarter-finals race which would take them into the semi-final. This was an exciting start to the night and the good news of our overseas crews kept on coming with the announcement of the Australian Men’s four with two SRC athletes claiming gold at World Cup 2 as well as Leah Saunders taking silver in the Women’s Quad. Many of the young members were watching the races on their phones; it made for a great atmosphere that we could all share in the success of our athletes. Team Manager Michael Rowan took to the Mike and highlighted that three out of the five SRC athletes competing at World Cup 2 have represented the club at Henley, and what a pathway to be on for our crews heading overseas!

The night was abuzz with so much rowing action going on, the loud auction was a frenzy of hands flying up and a tussle for the Avoca beach house saw Scott Woodward (two-time Henley representative) coming away victorious, he was quick to rope in others to share in the cost which was unlucky for Ed White (2015 Henley winner) sitting next to him. The silent auction saw the bread roll go to Jenny Cole for the bargain price of $20 and a game of heads and tales had lady luck delivering a bottle of champagne to Tom Gunton (Henley winner 2015).

A video put together by Scott Patterson was played featuring the Henley crews training with some dramatic music in the background, it certainly gave the guests a visual of how hard the crews have been working, not to mention how tidy their rowing is looking! James Chapman stepped forth and called the crews up, introducing each member, some with more roasting than others. It was great to see the turnout from our members, notably previous Henley representatives and current US based athletes. It was a festive evening and very successful in fundraising for the tour, thank you to everyone who came and best of luck to our touring athletes!