Latest News
Rowers’ Reunion Invite
Click here
Annual Dinner 2017 by Coach Carter
The 2017 Sydney Rowing Club Annual Dinner was a night to remember with guest speaker Leah Saunders being the star of the evening. Andrew Rowley did a fantastic job as MC making everyone who spoke on the night feel incredibly good about themselves as he read out their credentials and rowing history before welcoming them to come up to the mic to speak.
The menu was fantastic and all praise must go to Con Dedes and his staff for putting on a bloody good feed. The entrée this year was a vast improvement on last year as Chappo so aptly pointed out. Very good things are happening in the catering department this year with all of the changes that are happening up in the watergrill.
Over 100 people showed up to the evening and the vibe was feeling just right. President Keith Jameson was awarded a SRC blade by Vice President Steve Handley commemorating Keith’s 20yrs as Club president. Keith shared stories of his love and passion for rowing and this club. Thank you, Keith for everything you’ve done for SRC and may you serve as president for another 20yrs.
Just before Leah was up to speak I was given the pleasure of welcoming and sharing a little bit about her. I had nothing but positive things to say as we all know that she is the most bubbly character and friend to us all. She’s achieved so much in her career so far and we are very proud to have her as a member of a club.
Leah spoke brilliantly and was so humble in the way that she delivered her speech. It wasn’t your typical rowing guest speaker who would simply just tell you about all of their success and how good they are and basically run through every race that they won. Hers was a story about all of the people who helped her to get where she is today and what they mean to her. Almost everyone in the club got a mention which shows how we as a community help each other to achieve success. Everyone in the room was captivated by the club legend and were speaking so highly of her and her story. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Leah. I certainly feel blessed to have been part of it and I’m sure everyone in the room felt the same way. We can’t wait to see your success in the future.
Roger Brighton was up next to toast the club and what a terrific toast it was indeed. Really funny stuff. Like me he managed to drop the ‘F’ bomb a few times which was a first as far as annual dinners go. But, like I said before, the vibe was right and everyone was feeling fantastic. Roger shared stories of when he raced for the club in the 80’s and we could all relate because we have similar experiences with our mates today.
Josh Hicks was in attendance having just won the world champs in the Men’s Four. He mentioned that Don Cech had predicted that Josh would be a World Champion this year back in 2015 which meant that Josh was not nervous at all on the start line while the rest of the crew were shitting bricks. Don does have a knack for predicting race/rowing career outcomes.
I was particularly pleased to see guests from the junior women’s Henley quad there (Hilary Ballinger, Ella Hudson from QLD and India Thomson plus parents). What a treat for them to hear Leah’s story and what a privilege for us to have such remarkable junior athletes getting heavily involved with the club.
Overall, it was the best annual dinner I’ve been to and Keith agreed with me on that one. That’s saying a lot because he’s been to almost every annual dinner since 1965. Everyone had a great time and pushed on long into the night. We must have had over half a dozen shandy’s.
The best thing about Sydney Rowing Club is that it just keeps getting better. Can’t wait for next year. If you’ve got any ideas for a guest speaker for 2018 please let us know.
Call for Volunteers – Head of the Parramatta 2017
Click here for the volunteer form.
SRC Annual Dinner 2017
Click here for information
Notice of Meeting
Parents Praise Coach Carter
A few weeks before the Henley Women’s Regatta, Don Cech contacted me and asked whether Somerville House rowers- Ella Hudson, Hilary Ballinger and Laura Chancellor would like to consider competing in the junior quad event at this regatta, as well as considering the Holland Beker regatta in Amsterdam.
Don had strategically lined up another young rower; India Thomson in the hope that this last minute, ‘thrown together’, quad could become a reality.
Although they had all competed at Nationals, the three Somerville girls were just at the start of their school rowing season and they had never even met India, let alone rowed with her.
However, after training in Brisbane on the Saturday morning before the planned Henley and Holland Beker regattas departure date, the three Queenslanders flew to Sydney to spend the what was left of the weekend in the care of Don, Lachlan Carter and the Thomson family.
They finally sat together in the quad and as luck would have it, they ‘clicked’ as a crew.
India flew out with the SRC squad, but our Somerville girls had to wait until Tuesday night before they were released from school to fly over to London.
Organising three young girls to fly alone to London Heathrow was quite an anxiety provoking experience for the parents, especially in light of recent terrorism events in the UK. However, the support and reassurance of both Don and Lachy was invaluable; knowing that Lachy would be waiting at Heathrow with 100% certainty was vital to us all. Not surprisingly, as soon as he had the three Queenslanders in the bus, he braved the London traffic and took them straight to the course to train!
Lachy had to live in the same house as the four girls in Henley and he certainly deserves a medal for that feat alone. Not only did he share his expert coaching tips with the quad, but also his culinary and shopping skills. He was a very steadying influence on them despite the overwhelming nature of their first international rowing event.
After a day of sightseeing and punting in Oxford, it was on to Amsterdam, where (once again), Lachy’s care of the girls was exemplary. Organising them in both a junior quad and double scull events was no easy job, but he committed himself to the task with his usual skill and efficiency.
On the final day of their trip, Lachy dropped them safely to the airport and made sure that they were all going to catch the correct flights home, even though he was flying back to London for the Henley Royal Regatta.
Thank you, Lachy, for allowing these four young rowers to experience and enjoy such a wonderful International rowing trip. In addition, we would like to thank Don for his foresight in offering these 4 girls a terrific opportunity to row internationally.
We are certain that their successes in the future will be a reflection of the time and effort you put into them overseas.
The Hudson, Ballinger, Chancellor and Thomson families.
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!
Henley Royal Regatta Major Fundraiser this Sunday
Join us for a night of celebrating in the Smoking Goat Restaurant as we send off Sydney Rowing Club’s four Henley crews. they are the Britannia 4+ of Charlie Patterson, Will O’Connell, Michael Bernerius, Alex Nichol and coxswain Charlie Nicholas. The Wyfold 4- of Nick Clifton, Jack Quinn, Clinton Boltman and Max Brenner. The Frank V Harry Cup 4- of Maddy Farrar, Susie Dear, Candice Williams and Emily Partridge and the JW4X Sydney composite of Ella Hudson, Laura Chancellor, Hillary Ballinger and India Thomson. Crews will be accompanied by coaches Lachlan Carter, James Chapman and Team Manager Michael Rowan. There will be raffles silent and loud auctions so come along on Sunday 18 June and support the crews. Click here for the booking form. See you there!
SRC Blazer orders now open
The club is again taking orders for the Sydney Rowing Club blazer. The blazer, introduced in 2015, is a traditional tailor-made two-button striped boating blazer with a light blue base and ivory stripes bordered each side by a dark blue pinstripe. The club’s emblem appears on the pocket, and the cloth is 100% wool. A bulk order of ten or more will include the blazer measuring at the club. Click here to make your order.
2017 Henley Fundraiser
Click here for more information.