MERCANTILE ROWING CLUB

Transcription

1 MERCANTILE ROWING CLUB July 2017

2 FROM THE PRESIDENT Welcome to our new-look newsletter. The club has completed a very successful domestic season - with dominant performance at both the Victorian and National Championships. This of course would be impossible without the huge commitment from our rowers and the extraordinary effort from all the coaching and volunteer members. Our thanks once more for their diligent and focused efforts. Our members were well represented in the Victorian crews for the National Interstate Regatta - the pinnacle of Australian rowing. We were pleased to note that the Victorian Men s Youth VIII was all Mercantile, an excellent indication of the growth in our men s program. Congratulation to the Victorian Women s Youth VIII for their dominating performance from start to BIG V Victory - it was uplifting to see the youth crew once more on the top step. Then to our wonderful Senior Women, the Queens Cup crew won their 13th straight race against an early and unsettling NSW flyer first 1000, this race and the winning streak is surely one of our best and longest. Our ultimate aspiration has seen 11 of our members grow an extra inch as they step into their national uniform. The U21 and Senior teams have had very promising starts to their international season. As I have mentioned to a couple of the U21 boys, any day you beat our NZ rivals is a good day and one not forgotten. We look forward to watching our Australian U23 representatives competing next week in Bulgaria and wish all the national team crews the best of success as they turn to their left and right to race against the world s best rowers. Mercs International is a steady trend that allows our members to gain international experience and maintain their athletic development during our winter domestic off season. As any first time National team member will tell you, the first 1000m in the international territory is a thrilling then suddenly DAUNTING experience. Our thanks to the coaches and team manager who led our club in Europe. We have a number of important events at the club in the coming months, including afternoon tea with Arthur and a post-head of the Yarra dinner to celebrate the day s racing and recognise the historic generosity of Trader Al along with the benevolence of other Club Members who have commenced a donation program for Mercantile. We hope to see the club bursting at the seams. GO MERCS Malcolm Batten President - Mal Batten president@mercantile.org.au Captain - Bill Webster captain@mercantile.org.au Head Coach - Simon Gadsden headcoach@mercantile.org.au Treasurer - Duncan MacKinnon treasurer@mercantile.org.au Cover: Youth Women competing at Ballarat Wendouree Regatta. Left: Team Mercantile with their hardware following a successful day at Henley-on- Yarra, with coaches John Saunders and Brigette Carlile

3 FROM THE CAPTAIN A new Olympiad. A new approach. A refreshed high performance structure has been adopted by Rowing Australia and our own competitive structure is now evolving as we prepare for the coming season. Two National Training Centres now house our Senior National Team. The Men s team are based in Canberra on Lake Burley Griffin and the Women s team in Penrith on the Nepean river. With this system comes a renewed focus on development, with a priority on enabling athletes to reach the Senior Team standard and join the NTCs. Mercantile has been selected as one of two Victorian High Performance Pathway clubs. This means that we will be working closely with the VIS in developing the next generation of rowers. This will see our club continue to devote significant resources to recruiting school-leavers and developing our Youth Squad - something we have done particularly well in recent seasons with Mercantile athletes contributing largely to the U21 State teams. We now also need to do more as a Club for members beyond the Youth U21 bracket. Our U23 and Senior age squads will now be combined into a Performance Development Squad. Training levels and expectations will be set towards the elite level to push rowers towards Senior State and National outcomes. Good as Gold The Australian Women s Four has taken Gold at World Cup II in Poznan, Poland and World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland. With our own Katrina Werry in the two seat, the crew managed to row through the field with a fast middle 1000m at both regattas. The biggest thing for us is sticking to our race plan. We know what works well for us and what doesn t; we train the way we want to race and have a huge amount of trust and respect for each other and what we re trying to accomplish, Katrina said. Katrina is making her debut, alongside Tasmanian Sarah Hawe, on the senior Australian team with Rio Olympians Molly Goodman and Lucy Stephan. Notably, the crew s success has caused quite a stir in country Victoria with Katrina and Lucy having both attended school in Ballarat. Reflecting on the experience Katrina remarked that a highlight has been the ability to share the excitement with former coaches and crew mates, and to be a role-model for other students, particularly from regional areas, to follow their sporting dreams at school and beyond. Lucerne also proved to be a very successful weekend for Mercantilian James Rook, who steered both the Men s Coxed Pair and VIII to silver medals. Mercantile has also been represented at the World Cups by Red Matthews in the Men s Lightweight Quad and Angus Widdicombe, who competed in the Men s VIII in Poznan and Men s Four in Lucerne. This year our Club has again been represented at international regattas. We expect to continue to offer development opportunities for athletes at overseas regattas such as Henley Royal, Canadian Henley and Holland Beker. Racing experiences such as these continue to pay dividends, with athletes making great gains from a focused winter of training and an opportunity to compete against some of the world s best. Within Rowing Australia s new structure, we have sought opportunity to strengthen Mercantile. We want to have a strong Club identity and continue to provide our rowers with the opportunity to pursue their rowing goals. I think we are well on the way to achieving this. We have identified that we will require more coaching resources to sufficiently fulfill the task ahead of us. Anyone interested in volunteering is invited to contact Simon Gadsden. Our current financial position could be described as sound, but tight. The Executive Committee is now prioritising efforts to increase our fundraising and sponsorship position. Members with ideas or energy they are willing to share in this area are invited to get in contact! As always, the success of this season would not have been possible without the tireless effort of our coaches - many of whom are volunteers; our committee, particularly team manager Jenny Fraumano; and the many other members, friends, family and supporters who make our Club go-round. We are nothing without your support - thank you. Bill Webster Top: Australian Women s Four - L-R Lucy Stephan (b), Katrina Werry (2), Sarah Hawe (3), Molly Goodman (s) on the podium at Lucerne; Middle: Lucy Stephan (s) & Katrina Werry (b) on the start line at Lucerne; Bottom: James Rook backing the Australian Men s VIII into the starting blocks at Lucerne.

