Bookings Now Open for 2018 Australian Boat Race

Bookings to watch The 2018 Australian Boat Race on Sydney Harbour on Sunday morning 14th October are now open.

Sydney and Melbourne University Rowing Eights will race over 4.3 kms from Woolwich into Darling Harbour with the women's race at 9 am and the men's race at 9.40 am.

Rowing Fans can watch all the action live from the water either :

On the Race Ferry OR

On the BIG SCREEN outside the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour - where the crews will finish.

Patrons can book the ferry and also book to join the crews after the presentation of trophies at the post-race ABR Brunch at the ICC.

Sunday morning 14th October - two great universities, from two great cities clash on Sydney Harbour in a victory of brawn over brains in the noblest of sports.

BOOK ONLINE AT: https://www.australianboatrace.com/vip-brunch/

SUBC Claim Gold and Silver in the International Universities Rowing Regatta, Xinjin, Chengdu, China.

On the third of our China tours this year, SUBC sent a Men’s Eight and Women’s Quad to Xinjin, in the Sichuan Province in China. Overall the crews had a successful tour with the Men’s Eight claiming Gold, the Women’s Quad claiming Silver along with three out of the top six males and females in the 500m erg contest.

The group departed Sydney on July 31st with a full day of travel, once in China the crews had three days of training. These days comprised of a row in the morning followed by a rowing forum, where each University presented a summary of what rowing at their university is like and the lifelong benefits you get from doing the sport whilst studying. With one of these afternoons free the group ventured into Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan Province to experience what a larger city is like in China.

Saturday the 4th of August was race day, the format, as uniquely seen, in regattas in China comprised of two 1km races, with the cumulative time from both being the winner. The initial round of racing saw both SUBC crews pitted against the Chengdu Institute of Sport (The Sichuan Provincial Team), along with a number of other crews. The Men came out on top winning by a length over the locals, well clear of the field. The Women’s crew had an impressive race right to the line with the locals taking the win by 2seconds.

After this initial round of racing the six fastest crews were placed into the A-final, however the times were still important for the overall result. Both races went to plan, with the men making some changes to tactics, jumping out of the blocks a little quicker, making it easier to lead the field, they went on to win by over two lengths. The women’s crew had a solid improvement, managing to turn the result around beating the Chengdu team, by the smallest of margins. With times being the determining factor, the Men’s Eight claimed Gold some ten seconds clear of the nearest crew, with the Women’s Quad claiming silver half a second behind the Chengdu Institute of Sport. An impressive side note was the consistency in the men’s eight producing a time of 2:51 in both races.

With the formalities of racing over the regatta moved onto the gala dinner, with a small showing of local talents prior to the night starting. As part of the gala dinner a number of crews were asked to perform a cultural activity from their home country. The SUBC crew lead by the vocals of Sarah Parsons, belted out a memorable rendition of ‘What about me’ by Shannon Noll.

The following day saw crews back on the water, this time in a friendly match in dragon boats. Following on from this short race the crews were thrown on the rowing machine, due to the extreme heat, the race was shortened to a 500m sprint. With medals being presented to the top six times, SUBC had the greatest representation on the podium, with Olina Parrish, Michaela Franz and Jaimie Ford on the girl’s side winning medals, and Will O’Shannessey, Jordan Duff and Morgan Brooking on the men’s side claiming medals. With this being our last full day in China the organizers packed it with activities. Following the erg we were driven to a local airfield where as part of the festival of rowing the organizers put on a music festival. This was like no other event I’ve been to in China, with music belting out from a large stage, along with lots of local cuisines on offer, very similar to what I’d imagine the vibes of Defcon or Splendour to be like.

Following the music festival, the Sydney Uni crew were treated to a local delicacy of Hot Pot. This is traditionally a meal consumed over a number of hours, accompanied by rice wine. As we were starting at 10pm, we knew we were in for a long night. Mr Qinling Li the major sponsor for the event treated us to these delicacies, known for being one of the spiciest meals China has to offer. This dinner whilst being a great deal of fun was a good opportunity for the University to strengthen ties with the sponsors, in doing so securing future invites to such amazing regattas.

The crew and the club were grateful for the opportunity to experience a different culture and to proudly represent our university in an important country in our region

Overall the regatta was a great success, the crew got to experience a number of aspects of Chinese culture, whilst also coming away as the top performing university on the water and the ergs. We would like to thank all the organisers, all the sponsors and all the volunteers who made the week such a memorable experience for all involved.

The crews were:
Women’s Quad:
Sarah Parsons
Michaela Franz
Lizzie Treloar
Jaimie Ford
Olina Parrish
Coached by Debbie Fox

Men’s Eight:
Will O’Shannessey
Lochie Miles
Morgan Brooking
Jordan Duff
Devlin Walsh
Marcus Britt
Jack Hanley
Jack Cook
Coxed by Dani Pettit
Coached by William Raven

2018 BOAT RACE TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 Australian Boat Race to be held on Sydney Harbour on Sunday morning 14th October.

Spectators can take in the big screen and see the race from the start at Woolwich into Darling Harbour on the Big Screen located outside the Sydney ICC (Convention Centre) just next to Harbourside Shopping Centre on the western side of Darling Harbour.

The best up-close views will be on the race ferry (picks ups at Woolwich and Darling Harbour) which will follow both the men’s and women’s eights races over the 4.2 km course.

