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27 SRC Athletes Selected in Interstate Teams
SRC has been inundated with selection announcements in the past few weeks, with one of the most significant being the finalisation of State Team Crews to contest the Interstate Regatta at the conclusion of the National Championships on 31st March.
The team was officially announced on March 22nd at the 2019 King’s and Queen’s Cup Lunch, hosted by Rowing NSW at Doltone House – Jones Bay Wharf.
2019 saw 27 SRC athletes and coaches selected to represent their state across 9 out of 12 available events. This includes 23 for NSW, two for Western Australia, and one for South Australia. This number is equal with Adelaide Rowing Club as the highest of any club in the country.
In the Youth events, SRC’s Under 21 Squad represents 13 out of the 20 athletes across the two NSW crews, as well as coaches Franz Imfeld and Lachlan Carter.
We also saw a return to Lightweight Interstate Rowing, when Christopher McCarthy was selected as reserve for the Penrith Cup for NSW
Member of the 2018 Australian PR3 Mixed Coxed Four, Ben Gibson, has continued his domination of the Para Rowing scene, being selected alongside coach Franz Imfeld as NSW’s representative in the PR3 Men’s Single.
Recently the crews to contest the senior eights for NSW were announced, with Leah Saunders and Harriet Hudson chosen once again to race for the Queen’s Cup, as well as Spencer Turrin to defend his title in the King’s Cup crew. The King’s Cup is coached by Donovan Cech and Jason Baker.
Furthermore, Men’s Eight coxswain Kendall Brodie has been announced as one of two coxswains for the King’s Cup, with the final decision to be made in the coming week.
Across the Nullarbor, NTC athletes Josh Hicks and David Watts will contest the King’s Cup for Western Australia. Dave will also be racing in the Men’s Single for the President’s Cup.
Finally, Nathan Bowden has once again been selected in the King’s Cup for South Australia.
We wish all our athletes competing the best of luck as they represent their home states with pride. Please find the full NSW crew lists below.
Men’s Youth Eight – Noel F. Wilkinson Trophy
Harry Crouch (SRC)
Ash Nicholls (SRC)
Jordan Duff (SUBC)
Alex Nichol (SRC)
Torun Olsson (SRC)
Jackson Kench (SRC)
Will O’Shannessy (SUBC)
Alex Potter (SRC)
Cox: Harry Keenan (SRC)
Reserve: Kieran Riach (SUBC)
Coach: Christopher Holliday (SUBC)
Assistant Coach: Franz Imfeld (SRC)
Women’s Youth Eight – Bicentennial Cup
Crystal Piper (SRC)
India Thomson (SRC)
Nikki Martincic (UTS)
Adelaide Scott (UTS)
Raquel Cuevass (SUBC)
Tara Rigney (SUBC)
Lauren Graham (SRC)
Issy Furrer (SRC)
Cox: Hannah Cowap (SRC)
Reserve: Lauren Lyon (SRC)
Coach: Lachlan Carter (SRC)
Assistant Coach: Hally Chapman (UTS)
Men’s Lightweight Four – Penrith Cup
Michael McCrea (UTS)
James Waldersee (UTS)
Sean Murphy (Mosman)
Peter Waldersee (UTS)
Reserve: Christopher McCarthy (SRC)
Coach: Matthias Ungemach (Mosman)
Assistant Coach: Jack Hanley (SUBC)
PR3 Men’s Single Scull
Ben Gibson (SRC)
Coach: Franz Imfeld (SRC)
Men’s Eight – King’s Cup
Rob Black (Mosman)
Jack Hargreaves (SUBC)
James Medway (UTS)
Jack O’Brien (SUBC)
Hamish Playfair (UTS)
Alex Purnell (SUBC)
Nick Purnell (SUBC)
Spencer Turrin (SRC)
Cox: Kendall Brodie (SRC) / William Raven (SUBC)
Reserve: Cameron Girdlestone (SUBC)
Coach: Donovan Cech
Assistant Coach: Jason Baker
Women’s Eight – Queens Cup
Fiona Ewing (SUBC)
Emma Fessey (UTS)
Georgina Gotch (SUBC)
Genevieve Horton (SUBC)
Harriet Hudson (SRC)
Rowena Meredith (SUBC)
Georgie Rowe (UTS)
Leah Saunders (SRC)
Cox: Tahlia Barnett-Hepples (SUBC) / Anna O’Hanlon (UTS)
Coach: Don McLachlan (SUBC)
SRC’s Juniors Prevail at Head of the River Regatta’s
The newly formed Junior Development program, run by Brendan Longman, saw 11 of it’s athletes compete for their schools at the respective Schoolgirl and Schoolboy Head of the Rivers on 16th and 17th of March.