4 In review HEAD OF THE YARRA JOHNSONVILLE CAMP VICTORIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS MASTERS KAYAK + SURF BOAT Mercantile boasted nine crews in the 2016 Head of the Yarra. The Club took out the Men s Open VIII in a superb competition between Mercs and MUBC. University started in front and successfully held off our crew until the Scotch straight. It was fortunate that Mercantile snatched the lead when they did as University was blocked at the next bridge by a tail end crew of the Open Women s race that failed to yield. The Men s B VIII also proved thrilling, with the Mercantile lightweight VIII finishing less than half a second behind our winning crew. Our Open Women s VIII were unable to repeat their recordbreaking 2015 win, finishing third; the Women s B VIII finished second in their race. All crews donned green ribbons in memory of club member Sarah Tait whose final rowing race was for Mercantile at this regatta.. For the tenth consecutive year Mercantile migrated to the Tambo river for a week-long training camp over January. 70 athletes participated with the support of an extraordinary coaching and volunteer team. The headline event was the Head of the Tambo, a grueling 12.5km time trial orchestrated by VIS Head Coach Bill Tait. Mercantile crews were joined by VIS and MUBC athletes, providing a great opportunity for early season performance feedback. Mercantile was thrilled to have twotime World Champion and Olympian Pauline Frasca join the coaching ranks for the week, as well as other guest coaches including Lachlan Beckett and Larry Leeming. The Victorian State Championships saw Mercantile once again top the medal table as the most successful club. The weekend yielded many great results for Mercantile crews, taking out 18 gold medals, 10 silver and 4 bronze. This placed the club well ahead of neighbours Banks and MUBC, who took home 10 gold each. Above Lennart Schiesswohl and Benjamin Canham, gold medalists in the Men s U21 Pair. The Australian National Championships proved a successful week for the club, taking out 7 titles and finishing 4th on the overall points score. Liam Donald and Robert Black won both the Men s U23 Pair and Coxless Four; Carl Tomczak and William Legge took out the Men s Lightweight Pair, and teamed up with Jayden Grey to win the Lightweight Coxless Four; Annie Anezakis, Ellie Tomanovits, Kirstie Green, Georgie Gleeson and Adelaide Cester won the Women s U21 Coxed Four; Benjamin Keller and Maximilian Hanna gained gold in the Men s U19 Coxless Four; and James Hoban with Hugo Van De Graaf (pictured) took out the Men s Club Double Scull. The Mercantile Masters team have enjoyed much success over the 2017 season. The Men s VIII had a gold medal performance at the Victorian Masters Championships, whilst Colin Kimpton and Jenny Williams also teamed up to win the Mixed Four event. Mercantile was also represented by a small contingent at the National Masters Championships, coming away with a bronze in the Mixed VIII. Notably, in January, member Jenny Williams was admitted as a Member of the Order of Australia, recognising her significant service to the community through leadership in the public health sector and NGO governance. Above, Pernette Wijnen (b) Joanna Adamson (2) and Jenny Williams (3) racing at the Victorian Masters Championships. Long time members of Mercantile Kayak Club and Surf Life Saving partnered up last season in Surf Life Saving surf ski events. Glenn Singleton and Tim Altman have raced together in a number of local and state surf carnivals with great success. The pair medaled in all events throughout the season and went on to win both the State Masters and Open titles. At the Australian Championships the pair were leading the Masters field before a wave brought most of the field up to them and they finished 5th in a hectic blanket finish. The pair were looking forward to a very strong performance in the Open Championship before cyclone Debbie caused havoc to half of the east coast of Australia and the remaining 4 days of the Australian Championships were abandoned.