Spectators can buy one of three packages:

FERRY ONLY: Onboard early and follow all the races – alight just near Pyrmont Bridge after the men’s eights and watch the presentation ceremony outside the ICC.  COST $40

FERRY + CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH:  Follow the races on the ferry, watch the presentations and then join the crews and supporters in the Convention Centre for the Boat Race Brunch 10.20-12 noon.   COST $120

LAND and CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH: Watch the races on the screen at Darling Harbour or watch from the balcony of the ICC as the crews swing into the last reach of the race. Attend the presentations and then join the crews and supporters for the Boat Race Brunch.  Cost $100

Packages can be booked online at; https://www.australianboatrace.com/vip-brunch/

SUBC Men’s Eight, WITH FOUR NOVICES, Claim Silver in Nanchang and Yangzhou China.

SUBC Men’s Eight, with four novices, Claim Silver in Nanchang and Yangzhou China.

Sydney University Boat Club Men’s eight competed in the 2018 International Universities Rowing Regatta, coming away with three silver medals over the three race format of the regatta. The unique and most pleasing aspect of this tour was that four of the SUBC eight were novices to the sport, having only been in a boat for three months, with this marking their first competitive regatta.

The SUBC crew was made up of a mixture of youth and experience, so as to fast track the skills of the new members of the crew. The crew was stroked by experienced rowers and ex national team reps Sasha Belonogoff (Rio Olympic Silver Medallist) and Ben Morley (U23 World Championship Bronze Medallist), with the middle four being novices to the sport after transitioning from Surf Boats, Kris Martyn, Richard Ledger, Nic Lesiuk and Brady Holland. The bow pair were first year students having come out the 2017 St Ignatius College, Riverview first VIII, returning to still water after a season in surf boats.

The regatta format was made up of a heat and final over 1km, followed directly by a 6km time trial in Nanchang, the regatta then moved cities to Yangzhou where rowers competed in a 6km race, followed by an informal dragon boat race.

The 1km racing saw SUBC win their heat by clear water, progressing directly to the a-final. This race marked the first race for the middle four of the crew on a buoyed course as part of a regatta, so was pleasing to see them taste success. Following the form in the heat, the crew came up against strong competition, with the University of British Columbia (Canada) proving too strong for the young SUBC crew. Sydney Uni finished in second only a length down on UBC, well clear of the rest of the competitors, with crews from Boston College, Harvard, Tokyo, Oxford and Cambridge being represented in the race.

With only an hour’s gap between the racing and time trial, SUBC rallied and again produced an impressive performance given the lack of experience in the crew to claim another silver behind UBC. A clear determination from the crew in the early stages set them up well for the long distance race, starting in 10thposition the crew charged through the field pushing past a number of high profile universities to claim the second fastest time.

With the 1km’s and 6km under their belt, the focus moved to the gala dinner to conclude proceedings in Nanchang. With each crew represented required to present a cultural performance the SUBC crew decided to give the locals a taste of our signing talents. With Sasha on guitar the crew belted out a memorable rendition of Waltzing Matilda, much to the pleasure of the crowd.

The following day saw all crews pack up and take the bullet train across China to Yangzhou, were the final 6km was to be completed. Yangzhou is host to the newest facility in a number of training centres set up as part of the Deep Dive Rowing Club. The facilities here were world class with a newly built seven bay boat house, along with a buoyed 2km course, 8 story finish tower, along with a gym and large meeting and rest rooms above the shed. With this being one of the top facilities in the world, what was also impressive was the new housing they had built forming a small gated community for the athletes to train and live in. Prior to racing in Yangzhou, a large forum was held, with each university presenting a short summary of the university and rowing program they are part of, along with a well-informed Q and A, where athletes discussed what rowing meant to them, and what benefits rowing has had on their lives outside of the boat.

The racing in Yangzhou saw the start order based off the previous regatta with SUBC starting in second behind UBC, the crew took a slightly different approach to racing looking for more length and sustainable speed, especially given the 39-degree heat and extremely high humidity. The crew performed well with the margins being similar to those in Nanchang. An interesting aspect of this race was the inclusion of the Chinese crews over the last 2km, as each international university came through the 2km to go mark, a local Chinese crew would start, and attempt to hold onto the internationals over the closing stages of such a long event. The SUBC crew took this on well, and charged past all local entries.
Post 6km saw composites form to race over a few hundred metre in dragon boats, to end the formalities with a bit of a fun challenge.

Whilst on tour along with the important aspects of the racing and the cultural rowing forum, many other activities were thrown into a jam packed week, including a trip to the Bund in Shanghai, a historic temple in Nanchang and an opera performance in Yangzhou, along with many more cultural experiences.

Overall the rip was a great success, the university was represented with pride, the crew performed well and learnt a great deal from the racing, and the ties the club has with the Chinese regatta organisers, crews and international competitors has been yet again strengthened.

The SUBC crew was:
Cox: Andrew Le
Stroke: Sasha Belonogoff
7: Ben Morley
6: Kris Martyn
5: Richard Ledger
4: Nic Lesiuk
3: Brady Holland
2: Dan Johnston
Bow: Ben Sullivan
Reserve: Tom Flower
Coach: Will Raven

International Universities who competed: 
University of British Columbia (Canada)
Boston College (US)
Harvard (US)
University of Tokyo (Japan)
Oxford (UK)
Cambridge (UK)

Masters still shining through Winter

Fresh from the National Championships in Tasmania, a squad of 8 SUBC women’s masters athletes competed in the NSW Masters Championships at SIRC over the weekend of 26-27 May. They competed in 8 events, yielding a medal tally of 1 first, 4 seconds and 3 thirds.