At the Schoolgirl Head of the River, Sydney was represented by Evie Thomson and Sophia Carmody of Pymble Ladies College, who had an incredibly tight race which was decided by a photo finish. The duo came away with a second place in the Schoolgirl First Eight, setting up for a great battle at the upcoming National Championships.
On the sculling side of things, Freya Neville and Isabella Scammell, competing for Kinross Wolaroi, took out a Gold Medal in the Schoolgirl First Quad Scull.
SRC Affiliate Elizabeth Carter – who joined us for our January training camp in the Snowy Mountains – took out the Schoolgirl Double Scull for Newcastle Grammar School.
Novices Talsia Knoke-Driver and Sophie Brennan must be commended on their efforts in coming 4th and 8th respectively in the Year 8 Single Scull. Having only been rowing for a couple of months, it was great to see them make the A Final in an event with almost 20 entries.
Ahead of competing for Sydney in the U17 W2x next week at the National Championships, Hunter Valley Grammar School sculler Sarah Abrams took out a Bronze medal in a competitive Schoolgirl Single Scull field. This meant that SRC was featured in all four Schoolgirl Sculling events on the day.
The following day, at The Schoolboy Head of the River, SRC saw a number of impressive performances across a number of small boats.
After a difficult heat, Namkhai Stylianou brought home a Silver medal, battling it out to the line and edging out over Bronze by less than a second.
In the Year 10 equivalent, Gabe Carmody was determined to one-up his sister Sophia’s performance of the day before. He accomplished this with ease, racing for Knox Grammar, Gabe brought home the Gold Medal by 8 seconds, leading start to finish.
In the afternoon’s racing, Newington’s Lachlan Rennie raced the Schoolboy Double Scull, and despite leading from the start, losing an oar in the last 100 metres and transitioning to sweep rowing meant the crew had to settle for Third.
It is great to see our athletes taking what they have learnt at the club, and making improvements within their school programs. If you are at all interested in joining the club whilst you are still at school, our Junior program is constantly taking on new members. Please contact Brendan Longman through the contact form here.
10 SRC Members Selected on Senior Australian Rowing Team
Following a week of gruelling small boat racing, seat racing, and speed orders at SIRC, Rowing Australia, on 16th March, announced nine SRC athletes and one coach in the Senior A Team to contest World Cup’s 2 and 3 in June and July 2019.
The men’s sweep boats were tightly contested in the speed orders, fast conditions meant some seriously impressive results, however Rowing Australia has made the decision to announce a squad of 16, with the final composition of the reserves, pair, four, and eight to be announced in the next month.
The squad includes dual World Champions Spencer Turrin and Josh Hicks, reigning Silver Medallist Angus Moore as well recent Harvard graduate Sam Hardy who makes his senior team debut. Coxswain Kendall Brodie was retained in the M8+ for the 2019 season.
Western Australian David Watts has continued his success since joining the club. After claiming a Silver Medal at last year’s World Championships, Dave has once again been named in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls. The crew is mostly unchanged, with only one change since 2018 we hope to see great results from this crew.
The Women’s Sweep Squad was selected in a similar fashion to the Men’s, with a group of 16 athletes named – and final compositions to be determined in the coming weeks. SRC’s Leah Saunders continues her one-oared success with the naming in this squad.
SRC has continued it’s representation in international Para-Rowing. Erik Horrie has once again been named in the PR1 M1x alongside coach Jason Baker, in an attempt to secure a 6th World Title.
Ben Gibson has also been named in the PR3 squad for the Mixed 4+, with a final crew to be named before the 2019 FISA International Para-Rowing Regatta in Gavirate, Italy in May.
We are incredibly proud to have the second largest representation on the Senior A Team, and look forward to seeing the final crew announcements, as well as some SRC spirit laid down in Europe this year!
The entire team announcements can be found below:
Senior Team Announcement for World Cups 2 and 3
Para Team Announcement for FISA International Para Rowing Regatta, Gavirate
Women’s Eight Make SRC History at Gold Cup
The annual Riverview Gold Cup regatta is one which is held in high esteem at Sydney Rowing Club. It is often a chance for club members to contest a choppy, 1400m dogleg course in combinations often outside of their typical age and weight categories.
