WELCOME TO RV E-NEWS

Thank you to all delegates and members who attended the 146th Rowing Victoria AGM last Sunday.

We are excited to announce that Josie Millard has been appointed as an RV Director, with a well-deserved Life Member announcement also made!

We look forward to seeing Victorians competing in the Australian Indoor Rowing Championships this weekend, with some schools already having submitted early entries!

Read more below.

Stay Safe, Stay Rowing!

        UPCOMING REGATTAS

HEAD OF THE GOULBURN - CANCELLED

Despite the Nagambie Rowing Club's great efforts to reschedule the Head of the Goulburn, unfortunately the regatta will be cancelled for 2022 due to greater than expected damage to Tahbilk Winery, which hosts the finish line of the event.

Rowing Victoria and Nagambie Rowing Club look forward to seeing the Head of the Goulburn return in 2023.

For those rowers who would still like to compete in long distance racing this season your available options are (as above):

RV Afternoon Omnium (Ballarat) - 5th November
Head of the Wimmera (Dimboola) - 13th November
Melbourne Head (Melbourne) - 19th November

NEW LIFE MEMBER - NOEL DONALDSON

We are very pleased to announce that Noel Donaldson has been awarded Life Membership of Rowing Victoria.

He is best known as the coach of the world conquering ‘Oarsome Foursome’, winning 3 World Championships, and back-to-back Olympic gold medals! 🥇

Noel is a passionate and proud Victorian, and continues to add value to our high-performance pathways, and our rowing community.

Congratulations Noel! ⭐️

Read more about Noel’s career and achievements here:

PARA-SPORT DAY

Last Sunday, State Development and Pathway Coordinator, Delwyn Oliver, headed to Geelong as part of the Paralympics Multi-Sport Day.

Thank you to Australian and Victorian representative Para athlete, Al Viney, who was present to assist those looking to give rowing a go!

Thank you also to Alex Bonney and Peter White from Barwon RC for their assistance.

AUSTRALIAN ROWING IMAGES

A new photographic website run by rowers for rowers, Australian Rowing Images website (ARI), is seeking to contract with photographers to cover major Victorian regattas in 2023. Photographers need to have their own equipment (although may borrow equipment from the proprietors), have an ABN and current working with children check, be robust given it is an outdoors task, and be able to upload their images roughly every 2 hours from the regatta.

A daily rate will be negotiated depending on experience and regatta venue. Regattas to be covered include Victorian Championships, major school events and Australian Henley.

Amateur photographers with a rowing background are encouraged to apply. Although photographers will be acknowledged, copyright in the photos will pass to ARI.

Please contact Andrew Guerin on 0417 554 799 with expressions of interest and for more details.

2021/22 ROWING VICTORIA ANNUAL REPORT

Following last Sunday's AGM, the 2021/22 Rowing Victoria Annual Report is now available. The report will be finalised with full award winners following the Rowing Victoria & Hall of Fame Gala Awards on Saturday November 19.

FAIR PLAY CODE

The Fair Play Code is the Victorian code of conduct for sport and active recreation, and outlines standards of behaviour expected of every person involved in community sport and active recreation in Victoria.

Players, officials, spectators and volunteers: Your behaviour at sporting events matters. Let's call time on bad behaviour in sport. Choose to be fair and play fair.

CHILD SAFE STANDARDS

To assist the broader rowing community in understanding the Child Safe expectations of Rowing Victoria, and our member clubs and schools, we will be highlighting one of the new standards within each E-News edition.

CLUBMAP WEBINARS

CLUBMAP will be hosting another webinar on Monday October 31st - HOW TO CONNECT ONLINE IN 2023.

They'll show you how to create a professional, engaging and marketable online presence for your club.

A professional online presence is often the first impression for new members, sponsors and families.

RIVER SAFETY - BOW & STERN LIGHTS

With the dark mornings now upon us it is crucial that all rowers who are on the water (and coaches on bikes and powerboats) between sunset and sunrise all have adequate lighting for your safety and the safety of others. 

Rowing boats, in restricted visibility and between sunset and sunrise, are required to exhibit;

• Two all-round white lights - one attached to the boat at or near the forward or bow end, and one attached to the boat at or near the stern end.
• Bow light - A continuous white light is considered acceptable if it is visible in clear conditions from a distance of 1 kilometre.
• Stern light - A flashing white light is considered acceptable if it flashes at least once per second and is visible in clear conditions from a distance of 1 kilometre.

Not withstanding the above, it is considered acceptable for a light to be masked so as not to interfere with the vision of the vessel’s occupants, provided at least one light is visible from any direction (see diagram below).

SAFETY REMINDER

Rowing Victoria would like to remind all members the importance of using our equipment safely and appropriately.

The police have been made aware of a number of incidents where rowing coaches have been sighted either riding without helmets, using megaphones at incorrect hours, or using mobile phones while riding (both in conversation or filming their crews).

For your own safety, to avoid fines, and to respect other members of the community, we ask that you please ensure you are not partaking in the behaviours above.

WATERWAY ACCESS & INCIDENT REPORTING

Could all waterway users please ensure they are acquainted with their local waterway rules; traffic direction, turning points, stationary obstacles etc.

So that RV, Maritime Safety Victoria and now, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority can support the community in providing safe waterways, please register all incidents via the RV Report an Incident tile on the home page of the RV website.

A consistent management of reporting will assist us in ensuring we are kept safe on the water and the chances of equipment damage is mitigated.