No resting on their laurels for this group through the winter though. Jo Pollett, Kerrie Bigsworth, Ruth Thompson and Mary Boland are now training in a composite WG8+ to compete at Henley Masters in England on 13-14 July and Gillian O’Malley, Steph O’Malley, and Jo Pollett are also training for a composite WF8+ to race the Head of the Charles in Boston in October this year.

With MLC School and SU Canoe club, the masters' squad held an open day at the Glebe shed on Sunday 24th June, welcoming newcomers, MLC parents, and some Sydney sun.

2018 "4 Nations Fundraiser" Success

The 2018 4 Nations Fundraiser was held last Friday 15th June at the Boat House at Lane Cove.

Under the guidance of club mothers Suzana Vuletich, Susie Balcomb and Hanja Bicknell the upstairs was converted into a welcoming space with lots of fairy lights, an oar entrance, gas heaters and a fire pit.

The space set up was led by club Vice President Will Raven and club men's captain Marcus Britt.assisted by the representative athletes.

Over 130 members, parents and friends attended including our rowers on U23, U21 and Junior teams along with our seniors travelling to Henley and Hollandbeker regatta..

Generous donations by alumni members had already contributed substantially to our fundraising target and donation of silent Auction prizes and some substantial auction prizes by members and parents added a substantial amount along with ticket sales.

In the end the Boat Club has been able to contribute over $40,000 towards the seat fees and touring expenses of our representative athletes.

The night was also and occasion to honour our newly inducted Life Members for 2018. Kerrie Bigsworth, Phil Titterton, Anne Titterton and Jo Pollet were on hand to get their Life Memberships from club VP Will Raven.. Mike Wiseman was the last 2018 Life Member - his presentation will be at a later date.

Our new Life Members, Anne Titterton, Kerrie Bigsworth, Joe Pollet and Phil Titterton

Thanks to all who supported this event so strongly.

The funds were distributed to :

U23 National Team athletes:

Andrew Judge, Wallis Russell, Leon Chambers, Jack O'Brien, Dyone Bettega, Rafaela Stalph

U21 National athletes:

Matt Murray and Michaela Franz

Junior Team athletes:

Rachel Balcomb and Ella Mentzines

Senior athletes competing at Henley,  Women's Henley and Hollandbeker : Fiona Ewing and Carina Simpson

FUNDRAISER AUCTION ITEMS

4 NATIONS FUNDRAISER

Dear Boat Club Members, Supporters and Parents,

This Friday (15th June) we have our 4 Nations Fundraiser at the Boathouse to help raise funds for our

Sydney Uni Boat Club international representatives in U23, U21 and Junior Teams in 2018 plus our senior women rowers attending Henley.

If you are making it along or even if you can’t you might want to put in a bid on one of our Auction items. See some of these listed below:

SKY VILLA  at AIR ON BROADBEACH

A week on one of the premier holiday apartments on the Gold Coast.

This Level 28, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom Sky Villa covers two floors with sweeping views to the north and east.

Rising spectacularly above Broadbeach, ULTIQA Air on Broadbeach 159 Old Burleigh Road Broadbeach is truly in the heart of everything. Located just 25 minutes from the Gold Coast Airport and less than 90 minutes from Brisbane Domestic and International Airports, accessing luxury beachfront Broadbeach accommodation has never been easier.

www.airbroadbeach.com.au

Unit 2802 available from Sunday 15 July until Saturday 21 July 6 nights.   Normal Value $3,800

CROATIAN ISLAND HOLIDAY HOME ON THE DALMATION COAST

Lovely 300 year old house on the Croatian Island of Korcula.

Korcula (the main own) is a beautiful medieval walled city, and the house is across the road from the local swimming area.  The house has four levels with two double bedrooms and a garret with four single beds. Available for 7 days subject to availability.

The main Adriatic ferry line connects Korčula with Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar and Rijeka. Value depends on season $3,000- 4,000

See http://www.visitkorcula.eu for more information about the island and how to get there.

RIVERSIDE CABIN 20 IN THREDBO VILLAGE

A short walk from the Village Square. Cabin has a loft with a queen size bed and double sofa bed in the lounge

Will accommodate 2-4 people. Private parking nearby. Fully equipped kitchen. Normal Value $1,000

STIGES   APARTMENT near BARCELONA – on the coast

The apartment is located 100 meters from the Mediterranean Sea, in the coastal town of Sitges. It is a 45-minute train ride to the Barcelona city centre and a 20-min bus ride from the Barcelona International Airport.

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Space for 5 adults comfortably.

Normal Value seasonal $1,000 - $1,500

ACCOMODATION IN WHISTLER

Enjoy a week's accommodation in Stunning Whistler Canada, North Americas #1 Ski Resort

On Offer – a one week stay in this Whistler ski in/ski out, 2-bedroom, 2 bathrooms, fully renovated apartment, that can accommodate up to 6 guests.  This apartment has a fully equipped kitchen with stainless steel appliances, gas fireplace, modern furnishings, bed linens and complimentary concierge and mid stay service. Free wireless internet access is available and secure parking if required is also available on site.  At the end of a great ski day, enjoy the common outdoor heated pool and two outdoor hot tubs. All can be yours during your chosen week. 

