144th Annual General Meeting of Rowing Victoria 2020

We are pleased to advise that four nominations have been recieved for two positions on the Rowing Victoria Board as follows:

Nominee                            Proposer                                Seconder

Leeanne Ambrose             Deborah Spring                      Pamela Whiting

Alicia Ivory                           John King                                 Kim Gay

Rene Klupacs                     David Pincus                            David Grubits

David Pincus                      Andrew Guerin                        Leeanne Ambrose

Further information from each nominee can be found below:

RV Board Nominations 2020 

An election will be conducted for the 144th Annual General Meeting which will be held, via Zoom, on Sunday 25 October 2020 at 10:00am. 

Please click here to register your attendance and read more infomation regarding the event.

Rowing Victoria COVID-19 Info Hub 

For all COVID related updates and resources please visit the Rowing Victoria  Rowing Victoria COVID-19 Hub

Please note that the Rowing Victoria Roadmaps and Guidelines will be regularly updated as restriction change and as more information becomes available. 

Banks RC Information Session for 2020 School Leavers 

Banks RC invites all 2020 School Leavers to attend an Information Session at 6pm on Friday 9 October.

If you are keen to continue rowing beyond school, please join us to find out about the many opportunities that Banks can provide. Our coaches will be on hand to outline our programs specifically designed for School Leavers and to answer any questions you have.

Please complete the Registration Form via THIS LINK.

Australian Indoor Rowing Championships 2020

The #AIRC20 is just around the corner. This year the competition includes events so everyone can get involved!  No matter your age, ability or location, you can enter the #AIRC20 this year!
So put yourself and some mates up for the test, and enter into the #AIRC20.
Click below to enter now!
https://rowingaustralia.com.au/about-ev…/airc-entry-details/

Rowing Victoria's Weekly Local Legend - Pam Westendorf

This weeks Local Legend is Pamela Westendorf, Australian former lightweight rower. She competed in twelve successful interstate crews, competed in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games in a Coxed Four (3 seat) , represented at five World Championships over a twelve-year period and won a silver medal at the 1990 World Rowing Championships.

Pamela was successful both in the open and lightweight divisions. Also most importantly her longevity in the sport at the top level has been outstanding. Pam continued her life in the sport as a successful coach at club and school levels. Her contribution to the sport has therefore been significant.

For more information on Pamela Westendorf please find attached an Article written by Pam about her 1980 Moscow Olympic Games experience, courtesy of Margot Foster’s Ile d’Iso Periodical No 9 31 July 2020.

Moscow is on - Pamela Westendorf

Do you know somebody who is a local rowing legend?

Provide us with their name and story for a chance to be featured in Rowing Victoria's weekly featured athlete via email at: 

memberservices@rowingvictoria.asn.au 

The Starting Bay -  Rowing Poetry Written by John Cumper.

There's a breathless hush in the starting bay-
Five crews to beat to win the race today.
A strong cross head wind blows from the North,
As a warming sun beats down from the bluest of skies.

4 minutes to the start as the last boat backs in.
Its not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
Its for the Eight that hold the oars
And the stringy who has control.
They listened to the Coach as he quietly refrained,
Row long and row fast.
Create a memory that will forever last.

Touch it once bow,
Comes the call from the stringy in lane two.
That will do, we have a line now, blades buried.
Across the field of 54 there are the doubters,
Fighting the negatives that whisper in their ears.

Ready now, quietly echoes across the field.
The Light turns from red to green.
The hushed and peaceful surrounds now
Fractured by the voices of those who steer these sleek machines.

The drivers of the umpires in their launches
Rev their motors to full throttle as they
Steer in behind the crews.

With the stringys now in full voice
And the thwacking sounds of oar hitting water,
The boats have hit top speed.
The crews push on to the 500 meter marker.
There is a bolter in the field.
The crew in Lane five has a half- length lead.

The bolters have the rate up high,
The wise heads of the other 5 stringys know,
They will pay a price for those extra strokes.
It's close across the rest of the field.

Now is the time for cool heads to prevail.
Committed together to hold their speed.
No questions asked,
The stern four is up to the task.
Stringy talks the words of wisdom
The crew responds with every call.