2019 was no exception, with the regatta presenting wind, rain, and plenty of wash from spectator vessels, our athletes had to draw on their years of experience rowing in the wash of Hen and Chicken Bay to prevail over their competition in 5 out of 7 events entered.
The day kicked off with our Men’s B Grade 4+, who battled fast conditions and strong opposition from Mosman and Sydney University to come 3rd, having drawn the outside lane.
Our girls equivalent followed immediately after. The girls, expecting a match race between rivals SUBC, arrived to the start line to find that their opposition had unfortunately scratched, leaving them to row over the course to collect their Silver Oars. Crystal Piper described the race as “Like rowing next to a river cat for 1400m, only worse”. A classic Gold Cup race.
After both our Men’s and Women’s eights took out their heats comfortably, both B grade quads took to the course in conditions which were noted as being rough even for the infamous Lane Cove course.
Our girls – featuring juniors Niamh Graham and Lily Gavan, as well as U21’s Lauren Lyon and India Thomson – were lucky enough to draw lane 2, allowing them to turn on the inside half of the course, and still start slightly ahead of their main competition Sydney University. The Beefcakes were in the lead before the turn, and steered a near perfect line to take the win by 9 seconds.
Our men’s crew, steered by U21 Tom Galloway, and backed up by senior athlete Dylan Boakes, as well as lightweights Chris McCarthy and Andrew Brown, competed in a full 5 lane final. They were drawn in lane 4, meaning they would need to maintain the lead given to them at the start, to ensure they could take an optimal line around the outside of the corner.
Following their plan to a letter, the boys were half a length ahead of a strong Mosman crew at the turn, and took a sharp line to afford them a straight shot at the finish as early as possible. Unfortunately for Mosman, their line left them rowing in the SRC crew’s wash, forcing a crab just before the line to allow our Men to take the win. A first at the Regatta for the two lightweights, and continuing a long history of success for Boakes and Galloway at Lane Cove.
A special mention must go out to our Masters eight, who shortly after the quads defended their title with a clear water win, 14 seconds over Mosman who started with a 7 second handicap. This was the second of three wins on Saturday for cox Scotty Trayhurn, who regularly coxes the Masters, but being a club legend – offered his talents to the Women’s Four and Eight whilst Hannah Cowap raced for her school.
The Men’s and Women’s Open Eights are held at the conclusion of the days racing, and spectators on the bank were treated to two fantastic races.
The Women were first. Being fastest qualifiers they drew Lane 1, meaning they would start almost a length behind the competition. unfazed by this they broke almost two lengths clear of the field, including reigning champions Sydney University, before they had even reached the corner. The girls charged home to 6 second win, marking the first ever win for Sydney in this event, as well as the first ever Gold Cup win for many of the crew.
In the Men’s Eight, our gents were keen to get a win after the disappointment of being made to re row the race last year. However, after cruising through the heat they were drawn in Lane 4, on the outside. This meant that they were unable to secure an efficient line around the corner. Despite an incredible charge for the line, our U23 boys were unlucky to be taken down by Uni by just 0.43 of a second.
SRC would like to thank St Ignatius College, Riverview, for superb the running of the regatta. It is always an enjoyable one, and a highlight of the NSW calendar. We would also like to thank all our competition on the day, especially Mosman Rowing Club and Sydney University Boat Club, for keeping us honest and providing thrilling racing.
SRC Brings It Home at the 2019 NSW State Championships
After showing promising results at the 2019 Small Boats regatta, there was an air of anticipation about the club in the weeks leading in to State Champs this year, athletes had been keeping in touch with their small boat skills, begun developing some dangerous boat speed in new crew boat combinations, and spent more money at the Penrith sandwich shop than a seafood raffle could cover…
The anticipation was soon relieved, and in spectacular style. SRC came away from the weekend with 14.75 Gold medals to our name – more than twice that of any other club. This was the first time we’ve won the Medal tally since 2002. President Keith Jameson commented on how he could barely keep up taking photos of all our medallists.
Day one saw temperatures under 30 degrees with a perfect tailwind for fast times, and it wasn’t long before we saw some. Harriet Hudson stormed home in a 7:36 in the U23 W1x, a huge PB which is sure to turn heads throughout the rowing community. The following day Harriet backed up with a strong win over an international class field to retain her 2018 state title
On Saturday morning, our Senior A athletes shone, with David Watts taking Bronze in a blistering ME1x field, before the all Sydney combination of Josh Hicks and Sam Hardy took a Bronze in the ME2- behind Spencer in Silver.