Located in Whistler’s Upper Village right next to the prestigious Fairmont Chateau Whistler, The Glacier Lodge is a beautiful three-story Boutique Hotel, conveniently located just steps from Blackcomb Mountain’s (NEW for 2018/19 season!) 10-person gondola that will run from the base all the way to the top of Blackcomb Mountain.  With Whistler’s finest restaurants, art galleries, and shops at your doorstep, you’ll certainly make the most of your time spent in the resort town. This Premier location will allow you to enjoy the convenience of all the resort attractions by foot.

If Skiing and winter is not your thing, come and stay in the summer months of June thru September.  Whistler boasts some of North Americas best Golf courses and the best mountain biking/bike park in the world.  Whistler is an outdoor adventure paradise. Some of the other popular summer activities including the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, golf, ziplining, fly fishing and hiking.

Choose your week of skiing or summer recreation at North America's # 1 Ski Resort between the following dates :

Winter:  January 6th-February 6th, 2019                              Summer:  June 15th – September 30th, 2019

or                             March 1-14th, 2019   Normal Value around $3,500

A ROWING EXPERIENCE at SUBC for up to Four People

A Saturday OR Sunday morning you take to the water under the guidance of some of SUBC’s most experienced Learn to Row Coaches and rowers. Session time will be two hours.

Room for up to 4 people rowing in a crew with some experienced SUBC rowers to show you the way.

Before and after the session the SUBC team will take you through a warm up on the ergometers showing you the technical points they want you to bring – as much as possible – to the water session.

Value ?   $1,200 +

FOUR BEDROOM FORSTER HOLIDAY HOUSE FOR ONE WEEK

Located on the banks of Wallis Lake where it meets the Pacific Ocean on the Mid-North Coast, Forster is a family-friendly coastal town 3 hours north of Sydney, with freeway driving the whole way.

With fishing, boating and swimming on/in the lake, and surfing, beach fishing and ocean cruises outside the heads what more could you ask for your family holiday getaway?

‘Forster Lakeside’ has been holiday let since 2006 and welcomes many return holidaymakers who have enjoyed their stay so much that they return time and again. A four-bedroom house that sleeps up to ten persons (max. 8 adults per booking), has its own private pool in the sunny north-facing backyard, a separate spa room (spa is emptied/refilled after each booking) to while away your everyday stresses and a cupboard full of toys to keep the kids occupied what more could you want?

This house is in a quiet cul-de-sac in Forster Keys. No steps make it ideal for all generations to holiday together and we welcome many extended families who enjoy the space in the house. (I tell a lie…there is one step into one of the bedrooms…) There is a kitchen with all your cooking needs, dining room, large loungeroom and two sunrooms – one of which is for Fido.

Normal Value $1,900

SUBC Win World Famous Universities Rowing Regatta in Shangyu, China

Sydney University Boat Club start the years international racing with success in Shangyu, China. The club sent a crew with a mixture of recent alumni and current students to compete in the World Famous Universities Rowing Regatta in Shangyu, China.

The regatta was held from the 22th-25th of May, including training, racing and cultural experiences for all crews. The journey to Shangyu was far from smooth, with all flight delayed, and one flight cancelled mid-flight due to a storm preventing landing in Hangzhou. With the SUBC crew arriving a day later than planned into Shangyu, this resulted in missing the crucial training sessions required to set the boat up. The crew managed to get a very short paddle in prior to racing, and identified a few things that needed to be tweaked on the boat.

Race day consisted of an opening ceremony attended by many delegates, including Five Time Olympic Champion Steve Redgrave, followed by three rounds of racing. Each round of racing saw four boats across, with a heat, semi and final. SUBC showed great form early in all races, claiming comfortable wins in both the heat and semi, over quality crews from Shanghai, Otago and Princeton. Through the early rounds of racing the crew shut down both races at the half way mark, paddling home for the victories, this kept the power dry, with none of the competition really knowing what to expect from us in the final. In the final the crew had the slowest first half we’d had all day, however this saw the field dead level with three crews across fighting for the win, with Princeton well off the pace. As the leading three crews Shanghai, Yale and SUBC came into the final 250m the crews were still locked level, even in unison as the bows surged to the line. Within this final sprint Shanghai and SUBC moved a few seats ahead of Yale, and were in a close dual of who could jack the rate the most and sprint to the line. The final result saw SUBC surge to victory by a canvas over Shanghai, with Yale a further canvas back.

This result was particularly pleasing for the Sydney University crew, as many of these athletes who are now alumni haven’t rowed in close to five years, and for the most part are stuck behind a desk in corporate life. The passion and commitment to the race, and the support each athlete gave each other to get over the line in front is exactly how it was when these athletes stepped back from the sport. This commitment to the full crew buying in to one idea, one focus and one common goal is what eights racing is all about, and it was so pleasing to see that even after time out of the boat, the passion to race for your mates and the club is still alive and well within this crew.

Post racing the crews were swept back to the hotel to change and go to a forum with the local high school, this forum consisted on school students and universities presenting about what rowing means to them, and the benefits that being part of rowing have added to their life outside of the boat. The crews then went onto a gala dinner, where all universities cam e together to celebrate what was a great day of racing for all involved. The following day saw a number of cultural excursions, with the first being to the site of the future Electronics Games Town in Shangyu, where they have a two-year plan to become the electronic gaming hub of China, on a grand scale. The next stop was to an ancient garden, where it is said that the ‘Chinese Romeo and Juliet’ took place, this was followed by a tour of the house and town where the poet who told this love story had lived.