The field has closed in on the Bolters in Five.
The battle of the third 500 wages on unabated.
These are 6 crews of quality, seasoned with purpose
No quarter given and none asked.
54 athletes up to the task.
The field drives into the most turbulent and exposed piece of water.
The blade work is clean and takes no speed off these machines.
In each boat comes the plaintiff call.
500 meters to go!

There is a resolve in each crew.
That today is their day!
The stringy of the crew in lane two
Reiterates the words of the coach,
Row long and row fast.

They respond in the only way they know,
As they have done in so many races past
They push and push again.
Slowly and surely, they inch to the lead.
They are so together now.
Each seat working for the other.

The water calms in the last 250.
We have a seat, give me another one demands stringy
With passion ringing in his voice.
He has the big guns in the engine room firing.
That's 3 seats and moving away
Stringy urges with 5 strokes to go.

The beeper sounds as they cross the line.
A memory created that will forever last.

-John Cumper - State national championship winner, 1975 to 1983; AUS National team coach 1991 to 2008; Currently technical adviser Ballarat Grammar School rowing program.

Head of the Charles Remote Regatta

Have you ever wanted to compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta?

Well now you can! From the comfort of your own home!

The Head Of The Charles Regatta Board of Directors announced that the Head Of The Charles will not be held as an on-water two-day event on the Charles River this October as it has for 55 years, but instead will be run as a global remote event.

Registration and results submission deadline for the participatory on-your-own water and erg components: Friday, October 18th on RegattaCentral.

Click here for more information 

Click here to register now! 

Jopling Family Rowing Scholarship

Applications for 2021 are now open and close at 5 pm on 14th October 2020.

Successful scholarship applicants will have demonstrated community leadership, be strong academically and be highly talented rowers.

To find out more information and how to apply please click here

Third round of Business Support Fund Grants

The Victorian Government has announced a third round of the Business Support Fund to provide direct financial support to businesses impacted by restrictions in Victoria.

Grants from this program will help businesses in these sectors survive the extended period of restricted trading.

Grant applications open on Friday 18 September 2020.

Please click here for more information.

Bunnings Power Pass - VicSport Partnership

Vicsport has developed an exciting partnership with Bunnings. All Vicsport members as well as their affiliate clubs, associations and staff can now access a Bunnings PowerPass card, provided you have your own ABN.

Take advantage on a wide range of products including build and fit-out assistance, security and maintenance services, cleaning and garden supplies as well as advice and assistance on construction projects and installation solutions.

Fill out the form on the Vicsport webpage and Bunnings will contact you within 14 days to finalise the process of setting up your PowerPass access.

For more information on this offer and all Vicsport member benefits, click here.

Vic Health - Reimagining Health Grants program.

VicHealth, through it’s Reimagining Health Grants program, has a new round of grants opening on the 16^th September 2020 and closing on the 27th October 2020.

Grants are targeting Social Connection, Physical Activity and Food Security with the funded ideas being delivered between November 2020 and November 2021. 

More information available https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/funding/reimagining-health-grants

Community Sport Sector Short Term Survival Package 2

Closing at 5:00pm on Friday 16 October 2020.

This initiative is part of the Victorian Government’s Experience Economy Survival Package providing urgent support to help a range of key attractions, organisations and associations ride out the economic impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and help them reboot, rebound and recover.

Grants of up to $2,000 are available for associations and leagues and grants of up to $1,000 are available for individual clubs and community sporting and active recreation organisations.

A top-up grant of $1,000 for associations and leagues and $500 for clubs and community sporting and active recreation organisations will be provided automatically to organisations who received a grant through the first funding round of this program – you will not need to re-apply to receive this funding.

With more information here.

If your Club didn’t apply for the first round of grants, then you will need to apply through the link below.  Where you applied during the first round, you will not need to re-apply, as you will automatically be included in the second round.

Please Click here to view the application link.

Community Sports Infrastructure Loans Scheme

Sport and Recreation Victoria has announced the Community Sports Infrastructure Loans Scheme which will support the delivery of community sport and recreation infrastructure that directly impacts participation and ensures community access for a minimum of 10 years.

Projects which fill a gap in provision, support areas of disadvantage and create participation opportunities for underrepresented groups will be highly regarded.

More information is available at https://sport.vic.gov.au/grants-and-funding/community-sports-infrastructure-loans-scheme.