The U21 Men’s and Women’s eights are perhaps two of the most exciting events of the regatta, if not the entire season. For many, it’s their first chance to race 2km in an eight since school, and our men and women were bursting at the seams to show what they could lay down in sky blue.
This year saw the first time we had ever fielded a WU21 8+, and didn’t they impress. The girls led the race through the 1km, constantly battling with the crew from “Toowong”. A gold was not to be however, with the Beefcakes picking up a bronze, finishing narrowly behind a Mercantile crew who dominated them at Head of the Yarra last year, and the QLD youth eight who took Gold.
This result is hugely promising for the four girls in this crew (Furrer, Graham, Piper, Thomson) who are likely to be representing NSW for the Bicentennial Cup at the Interstate regatta next month.
Our Men’s crew, under the watchful eye of coach Franz Imfeld, have been targeting this event for months, and were keen to get up over rivals Sydney University, who got one over them last year. The heat proved that the strongest threat was from MUBC, Franz’s former club, who took out the fastest qualifying spot in the heat.
Our boys however didn’t let that faze them, after a quick cuddle between pair partners in the ice baths, the yewthies were back on the water for the final, raring to go. They knew they couldn’t let anyone get the slip on them out of the blocks like in the heat.
Despite an incredible last 250 from MUBC, Sydney’s wattage in the middle of the race had left them with an unassailable lead. Stroke man and former 3 seat Alex Potter was quoted as saying, “You know, I got to the 1k and I look across and I think ‘I have the legs’ and so I went and they didn’t have the legs so I won, its great you know”.
The last time Sydney Rowing Club won the U21 M8+ was in 1998, when the crew contained club legends James Chapman, Nick Baxter, and Glenn Bates. This is a huge achievement, and will hopefully not be the last eight’s trophy these men take home this season.
Saturday finished off with a pair of Golds for our U17 Double sculls, seeing Lily Gavan and Sarah Abrams team up to take the women’s event, followed by Michael Campbell and Gordon Appelcryn taking out the Men’s equivalent.
This was the first of a slew of medals for Brenda’s junior program.
Sunday kicked off with Jackson Kench and Harry Crouch taking out their heat, and backing up to place 5th in the final of the U23 M2-. Given the field included numerous international medallists, and Jackson and Harry have only been together about 6 weeks, this was a fantastic result.
In the Women’s running of this category, ‘Party Pair’ Issy Furrer and Lauren Graham took 4th, again a promising result racing up an age group.
The highlight of Sunday morning had to be our senior NTC men – joined by Hamish McDonald, Alex Potter, and Alex Nichol – bringing the Q.L. Deloitte trophy in the Elite Men’s Eight. This was the maiden row for our new eight, coincidentally also named the Q.L. Deloitte, huge power move.
After a barrage of medals in both U21 pairs, both the U21 and U23 women’s doubles, both U21 quads, as well as the U17 singles, we came to the last event of the day. The Women’s Elite Quad. Sydney were champions in this event in 2018, when they crew of Romy Davenport, Leah Saunders, Lauren Lyon, and Harriet Hudson, stormed passed Mercantile after they caught a crab in choppy conditions just before the line.
In 2019, defending their title, our girls had the daunting task of taking on Sydney Uni’s elite women, all of whom had a wealth of international experience and medals to their names.
By the halfway mark, SUBC had a lead of nine seconds, things were not looking good. However, at the 1500m mark bow seat Lauren Lyon could hear the leaders getting closer, bewildered, she looked around to find that they had broken an oar in the rough tailwind. And so, in the spirit of Steven Bradbury who 17 years and 2 days earlier took home Australia’s first ever winter Olympic Gold Medal, Sydney Rowing Club charged home to defend their title in the WE4x. True Australian heroes.
Despite having taken out the nationals a few times recently, NSW State Champs has always been a tough one for the club. This being the first time we have won the point score since 2001 leaves Sydney in one of the best positions moving towards nationals that we have ever been in.
SRC Sizzles at Small Boats 2018 by Coach Carter
This was our first regatta of 2018 and only a week out from our 3-week training camp in Perisher Valley/Jindabyne. Many of the athletes were feeling a bit lethargic and tired from camp still but managed to pull off some impressive performances.