With all formalities over, and one night left in China, the crew decided to head into Shanghai, as our flights were departing from there the following day. The crew had a great night in Shanghai, checking out the famous Bund, where you can view some of the tallest towers in China, along with a vibrant business district. The final morning in, saw athletes go exploring, many went in search of ancient temples, and others went in search of a bargain at the markets.

The tour was a great success for all involved, and was great to see a number of alumni reengaged with SUBC. The club would like to thanks all involved in organising these regattas, primarily the Chinese Rowing Association and the local Government of Shangyu for hosting such a fun and culturally filled event.

The crew consisted of:
Cox/ Coach: William Raven
Stroke: Ryan Edwards
Seven: Tom Sacre
Six: Ed DeCarvalho
Five: Tom Bowditch
Four: Phil Blacklaw
Three: Nikita Belonogoff and Tom Whitehead
Two: Jack Rath
Bow: Jack Cook

Check out the Video of the Final broadcast on China's CCTV - with Sydney Uni winning narrowly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOJrmHCG8wE&t=21s

CHRIS HOLLIDAY APPOINTED AS NEW COACH AND PROGRAM MANAGER

Sydney University Boat Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Holliday as our new Development Coach and Program Manager, and will commence work at SUBC on 2nd July.

Over the last six years Chris has been Head Coach at St Andrew’s School in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Chris has succeeded in raising the profile and success of St Andrew’s Rowing significantly during his time as Head Coach with St Andrew’s becoming one of the top schoolboy rowing programs in South Africa.

At the same time Chris has been involved as Head Coach, managing and coaching at the nearby Rhodes University Rowing Club where he revived the club’s fortunes.

Chris has coached on Junior and U23 South African Teams over recent years.

He was awarded South African Rowing Coach of the Year in 2017 and Rhodes University Coach of the Year in 2016/2016 and 2017.

Prior to moving back to South Africa Chris had been Senior Coach at Loreto Kirribilli where he coached their VIII to win in the Australian Schoolgirl Eights in 2010, and was also involved with Sydney University Women’s Rowing Club.

At Sydney University Boat Club, Chris will lead the administration of the program and will coach the men’s youth development squad under the guidance of Head Coach Don McLachlan.

SUBC congratulates Chris on his appointment, and look forward to his return to the club.

SUBC Masters Tasmanian Success at 2018 AMC

The women’s masters squad returned from the Australian Masters Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington in Tasmania last weekend well laden with medals. The five rowers plus our cox got through to 13 finals over the four days of competition, winning 5 1sts, 1 2nd and 3 3rds.

Central Tasmania offered most of its weather options during the event – cool temperatures, showers, winds so strong that boats could not be held at the start pontoons, heavily frosted launch pontoons, and …. crisp clear calm sunny days.

Back in Sydney, the squad is now preparing for NSW Masters Championships at SIRC on 26-27 May, and beyond, with various squad members also training for Henley Masters at Henley-on-Thames in July and the Head of the Charles in Boston in November.

                2018 Australian Masters Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington

4 NATIONS FUNDRAISER SET FOR FRIDAY 15th JUNE AT BOATHOUSE

The 2018 4 Nations Fundraiser to raise fund towards seat fees for nationally selected athletes in 2018 will start at 6.30 pm on Friday 15th June.

Members , parents and alumni please come along and support the club, athlets and parents'efforts to raise some of the $50,000 needed to support our athletes on tour.

Tickets $100 through Trybooking.com available now..

https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=380714

Parents/alumni  - can you help by:

1. Donating a prize to auction or raffle - like a holiday house / a harbour cruise for half a day for 8-1 people / a night or weekend somewhere cool and relaxing/ a service

2. If you can't come - make a tax deductible donation to the University of Sydney Sports Foundation. Email boat@tnw.com.au for a donation form.

3. Round up a group of friends and come along for a fun night of rowing socializing !!

SEE YOU ON 15th JUNE

Warming up for Chilly Tassie

The club’s women’s masters' squad are currently deep in preparations for the Australian Masters Championships, which this year are at Lake Barrington, in Tasmania, 10-13 May. 

Last time the AMC was at Lake Barrington, in 2011, the sleet began on the last racing day but the snow held off until we were loading the trailers to go home. The squad is hoping the weather will be even kinder this time so we can really enjoy this beautiful if remote, venue.

The six athletes attending the Championships this year are training 4-8 on-water sessions per week, plus 2-4 off-water sessions, in preparation for racing in 2-s, 2xs, 4-s, 4xs, and 8+s (composites with others clubs).  As a warm-up, the squad has taken advantage of the specialist masters regattas on Iron Cove – last week at the Drummoyne Masters Regatta we took out one 1st, one 2nd, two 3rds and a 4th.

The Tassie Team 2018  is pictured with their coach Phil Titterton.

Eight SUBC Rowers Selected in 2018 Aussie U23, U21 and Junior Teams

Rowing Australia today announced the Junior and Under 23 teams set to compete at their respective World Rowing Championships this year, as well as the Under 21 team set to race in the 2018 Trans-Tasman Regatta against New Zealand.

Australia will be represented by seven crews at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships set to be held from 8 to 12 August in Racice, Czech Republic. Seven crews will also be competing for Australia at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships due to be held in Poznan, Poland from 25 to 29 July.

