Victoria

VICTORIA (VIC)

On behalf of the Rowing Victoria (RV) Board, I am pleased to present the Rowing Victoria State Report for the year 2021. RV has enjoyed a successful year, in terms of competition and community engagement, despite its Members being locked out of their sheds for much of the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the year, competitive school, club and elite rowing resumed after a long hiatus. The majority of scheduled school, club, and state regattas were held and representatives were selected for the 2021 Aon Australian Rowing Championships (ARC) and the Australian Masters Rowing Championships (AMRC). RV was delighted by the Victorian Open crews which were particularly successful at the ARC and the Interstate Regatta. In partnership with Rowing Australia, the Victorian Institute of Sport with Head Coach Noel Donaldson and our High-Performance Clubs, MUBC and Mercantile, in what has already been stated as a compromised year, Victorian athletes filled 30 percent of the available international representative seats; from U19 through to the Olympic and Paralympic Teams. Truly outstanding and congratulations to all involved; from the schools, clubs, coaches, the National Training Centres in Canberra and Penrith, but ultimately the athletes and their families. RV is particularly proud of the Victorian 2020 Olympians and 2020 Paralympians, especially Gold Medallists Rosemary Popa OAM (Banks), Jessica Morrison OAM (Mercantile) and Lucy Stephan OAM (MUBC). That one day in July will be a lifelong memory for us and an inspiration for our next generation. While RV enjoys the success of its elite rowers, its main focus continues to be its school and club programs. While the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted training throughout the year our schools were well represented and too enjoyed great success at the ARC. The State’s Clubs performed well at the AMRC despite a very short and disrupted season. At the Annual General Meeting in October, Pat McNamara retired from the Board of RV. During his term on the Board, over nine years, Pat held the roles of President, Vice President and Rowing Australia Council member for Rowing Victoria. Pat was also awarded a Rowing Victoria Life Membership. His knowledge, political savvy and statesmanship will be greatly missed. He has made a monumental contribution to our sport from a Club, State, National and International perspective for many decades. We thank Pat for his service. A Rowing Victoria Life Membership was also awarded to Suzie Palfreyman for her services to rowing in Victoria including her contribution to the establishment of Victorian schoolgirls rowing and the establishment of the Head of the Schoolgirls regatta. The retirement of Eric Waller after countless years of service as Field of Play Manager will leave a large hole in the organisation of regattas in this state. Eric’s contribution and experience has been respected by everyone in rowing and his ability to get things done will be sadly missed. RV continues to work collaboratively with RA and remains in a strong position to service the rowing community with solid reserves, a dedicated Board of Directors and staff, and engaged volunteers.

DEBORAH SPRING

President - Rowing Victoria