5 FROM THE COACH Victorian Victory Much of our club success in the 2017 season can be attributed to the training completed by athletes and the coordination of coaches during the second half of the 2016 year. John Saunders had a successful campaign in the Cayzer Cup regatta against Sydney Rowing Club and many of these boys formed the nucleus of the men s U21 program that enjoyed success to come during the 2017 season. We welcomed club captain Bill Webster to the coaching group to work with the U23 women. David Colvin enjoyed the change from coaching senior and U23 women to work with the lightweight men, coaching Red Matthews onto the Senior Australian team and three of the four athletes in the Penrith Cup crew, and David Pincus experience would be again valued by the U23 men, after coaching four athletes onto the U23 Australian team the previous season. Brigette Carlile and John Saunders have created attractive and structured U21 programs and we ve been blessed to have many talented athletes join our club. This combination has resulted in the club s youth program flourishing. Both Men s and Women s U21 eights had convincing wins at the Victorian State Championships as well as recording wins at the New South Wales State Championships in various boat classes and continuing this form in the Australian National Championships. The 2017 Victorian Team contesting the Interstate Championships was dominated by Mercantile athletes - with 29 of the 48 seats filled by Mercantilians. Amanda Bateman on debut finished fifth in Nell Slatter Trophy (W1x) behind four Senior National Team athletes. Meghan Hester on debut finished second in the Victoria Cup (LW4x). Michael McNamara and Jayden Grey, both on debut along with Red Matthews and coach David Colvin, finished fourth in the Penrith Cup (LM4-). Ellie Tomanovits and Georgie Gleeson both on debut along with Kirstie Green and India Dempsey, with coach Brigette Carlile led all the way from start to finish, taking out the Bicentennial Trophy (YW8+). An all Mercantile crew of Jack Robertson, Lennart Schiesswohl, Maximilian Hanna, Lachlan May, Alexander Wolf, Alexander Clarke, Benjamin Canham, Alexander Maycock, coxed by Alexis Hancock, coached by John Saunders and Simon Gadsden, finished second in the Wilkinson Cup (YM8+) Hannah Lewis on debut joined Addy Dunkley-Smith, Jess Morrison, Jen Cleary and Kat Werry, along with coach Simon Gadsden, in the race of the day to win the Queens Cup. The crew came from more than a length behind to win running away and record Victoria s 13th consecutive win in this event. Tom Hunt on debut joined Angus Widdicombe, Liam Donald, Josh Dunkley-Smith and cox James Rook to finish second behind NSW in the King s Cup. Mercantile alumni Tom Bertrand coached the inaugural MLTA1x event; Bill Tait had the honour of Victorian team Head Coach. Our club was represented by eleven athletes at the senior Australian team trials: Kat Werry, Addy Dunkley-Smith, Hannah Lewis, Angus Widdicombe, Red Matthews, James Rook, Liam Donald, Robert Black, Tom Hunt, Callum Nott and Michael McNamara. The athletes were put through a grueling, comprehensive process where four athletes were selected to make their debuts on the senior Australian team to represent at the World Cup regattas. Kat Werry in the women s four, Red Matthews in the lightweight men s quad and Angus Widdicombe and James Rook in the men s sweep squad for the eight. We then had seven athletes go on to be selected to represent Australia on underage teams Liam Donald, Robert Black, India Dempsey and Amanda Bateman will represent Australia on the U23 team to compete in Plovidiv, Bulgaria and Alexis Hancock, Ben Canham, Alex Clarke and coach Brigette Carlile have been selected to represent Australia on the U21 Trans-Tasman team. Simon Gadsden Head Coach Top: Robert Black (Mosman colours) and Liam Donald on the podium for the U23 Men s Pair at the National Championships; Bottom: Red Matthews off the start at the Victorian Championships. Turning tides for Tokyo A revised rowing program for the 2020 Olympic games was announced by FISA earlier this year. Two changes were made: the reintroduction of the women s coxless four event - last seen at the Olympics in and the removal of the lightweight men s four. The double scull will now be the stand alone lightweight event for male and females. A highly competitive event, the loss of the lightweight men s four drew strong opposition from countries including Denmark and Switzerland, who have seen success in the event in recent Olympic cycles. Australia adovated for the retention of the lightweight men s four with the addition of a lightweight women s four and the removal of the heavyweight men s four. Changes have also been made in the coxed eight category. Either gender can now cox a men s or women s crew. The changes reflect increased participation for women in all Olympic sports. The IOC has made a move towards reaching total gender equality, mandating that all Olympic sports must offer an equal number of spots for both make and female athletes. The rowing event offerings at the 2016 Olympics allowed 60% male and 40% female participation. In Tokyo 2020 there will be an equal number of male and female athletes (263 each) competing in rowing. The Tokyo Olympics will have the highest ever number of women competing, as well as offering more women s events - equating to a record high participation rate of 48.8%. A number of mixed gender team events have been added to the program in sports including swimming, archery, judo, table tennis and triathlon. Perhaps this is a taste of what is to come for the future rowing program.