The U21 Australian Rowing Team will compete in Sydney from 28 to 30 June and then again on Lake Karapiro in New Zealand, from 23 to 25 August. The team will be looking to retain the Rusty Robertson Trophy in the annual Trans-Tasman Regatta. The U21 series is a positive development opportunity for Australia’s Pathway athletes transitioning between the Junior (U19) and Under 23 categories.

Deputy Performance Director, Jaime Fernandez, said of the selection announcement today: “The standard and depth of the triallists and crews in 2018 is very pleasing. A number of the athletes/crews selected have been performing strongly throughout the season and we look forward to their continued improvement and positive performances, along with wishing them the best of success at their respective competitions.”

Near the top of the selection performances in the U23 category were The SUBC pair of Judge and O'Brien and the U23 Lightweight Double of SUBC's Leon Chambers and UTS's Matt Curtin.

Athletes selected from Sydney University were:

Andrew Judge, Jack O'Brien       U23 Pair

Leon Chambers                          U23 Lightweight Double Scull

Wallis Russell                                U23 Women's Lightweight Scull

Matt Murray and Michael Franz      U21 National Team

Rachel Balcomb and Ella Mentzines   Junior Women's Coxed Four

Boat Club on Top in Close 2018 National's Tussle

The battle between SUBC and Sydney Rowing Club for the most successful club at the 2018 National Rowing Championships went down to the wire with the last day’s events separating the two clubs by 4.5 points.

                               2018 CLUB POINT SCORE FOR THE CENTENARY OAR

                                    Rank                           Club                           Points

                                        1.                 Sydney University                  272

                                         2.                Sydney Rowing Club              267.5

                                         3.                 Mercantile Rowing Club         157.75

                                         4                 Toowong Rowing Club            153

                                         5                  UTS Rowing Club                   152.75

Mercantile of Victoria was third, Toowong of Brisbane fourth and UTS Rowing Club was firth.

In all Sydney University Boat Club won 10.25 Golds, 8.25 Silver, and 7.5 Bronze – edging Sydney by a quarter of a gold and a quarter of a bronze medal.

BOAT CLUB SCOOPS TITLES AT SYDNEY UNI SPORTS AWARDS 2018

Wallis Russell (Boat) and Belinda Snell (Sydney Uni Flames) shared the 2017 Female Sportswomen of the Year award, while Anthony Hrysanthos (Water Polo) was named Sportsman of the Year at a packed annual presentation dinner in the Great Hall last night.

Boat Club President Sarah Cook accepts the Ann Mitchell Trophy at the 2018 Sydney Uni Sports Awards

In a year of outstanding performances, Russell and Snell were up against Clare Hunt (Soccer), Michelle Jenneke (Athletics) and Holly Crawford (Snow Sport).

Belinda is the captain of the Brydens Sydney Uni Flames and long-term Australian women’s basketball star. She is also currently competing with the Australian Opals Squad at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Snell has represented the Opals at three Olympics Games and two Commonwealth Games and at World Championships and was named the University of Sydney Female Blue of the Year for 2017, as Captain of the Flames 2016-17 Championship winning side.

Wallis is a talented rower who, despite still being classified as a Junior (Under 19) in 2017, competed in Under 23 and Open aged events with great success. At the 2017 NSW State Championships, Wallis won four gold medals in the Under-23 Lightweight Women’s Single Scull, Under-23 Lightweight Women’s Double Scull, Open Women’s Eight, and Open Lightweight Quadruple Scull. 

Wallis was a member of the winning Women’s Eight from SUBC at the prestigious Gold Cup regatta. She also stroked the winning Sydney University Women’s crew in the Australian Boat Race, winning the Bella Guerin trophy for the first time. Wallis was also selected onto the 2017 Australian Rowing team in the Under-23 Lightweight Women’s Quadruple Scull, who placed 6th at the World Championships. 

The Professional Administrator of the Year Award went to Dustyn Butler (Boat Club) in a field that included Dale Bryant (Cricket Club), Jack Prato (Australian National Football Club), Stephanie Glanville-Fyfe (Soccer Football Club) and Kirsty Stevens (Football Club).

The Ann Mitchell Award for the Most Outstanding Performance at the Australian University Games or Australian University Championships went to the Boat Club after the club dominated 2017 AUG Rowing. Other nominations were Athletics (Women) and Soccer (Women).

Sydney University Boat Club was the only sport to win both the Men’s and Women’s 2018 AUG titles. The team won gold medals in several events, including women’s lightweight single scull, women’s lightweight quad scull, women’s coxed four, mixed eight, mixed four, men’s pair, men’s coxed four and men’s Eight (Oxford and Cambridge Cup). 

The Premier Club of the Year was shared by the Boat Club and Sydney Uni Flames in a hot field that included the Women’s Water Polo Club, the Athletics Club and the Cricket Club.

SUBC celebrated its most successful year on record. Notable results included the women winning the Bella Guerin trophy in the Australian Boat Race for the first time and claiming Men’s, Women’s and Overall point scores at the Australian University Games. SUBC also topped the pointscore at the 2017 NSW State Rowing Championships and Jack Hargreaves claimed gold at the 2017 World Championships, the first time Australia has won this event since the Oarsome Foursome 26 years ago. SUBC provided 12 athletes on the Australian Rowing team, including Open and Under 23s, in 2017.

The club also opened their new SUBC Thyne Reid Boathouse at Linley Point and established an SUSF Rowing scholarship, named the Jane Spring Scholarship. And club treasurer John Boultbee was awarded the prestigious World Rowing Distinguished Service Award to Rowing. 

