WELCOME TO RV E-NEWS

Last weekend we saw two big days of racing at the Barwon Regatta, congratulations to all event winners!

Heading into Feb, clubs and schools return to Ballarat for the Wendouree Ballarat JG King Regatta, with both days of racing to be live streamed. Meanwhile, our younger school rowers will be heading to Geelong for the Morongo Regatta, with some rowing for the first time!

Read more below.

Stay Safe, Stay Rowing!

Rowing Victoria

        UPCOMING REGATTAS

WENDOUREE BALLARAT - LIVE STREAM

We are excited to share that this weekends Wendouree Ballarat JG King Homes Regatta will be live streamed! Tune in to both days racing from wherever you may be! 📍

Stream links can be found below, via the regatta pages, or on our socials.

UPDATE FROM ROWING GEELONG

The Rowing Landing on the Barwon River Geelong is looking fantastic today in readiness for the Morongo Regatta tomorrow Saturday 4th February, where over 1300 school girl rowers will take to the water from 8am to 5:30pm.

Rowing Geelong and the Barwon River have hosted 8 school rowing camps over January, with 576 participants which culminated in the Barwon Regatta last weekend, and over 1750 rowers competing over the two days.

The Jeff Sykes Rowing Centre has provided facilities for the rowing camps and the regattas.

Rowing clubs and schools who have been in Geelong, can you please check that you haven’t picked up some boat slings that don’t belong to you, Kardinia International College are missing 3 boat slings that were borrowed from the Jeff Sykes Rowing Centre. It would be appreciated if these could be returned.

For regattas on the Barwon River, we ask if you use one of the boat racks could you please put it back on the stack between Corio Bay Rowing Club and the Jeff Sykes Rowing Centre.

VICTORIAN PATHWAY INFORMATION SESSIONS

Rowing Victoria will be hosting a series of information sessions in Geelong, Melbourne, and Ballarat. State Development & Pathway Coordinator, Delwyn Oliver, along with current Victorian Pathway Program athletes, will be providing information about:

• Victorian Pathway 8+ for Coaches & Rowers
• Trial boats for the U19 Australian Team trials
• Rowing after school
  • Victorian Performance Pathway (VPP) athletes will talk about their journey from senior rowing at school to where they are now.
  • Local Clubs will be present to discuss their rowing programs for athletes in the junior and U21 age groups.

You can register for these sessions or nominate yourself for the 2023 Pathway 8+ via the links below.

2023 JOPLING FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP

Congratulations to MUBC's Eliza Gaffney who has been named as awardee of the Jopling Family Scholarship for 2023.

Criteria for the scholarship includes academic excellence, sporting endeavour in the sport of rowing, leadership qualities that espouse active citizenship, and a commitment to helping others.

Among a year of highlights in 2022, Eliza represented Australia at the World Rowing U23 Championships, winning a bronze medal in the Womens 4-.

On being awarded the Jopling Scholarship, Eliza acknowledged the vital support of the Jopling Family in helping to achieve her goals, with an eye firmly on Paris 2024 and beyond.  

Well done Eliza!

BARWON REGATTA

It was a fantastic weekend in Geelong at the Barwon Regatta! It was great to see so many parents and supporters present across the weekend.

A special congratulations to Footscray High School, achieving their first ever event win, in the Beginner's Coxed Quad. Well done girls! 

MASTERS STATE TEAM

Selection requirements are now available, and nominations open, for the 2023 Masters State Team!

Nominations close Sunday 12th February, with the selected team to be announced Thursday 20th April.

Selected athletes will compete in the interstate races at the Australian Masters Rowing Championships, at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, on Saturday 3rd June.

SRV SPORTING CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM

The Sporting Club Grants Program provides funding for grassroots sport and active recreation organisations across Victoria. Access to this funding helps clubs and organisations address barriers in participation, develop safe and sustainable practices, and build social and active local communities.

This program assists organisations to purchase sports uniforms and participation equipment, increase the skills of coaches, officials, volunteers and management committees, and supports improvements to club capacity and accessibility.

It is fantastic to see that 11 of our clubs have been successful in receiving this funding across the last 2 years.

Round 2 applications open this month! We encourage clubs to consider and prepare an application now. For those who are unsure where to begin, Club Builder offer services to assist in preparing an application. You can contact them or read more about the grant requirements via the links below.

LOCAL SPORTING CHAMPIONS

ARE YOU:

1. Aged between 12-18 or 12-24 (Para)?

2. Coaching, officiating, or competing at the State Championships or ARC this season?

If the answer is YES, then you may be eligible for a grant from $500-$1,000 towards the cost of attending!

CLUBMAP WEBINARS

CLUBMAP will be hosting another webinar on Monday February 6th - COMMITTEE STRUCTURE: SHARE THE WORK LOAD.

Discover ways to develop the right structure to share the load at your organisation, reduce burnout and increase the lifespan of volunteers. Clubs don't spend enough time on their committee structure, and find it hard to move forward as a result. Successful community sporting clubs share the load.

RIVER SAFETY - BOW & STERN LIGHTS

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.