6 International Roaming More than fifteen Australian crews competed at the Koninklijke - Holland Beker in Amsterdam. This regatta is Holland s most renowned rowing event, dating back to 1886, and attracts some of the world s best rowers. Mercantile was represented by Addy Dunkley- Smith in a composite four and VIII; Jayden Grey and William Legge who raced in composite Quad, Double and VIII combinations - winning the Men s Lightweight VIII event in a thrilling photo finish against the Dutch club Laga; and Josh Dunkley-Smith who partnered with Rio teammate Josh Booth - coached by Bill Tait - to win the Men s Pair. The following week, Mercantile was represented at Henley Royal Regatta by Jennifer Cleary competing in the Princes Royal Challenge Cup (W1x); Addy Dunkley-Smith in the Women s Fours; Andrew Burke, Tom Hunt, Callum Nott and Angus Maloney - coached by David Pincus - competing in the Wyfold Challenge Cup (M4-)and Josh Dunkley- Smith in the Silver Goblets & Nickall s Challenge Cup (M2-). Mercantile alumni Hugo Laborde (Aviron Grenoblois) and Patrick Boomer (University of London) were also racing. The regatta, held on the Thames river, is a two-boat knock-out event, raced over 1 mile 550 yards (2112 metres), which is the longest distance of open water on the Henley Reach that could be obtained at the time of the regatta s inception in The Wyfold Challenge Cup crew had two commanding victories before being knocked out by a strong Sport Imperial Boat Club crew that went on to win the event. Both Jennifer Cleary and Addy Dunkley-Smith raced well but were outclassed on the day. The Silver Goblets & Nickall s Challenge Cup crew raced superbly, making it to the final, where they placed second to the current World Cup Champions from France. Josh and his pair partner, both 2016 Olympic silver medalists, opted not to nominate for national representation this year, allowing an opportunity to focus on alternate pursuits. Reflecting on his overseas racing campaign, Josh remarked that the experience had been very rewarding. I am very happy that I am able to travel, race, and represent my club to the world, Josh said. Top left: Josh Dunkley-Smith (b) & Josh Booth (s) racing at HRR; Top right: Jennifer Cleary racing at HRR; Bottom left: Wyfold Challenge Cup crew with member Sean Colgan enjoying the Stewards Enclosure at HRR.

7 Man of the Century Our oldest and longest serving member, Arthur Atkins, will this August celebrate his 100th birthday. Arthur took an interest in rowing while he attended Scotch College, competing for the school in 1934 and At the time Scotch College rowed out of Mercantile s shed, so Arthur joined the club and has proudly maintained his membership from the season to date. Arthur joined the army in August 1941, later transferring to the Air Force. During his training in Benalla Arthur met David Dorey Browne. David had been school captain of Melbourne Grammar School, Captain of Athletics and a first XVIII player. In spite of numerous close shaves, Arthur survived 32 missions from July to October 1944 during WWII. For his service he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. Top left: Arthur in the two seat of his first winning crew Australian Henley; Top right: Mercantile Roll of Honour, Arthur laid the wreath during the 2017 ANZAC commemoration; Bottom: Arthur speaks with Club President Mal Batten following christening of the David D Browne David and Arthur trained together in Australia forging a very strong bond. The pair were sent overseas together, spending a month in the US en route to Britain enjoying a dream life of adventure and travel, before being posted to different squadrons. David, remembered as a courageous leader, died whilst piloting a Lancaster on a bombing raid over Germany in He was only 21 years old. Last year Arthur donated a new - German built - VIII to the Club, naming it in honour of his mate. The boat takes pride of place in the Club s fleet and is a lasting example of mateship and solidarity in adversity. At the boat s christening, President Mal Batten remarked that the David D Browne would eventually join the bow of the Arthur Atkins currently hanging in the Club s gym, as an enduring reminder of camaraderie. Mercantile Rowing Club will be hosting a High Tea in celebration of Arthur s birthday on Sunday 6 August from 2PM. All welcome.