The Premier Coach of the Year award was shared by Alfie Young (Boat Club) and Cheryl Chambers (Flames) in a field that included Robert Taylor (Men’s Rugby) and Tom Morrison. This recognition for Alfie Young followed his naming as Rowing Australia’s Development Coach of the Year in 2017.

             Wallis Russell joins the athlete panel at the 2018 Sydney Uni Sports Awards

Sydney University Boat Club Named 2018 Club Champions.

SUBC has been confirmed as the winner of the  2018 Australian Championships heading the point score table with 272 points - just edging out Sydney Rowing Club on 267.5 with Mercantile Rowing Club of Melbourne third on 157.75.

The statement of Rowing Australia is below:

“Sydney University Boat Club named Champions of the Club Points Score

 At the conclusion of the 2018 Aon Sydney International Rowing Regatta, a review of the Champion Club Points Score table was completed and it was noted that a calculation error had been made. 

 Rowing Australia wish to confirm that Sydney University Boat Club (SUBC) are in fact the winners of the 2018 Champion Club Points Score, and not Sydney Rowing Club, as was originally communicated. We sincerely apologise to the members of Sydney Rowing Club for the calculation error. We would like to heartily congratulate SUBC on being named the 2018 Champions of the Club Points Score and thank them for their understanding over the matter. 

 We are working with Sydney University Boat Club and Rowing New South Wales for a suitable opportunity to present SUBC with the Champion Club Points Trophy.”

The Boat Club congratulates all major clubs who contributed to making the 2018 Sydney International Regatta a great success.

The full Point Score table is at: http://sirr.rowingaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018-CLUB-POINT-SCORE-FOR-THE-CENTENARY-OARv2-1.pdf

Strong Performances by SUBC Athletes at the 2018 National Titles

A team of fifty nine SUBC rowers and five coaches helped lead New South Wales clubs and our Interstate Team to some dominant performances at the 2018 Sydney International Regatta.

At the conclusion of the regatta the Boat Club narrowly led Sydney Rowing Club in the medals table by just one quarter of gold and one quarter of a bronze medal. Toowong of Brisbane and Mercantile of Melbourne were third and fourth.

Rank            Club/School                   State      Gold     Silver       Bronze           Total Medal

1                  Sydney University           NSW       10.25     8.25         7.5                       26.0

2                 Sydney Rowing Club        NSW       10.0       8.25        7.25                      25.5

3                  Toowong                         Qld           5.75      7.5          1.125                     14.125

4.                 Mercantile                        Vic           5.0        3.875      8.5                       17.375

The full medal table is at :https://ra.rowingmanager.com/?medals;regatta=3750

Some of the outstanding gold medal results came in the U23 pair of Andrew Judge and Jack O’Brien who then teamed with the gold medal U21 pair of Marcus Britt and Will O’Shannessy to win the U23 four and then with a number of our scullers to win the U23 men’s eight.

Our U23 women’s pair of Dyone Bettega and Lauren Fornasaro won gold in the U23 four with rowers from WA Rowing club, having earlier won silver in the U23 pair.

Our scullers also got amongst gold with Wallis Russell winning the U23 women’s lightweight single in a tight race and then picking up further golds in the U23 lightweight double and quad.

Leon Chambers also won two golds in lightweight sculling – first in the single, then in the double with UTS’s Matt Curtin.

Among our NTC athletes Georgia Miansarow won two golds – in the open women’s lightweight quad and the open heavyweight quad.

One of the most exciting races in the regatta was Fiona Ewing of SUBC and Olympia Aldersley of Adelaide Rowing Club holding off the much bigger crew of Goodman and Edmunds to get to the line first by a tiny margin only to be relegated after their boat came in 100 gms underweight – a heartbreaking and expensive lesson.

Rio Olympic silver medalist Sasha Belonogoff picked up gold in the men’s open quad on his first return to nationals since 2016.

Kieran Riach also claimed gold in the U19 quad scull, the composite crew found form late in the race, holding off a strong charge from the Mosman crew.

Finally our development U21 women’s eight won the Club women’s eight to round out the club’s gold medals. The crew of Michaela Franz, Sarah Parsons, Jaime Ford, Raquel Cuevas, Jess Robinson, Amelia Johnson, Rachel Balcomb, Ella Mentzines and Cox: Talia Barnet-Hepples finished 10 seconds ahead of Sydney Rowing Club with Uni of Queensland in third,

Athletes taking silver medals also put in some outstanding performances. 2017 World Champion in the men’s four, Jack Hargreaves had a great exhibition of sculling to finish second in the men’s heavyweight scull. In the women’s event, Gen Horton took silver behind Maddie Edmunds while in the open men’s double Campbell Watts teamed up with Hamish Playfair to take silver.

Other silver medals were won in an excellent row by the opne men's pair of “brotherly love” Alex and Nick Purnell. The U23 pair of Bettega and Fornasaro picked up a silver in a composite women’s eight and another silver in the full SUBC U23 women’s eight of Jaime Ford, Jess Robinson, Amelia Johnson, Raquel Cuevas, Lauren Fornasaro, Ella Mentzines, Rachel Balcomb, Dyone Bettega, Cox: Talia Barnet-Hepples.

More silver medals came from Rachel Balcomb and Ella Mentzines in the U19 women’s four, Matthew Murray in the U21 single and from Jaime Ford and Raquel Cuevas in the U21 women’s pair.

