Celebrating our Victorian Olympians

The Victorian Rowing Community are very proud of all of our Olympians and particularly our Victorian rowing Olympians that have recently competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

This week we are celebrating Ria THompson who race in the Women's Quad winning a Bronze medal at Tokyo 2020! 

What was your favourite highlight or moment from attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

• My highlight from the Tokyo Olympics was when I saw the result flash up on the screen, when we crossed the line I was in disbelief that we had come in third so didn't want to celebrate until I knew for sure that we had got the Bronze medal. Then it just became more and more exciting when we got off the water and found out that the women's and men's fours had both won gold and the men's quad also got bronze. It was just a whirlwind of excitement and such an exciting thing to be part of the hour of power.

What do you wish you knew before attending the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?

• I wish I knew that things were going to go wrong but everything was going to work out. Everyone always said that nothing is smooth sailing at the Olympics but I wish I had been a bit more relaxed when things happened (like being accidentally sent all the wrong oars.. luckily that issue got sorted out)

What was your motivation to keep you training over the last 18 months?

• The last 18 months was definitely challenging, especially when the NTC got closed down, the olympics were postponed and we were all sent home to train by ourselves. The main thing that kept me going was the hope that we would be able to race again sometime soon. I love competing, especially on the international stage and I just kept training so that I could hopefully row in the green and gold again.

What words of encouragement would you like to say to the next generation of rowers coming through about pursing their dreams of making the Olympics?

• There will always be more challenges than you could possibly imagine but it is worth all the hard work and sacrifice because there is nothing quite like becoming an Olympian.

photo credit thanks to Rowing Australia 

MPIO TRAINING UPDATE

The first two MPIO sessions took place earlier this week and were a resounding success. The sessions were the second and final component of the Sport Integrity Australia endorsed Play by the Rules Member Protection Information Officer (MPIO) course. Rowing in Victoria has now an additional 41 fully accredited MPIOs who will play an extremely important role in our sport and for our clubs. They'll provide information and guidance on complaints procedures – they'll be the 'go to' person if any club members want to discuss problems at their club, particularly if someone is considering making a formal complaint.

The Member Protection Information Officer is a significant role within the club as it demonstrates and highlights that the club promotes a safe, welcoming, and an inclusive sporting environment which supports people who have experienced or could experience poor behaviour.

If you are planning to complete the training and become an MPIO, please act now as the last remaining session facilitated by Rowing Victoria is filling up quickly. This can be found at https://www.rowingvictoria.asn.au/events/list/

Australian Team Selection Information

The VPP website has the latest information on Australian Team Selection Information for all age categories. Please read the relevant event requirement documents and remember to nominate before nominations close.

All information can be found here on the Rowing Victoria website https://www.rowingvictoria.asn.au/high-performance/nationalteam/

2021 Rowing Victoria and Hall of Fame Gala Awards – POSTPONED

Unfortunately, with the ongoing uncertainty regarding the COVID restrictions and their phased easing, we have been forced to postpone this year’s awards evening. We are looking at still meeting face to face in ideally late November/ early December and will update the community accordingly. Those who have purchased tickets those bookings will be transferred and if the new date is unsuitable a full refund will be provided. We encourage you to nominate suitable people for the Volunteer recognition awards. More information about the history of these awards and recipients will be provided shortly.

 RV Annual Award Nominations

Nominations for the 2021 RV Annual Awards are now open!

Nominations for the following awards can be made HERE

- Club Person of the Year

- Coach of the Year

- School Person of the Year

- Regatta of the Year

- The William Waterfield Outstanding Service Award

- The Kath Bennett Community Service Award

- The Bob Duncan Award

- The Susie Palfreyman Award

Support for sporting organisations

The Sporting Club Grants Program will provide grants to assist active recreation and sporting clubs that incurred financial loss during the recent lockdowns in Victoria.

Victorian sport and active recreation organisations that were impacted by the recent lockdowns in Victoria can now apply for a funding lifeline courtesy of the Victorian Government’s Sporting Club Grants Program.

Grants of $2,000 for Victorian sport and active recreation organisations with a payroll of up to $3 million, to compensate for irrecoverable costs greater than $2,000 arising directly from the cancellation or postponement of events during lockdowns from 11:59pm on Thursday 15 July to 27 July 2021 and 8pm on Thursday 5 August to 19 August 2021.

This funding is only available to organisations that are not eligible to seek funding from the Business Costs Assistance Program. Please check your eligibility.

Educational Videos for Coaches

Rowing Victoria have made a range of educational videos available for coaches and athletes alike to benefit from. Check out these videos and much more via this link https://www.rowingvictoria.asn.au/high-performance/pathwayseducationandevents/

Want to know what's happening in Ballarat and at Lake Wendouree? 

Interested in attending events in Ballarat and at Lake Wendouree? Keep up to date with the latest by visiting the City of Ballarat Event Calendar website!