Harriet Hudson, in particular, put on a master class display of single sculling in the Women’s Elite event. The 20-year-old won her heat against several NTC athletes and finished 4th in the final in an outstanding field of Senior National representatives. Later in the day, she teamed up with Romola Davenport to win the U23 Double ahead of SRC’s U21 combination of Crystal Piper and Lauren Lyon who came in second.
There were a few other notable victories in the Elite double sculls with Nick Clifton and Dylan Boakes taking out the Men’s category and Eleanor Disney with Madison Brown winning the Women’s event. Max Brenner and Lucas Giles took out the U21 double with Tal Lewis and Wyatt Batt coming in narrowly behind them in second place. Jake Brighton and Pat Graham finished the U23 double in a respectable second place.
Lauren Lyon put on a man of the match winning performance to qualify fastest in the U21 single scull and followed it up with a personal best time of 8:02 in the final finishing in second place. Lauren Louise Lyon’s lacklustre left leg looked to be lingering a little but as it lengthened out it looked like lightening further along down the line.
Our U21 pair duo of Jackson Kench and Alex Nichol have been watching too many World Championship videos it seems and thought they could emulate what the lightweight Irish pair did in 2017 – which was to rate 40spm the whole way down the course. It was a gutsy effort but unfortunately, since neither of them is Irish, they weren’t quite crazy enough to hold onto it in the last 200m where they were overtaken to finish 1.5sec behind the winners. This was a tough lesson to learn but one which they will certainly improve on in upcoming regattas.
Tal Lewis had a great result finishing 3rd in the U19 single and says he’s feeling confident with his racing so far and looking forward to State Champs. Lauren Graham and Issy Furrer had a positive start to their season with a second place in the U21 and U19 pairs races. It was their first time racing pairs together and they dedicated their performances to Rex Cox who sadly passed away last year aged 98. Rex was a former club captain of the Southern Alps Ski Club and a legend on the slopes. The girls like to think of themselves as Rex’s Angels.
Wyatt Batt recently finished his schooling at Sydney Grammar last year and has joined SRC as one of our U21 lightweight men. He placed 2nd in his single scull which was a terrific start to what could be a very promising career.
Lachlan Carter
Sydney Rowing Club Regatta 2018 – Call for Volunteers
SRC’s annual regatta is on 24 February 2018 – we need volunteers. Click here if you can help.
SRC Shines at Head of the Yarra – by Jack Quinn
The 2017 Head of the Yarra, was shaping up to be a big one and boy did the SRC team deliver the goods. The Sydney Rowing Club Squad almost won as many races as the number of fingers on Carts left hand! But not quite.
The day started off well with our Schoolgirl Composite 8+ zipping around the course in a very handy time of 33:59.47, only 16 seconds shy of the dominant Pymble Ladies College Eight that featured SRC’s India Thompson, and Cliffo’s Sister, so at least we kind of won the event.
Next up was the defending Master’s D8+ champions who managed to successfully defend their 2016 title. However, two members of the Stephen Handleys “Legends” 8+ were disheartened.
“Personally I was disheartened to lose to my son for the first time ever,” said Roger Brighton.
Steve Graham agreed with Roger. He said “Yes I agree with Roger, the only thing Patrick has beaten me in recently is when we got on the scales in our upstairs bathroom. I couldn’t believe he managed to beat me in the race.”
The next crew of featured the two sons of the disheartened Master’s Jake Brighton and Patrick Graham. These boys held the fort in the middle of the C Grade 8+ who also managed to pull off a victory for the first time. When we interviewed them post-race they both seemed very pleased to have finally gotten one over their fathers.
South African 7 seat Matthew Gertenbach was also thrilled with the victory. “Ag Man, that was a Jol, so good to give it a klap with these Lekker Laaities!
After having already put away 2 events the SFRC Men’s Open 8+ didn’t want to miss out on any of the festivities and decided to rate as high as they could, to get down the course as fast as possible so they could celebrate with the rest of the team. Because they were so excited about the other two eights winning it also meant they blew away the field and won their event too, not to mention being the fasted eight on the course and the first interstate crew in history to win the MO8+ at the HOTY.
Alex Hill from Adelaide Rowing Club who rowed in our composite Men’s Eight said “I wish I could’ve come down the course in a Light Blue Zootie, they are the best Zooties in the world.”
Maybe next year Hilly. This was a particularly gutsy effort since the NTC guys in this crew had rowed over 200km that week in single sculls already without a morning off. That’s impressive.