Bronze medalists were Rowena Meredith in the open women’s single, Georgia Gotch in the open women’s pair. Alex and Nick Purnell grabbed bronze in the open men’s double. Other bronze medal winners were Georgia Miansarow, Leon Chambers, Lizzie Treloar, Michaela Franz (2), Sarah Parsons, Jaime Ford, Raquel Cuevas, Amelia Johnson, Jess Robinson, Cox: Talia Barnet-Hepples and Kieran Riach.

Having secured a narrow in the medals table Sydney Uni rowers and coaches then set about contributing to the strong New South Wales performance in the Interstate Regatta. About half the athletes in the NSW team were from SUBC.

Georgia Miansarow grabbed gold for NSW in the state’s first win in the women’s lightweight quad and then Leon Chambers was part of the NSW men’s lightweight four that demolished the field winning gold by over 12 seconds. This was the first NSW win in the Penrith Cup since 1998 when three SUBC rowers (Wiseman, Hedley and Major and Coach HP Madritsch) were in the winning crew.

Cam Girdlestone grabbed a bronze in a tightly fought President’s Cup Sculls behind Alex Hill and Dave Watts.

The men’s Youth Eight streeted the field to record News South Wales‘s another win in this event. Six SUBC athletes were in this crew.

In the open eights New South Wales finished with silver in the women’s eight while  the men’s King’s Cup crew pulled away from Victoria in the second 500 ( after suffering and earlier crab on stroke side) to win their second King’s Cup in a row and the ninth win in eleven years.

SUBC Coaches Don McLachlan, Dustyn Butler, Alfie Young and Debbie Fox were important contributors to our state’s success.

New South Wales finally won the Interstate Regatta Rowing Australia Cup for the second successive year with 61 points – ten points clear of Victoria.

SUBC Alumus Marks 8 Years Coaching Vietnam Team at SIRR 2018

For the last 8 years, former SUBC and national cox Joe Donnelly has been coaching and assisting the Vietnamese Rowing Team in his own time and with the support of a number of benefactors including other SUBC alumni , Steve Newnham and Phil Walker.

Here is Joe's report on the recent stay in Australia of the Vietnamese Rowing Team and their competition at the Sydney International Regatta.

This year SUBC lent the team a boat - Joe's note of thanks is also below.

From Joe Donnelly

"Just a short note to thank you all for the loan of the W4- for the 5 weeks my team was in Australia. Your support like many others has enabled the Vietnamese team to come to Australia to prepare for the Asian games in August ."

Joe's full report to supporters of the team:

"Dear friends and benefactors,
The Vietnam rowing team has now returned to Vietnam after an improved and successful 5-week visit to Australia.
The 5 weeks included a 4-week training camp in Orange supported by Charles Sturt University, Kinross Wolaroi School, Hertz bus rental, Sharyn and Jamie Gordon and Beth and Greg Michell.
Boats were also provided by Sydney University and especially ALAN Phillips from Race 1 who has helped with boats for our team now for the past 8 years.
Other major supporters are the financial benefactors especially Bill Magennis, Steve Newnham and Phil Walker. Without contributions from these people and many others, the team could not come to Australia to prepare for the Asian Games in August of this year.
The 4-week training in Orange allowed positive improvement for all athletes, with good weather for training, substantial food to support the training program and good equipment made available by the school.
This year the team has also been able to access protein from True Protein organised by Ms Hanh the head of rowing in Vietnam and funded by the province of each rower. We thank Justin and Jess from this company for their assistance and the discount price they offered to enable us to get sufficient material to support the rowers up to the Asian Games in August.
The racing in Sydney showed the benefits of the protein with none of the rowers fading in there performance at the 1200 meter mark which has been a major problem for the team in the past. In the Under 21 LW1X where the gold medal was won by Ms Thao, she came from 6th at the 500mtr mark and 6 seconds behind, to 4th at the 1000mtr mark and 5 seconds behind, to 2 nd and 2 seconds behind at the 1500 meter mark . In the last 500 mtrs she moved through the early leaders and the semi-final winner from Sydney University to win the race by 2 seconds.
The results this year in Australia were the best we have ever achieved and the results are the outcome of the comments above.
The team won 1 gold medal and 1 bronze medal and performed very well in every race. Unfortunately, there was a big storm on Saturday afternoon causing the sprint race to be cancelled. Unfortunately for Vietnam, that was also a race where I feel that our W4X would have won a 3 rd medal.
Overall the races contested, we made 4 A finals winning the Gold medal in the Under 21LW1X and a Bronze medal in the LW4X . We also made 3 B finals winning the W1X and the LW1X by considerable margins and in times that would have placed them 7th in the A finals.

Now the team will continue its preparation for the Asian Games competing in Asian Cup 1 in Singapore in April and Asia Cup 2 in Korea in June.
Thank you again to all of the benefactors around the world that support our team and I hope that we can now deliver our best results ever at the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.
Regards
Joe Donnelly
Coach
Vietnam

INVITATIONS FLOW IN FOR WINTER COMPETITIONS

Sydney University Boat Club as winner of the 2017 Australian University Games will host the 2018 Tran Tasman competition against New Zealand Universities. This tour will be at the beginning of July.

In addittion we will have men's and women's eights attending the major China International Universities Rowing Regatta in mid-late July and a men's and women's fours attending the DGIST World University Rowing Festival in Daegu Korea from 20-26th August.

The Sydney Uni Wmen's Four and the Harvard Men's Four after winning the mixed eight at the 2017 DGIST World University Rowing Festival in Daegu , Korea.