All in all, it was a great event and next year we will be defending three events and hopefully be able to add a few more to our ever-growing list of champions at the “Champion Club of Australia, and the best club in the world, Sydney Rowing Club”.
SRC Working Bee
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Boat Christening – The Lachlan Carter by Leah Saunders
Good morning to our Sydney Rowing Club family.
We all know that Sydney Rowing Club is the best rowing club in the galaxy, so it is quite the honour to have a boat in this fleet named after you. For a man who bleeds blue, loves rowing, and believes (to his very core… and enough to publicize to anyone who will… or will not listen) – that Sydney Rowing Club really is the best place in the world… this is well and truly deserved.
We are here to celebrate, and christen the Lachlan Carter. The very first athlete to introduce himself to me when I arrived at Sydney Rowing Club. He shook my hand, and gave himself a name… “Carts”.
Today, I’d like to share some quirks and characteristics which make Carts such a well loved and important cog who makes Sydney Rowing Club a better place to be. Some of the reasons why he so deserves a boat to be named after him.
He is a coach, colleague, team player, friend… and in the words of the athletes themselves, a guy who always has your back as a coach and a mate.
Carts bleeds blue. The Sydney Rowing Club blue. It’s an exact shade and you shouldn’t get it wrong. Carts will choose something just because it is Sydney Rowing Club blue. I came down to the club recently to collect something, and Carts greeted me with a compliment… “Oh, nice dress Leah!” I didn’t expect him to comment, and honestly I was surprised until he went on to say… “It’s the Sydney Rowing Club blue!”. Drink bottles, socks, hats, anything. Sydney Rowing Club Blue. Just how good are the oars… When they’re painted! Sydney Rowing Club blue!!
The Sydney Rowing Club motto is Mens Sana in Corpore Sano, a latin phrase which in English translates to healthy mind, healthy body. Carts has always been a caring and empathetic person, who understands that it is people who make boats move. It is people who get boats across the finish line first. People are not machines, and everyone has tricky mental days. Carts recognizes that to be physically ready to row well, our mind must be equally ready. He embodies the club motto in his everyday coaching, with his respect for athlete mental wellbeing, which makes us in light blue feel supported.
Carts gets around everyone who loves to row. He doesn’t discriminate between the real battlers and the elite, and has a profound knack in recognizing strengths in absolutely anybody. He will notice these strengths in others, and demonstrate them; to upskill all of us. It’s a one team mentality. Tom Gunton is a scat man at the best of times, but he has guts… and he is brave…. You’ve gotta race with that intensity.
You’ve gotta anticipate the catch like Harriet, pick the rest of the boat up. In and on…
It’s a well known fact that you should be doing “Morgs” laps of Hen and Chicken Bay… riiiight around the edges as close to the bank as you can be – no cutting corners. There’s even an acronym named after Morgs himself. Put simply… BLM. Be. Like. Morgs.
Carts is a kite holder. We are his little light blue kites. Allowed the freedom to fly, and the knowledge that someone will always be there to give you the grounding; to give you extra length in the string to go away and do fun, and fantastic things in this country; at SIRC, Iron Cove, Taree Summer Regatta; or overseas… Henley, New Zealand, Switzerland; and someone always there to give you a little tug and a little jolt juuust when your head starts to get a bit big for your own good. We like our team to be modest around here.
Carts is a tricky fellow who seems to have worked out the healthy balance of support and cajoling in his coaching – it’s a sneaky balance and you don’t quiiiiite know which end of the spectrum you’ll receive. There are times when you speak to Carts really needing to melt on someone because you’re having a shit day on the water, and you want someone to tell you that you’re great, and maybe to have a quiet afternoon, decrease those watts a smidgen on the ergo… He instead gives it to you straight and simple – there’s never any messing around. He cuts out all complications… do your job. “Good luck Leah. No matter how hard it is, don’t quit 2 minutes before the miracle happens. Just hold on a bit longer, and you’ll see that it is not far away, and then you’ll be on the other side. Be brave. Be Blue.”
In hindsight you know it’s exactly what you needed to hear…. There are times when you’re doubting yourself beyond what is sensible. It’s paralyzing when you have nerves which make you feel like you’ve forgotten how to put oars in the water… just wanting it to be over and done with. Carts will proffer some wisdom… “You need to accept it now and be prepared to fight. Don’t think about it as something you want to get over and done with. Think of it as an opportunity.”
“When you wake up in the morning, I want you to say “I love rowing”. Think about what you would do just to be involved in the National Time trial if you weren’t on the list. You want to be in this situation, so live it, love it, and have a crack. Enjoy the row champion”. There is a little part of me who believes that Carts has a secret psychology degree tucked up his sleeve. He knows his athletes well enough to be able to recognize when to put those thoughts back in our heads, just when we really need them most. So that we are ready to go again.
9/10 times, Carts is a hands on kind of guy. He is a great balance of proactive and reactive. He is hardworking, right from the little tasks to the big road block challenges. Getting the women’s Sydney Rowing Club program off the ground has always been a slippery devil of a duty. We are nestled here on the Parramatta between several big boys schools – Newington, Scotts, Sydney Grammar, Shore, and Kings. With strong ties geographically, as well as our talent scout JB, it’s fitting that the influx of men to our club almost has a life of its own. Carts works tirelessly to not only recruit women, but create and support a happy environment for them to live and row. With no concrete channels like nearby schools to foster the flow of women to our club, the recruitment and maintenance of the women’s program is a relentless task which rears its head often. In acknowledging this, and as a female rower at the club myself – I have never felt that I am part of an irritatingly tiresome task – quite the contrary. We are welcomed and celebrated.
Carts embodies the club spirit. In fact, he even embodies the training program! Formerly an athlete at Sydney Rowing Club himself, until 2012, when he was unfortunately plagued by degenerated and squashed discs; and a locked up SI joint… A painful mess. You would have noticed by now that Carts is on crutches at the moment, having earnt himself another nickname… The Crip Swing.
Earlier this year, Carts joined some of our rowing squad in the City to Surf. He trained so much, and ran so hard that he gave himself a stress fracture in the head of his femur. A nasty injury that has taken its toll, and we all hope you get better very soon. It is lucky though, that we have such a nice new pontoon that it’s easier for a crip swinger to clamber into the tinny.
Carts is a perfectionist. Seeking better in many ways. There are times when he will come up to his athletes and say… “I’ve been telling you to seek this feeling in the boat… Don’t do that anymore… I just rowed the Kirsten Liljekvist to Silverwater and back (it was bloody awesome, HOW GOOD are the trainer singles, you’ve just GOT to try one out). Anyway I tried some things, and here is what you’ve got to think about instead of this… He will go on to describe the feeling he has been seeking up to Silverwater and back – dodging all those boys schools along the way.
Carts is a STRONG candidate for making sure that boats are slipperily clean, chamois and everything. The way that boats are tied on, little knacks around the shed, trailer packing… You name it. It’s gotta be good. Carts has the eyes to make sure it’s done well.
Carts certainly has his finger on the pulse. He knows the lowdown in rowing, hot off the press… With ties to Rowing Australia, Rowing New South Wales, NSIWS, and clubs from rural NSW, right around the country. He knows the best positioning of the Sydney Rowing Club sticker placement on our cars…. AND frontline of fashion – “everyone has to wear the retro Sydney Rowing Club shirts. We look amazing. Like a team.”
Carts always thinks outside the box, and is ALWAYS willing to share with whoever stands nearby… “We need a prime minister who can stop the wind”… “I wonder if the water under the Gladesville bridge is shallow enough so that if we blew the bridge up, no ferries would be able to get past”… “Sydney Rowing Club should just put a tennis court right on top of the club”… “having a shower is like vertical swimming”…
Harriet Hudson is the lucky girl to row in the Lachlan Carter. She says: I think that Carts has definitely seen all of us at our best and at our worst, when I moved down to Sydney it was definitely the case of a country girl in a big city. Since moving down, Carts has helped me more than I begin to describe. It really comforts me to know though that Carts has always got my back as a coach, and also as a mate. I think it’s a good luck charm and I feel honoured to be able to row in a skiff named after a legend like carts.
Finally… Carts is the person you want to see at 5am in Winter before a long session… when you’ve left your speed coach at home… When your races are too close… and some mysterious liaising in funny regatta language with the boat race officials needs to be done so you can actually get to the start line on time… when you want some extra video analysis… when you missed out on winning that race by juuuuust the tiniest bit! Frustratingly so …. Or when you won that race by 20 boat lengths…. When you just need a hug… Here for the long haul alongside us all, through thick and thin, high and low. Carts, you make Sydney Rowing Club a better place to be. Congratulations on your new boat!