8 Scotch-Mercantile legacy continues The 2017 Scotch-Mercantile regatta once again proved a highlight on the school rowing calendar. Blessed with perfect weather, a large crowd turned out to see Scotch College take out the crown for the Schoolboys First VIII division (pictured above). The regatta was first established in 1959 with the objective of providing school crews with an opportunity for racing against open competition in the fortnight prior to their Head of the River competition. Initially held on the Yarra River, racing would commence before 8AM and finish after 6PM, with races every 3 minutes off the 1600 metre start and often at 2 minute intervals off the 800 metre start. The regatta grew into a great rowing festival with well over 1,000 competitors where all school crews, at both junior and senior levels, would compete. The move to Nagambie came after river closures could not be negotiated and the volume of other river traffic became an impediment to safety. Since then, the regatta has evolved into a superb schools regatta. Innovation has been key to the regatta s ongoing success. For the second year running the regatta has been streamed live in HD to an audience of over 12,000. The addition of a second commentary position at the 500m pontoon also allows for start-to-finish commentary, keeping spectators immersed in the action. An army of volunteers from both Scotch College and Mercantile contributed to this year s success including: Richard Wraith and Faith Gasparini, who stepped in at short notice and ensure the regatta secretary function was seamless; David Pincus, who supervised the timetable and did a fantastic job controlling on water operations; Clare Clarke, Fiona and Geoff Barden on bow numbers; Roger Wilson as commentator; Andrew Guerin as Referee; Duncan MacKinnon and Graeme Boykett as umpires; and Jeff Thompson as a boat driver. The Club extends its most sincere thanks and looks forward to once again hosting this event with Scotch College in The 2018 Scotch-Mercantile Regatta will be held on Saturday 17 March at Nagambie, if you would like to be involved please contact Mercantile Captain Bill Webster. NEW MEMBERS Mercantile is pleased to welcome Charlie Perkins Ethan Seder George Theodossiou Jack Cooper John Grant John Manolitsas Peter Dempster Masters Team Andrew Guerin Andrew McDonald Andrew Phillips Andrew Shugg Andrew Westacott Cameron Williams Christopher Raticliffe Colin Kimpton David Miller Euan McMinn Geoff Barden Gregory Dudgeon Gregory Hansen Hamish Fitzsimmons Hugh McVicker Robert Black Sam Lovejoy-Hall Stephanie Ferrali Hugh Sarjeant Jeffrey Thompson Jennifer Williams Joanna Adamson Mark Groves Norman Oke Pernette Wijnen Peter De Garis Peter Dempster Raymond Dawson Rodney Nancarrow Ross Rennick Sebastian Jenner Thomas Fisher Above L-R: Chris Ratcliffe, Colin Kimpton, Greg Hansen, Hugh Sarjeant, Peter Dempster, Sebastian Jenner, Jeff Thompson, Andrew Guerin at the Victorian Masters Championships. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO REPRESENTED MERCANTILE DURING THE SEASON VALE Mercantile bids farewell to those who have contributed so greatly to the fabric of our club Harry Mahoney Leisa Wilson Peter Philp Ron Richardson Robert Perillo

9 Competition Team CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO REPRESENTED MERCANTILE DURING THE SEASON Addy Dunkley-Smith (V) Adelaide Cester Alexander Clarke (V, A) Alexander Maycock (V) Alexander Wolf (V) Alexis Hancock (V, A) Amanda Bateman (V, A) Andrew Burke (V) Angus Maloney Angus Widdicombe (V, A) Annabelle Orr Annie Anezakis (V) Benjamin Canham (V) Benjamin Keller Bill Webster (C) Brigette Carlile (C, V, A) Callum Nott Carl Tomczak Charles Perkins Clare Ward David Colvin (C, V) David Crawshay David Pincus (C) Ellie Tomanovits (V) Faith Gasparini Gemma Sibillin Georgia Stewart Georgie Gleeson (V) Hannah Lewis (V) Hugo Van De Graaf India Dempsey (V, A) Jack Lawrence Jack Robertson (V) James Hoban James McCann James Rook (V, A) Jayden Grey (V) Jennifer Cleary (V) Jessica Brommeyer Jessica Morrison (V) Joel Cain John Saunders (C, V) Jordan King Josh Bell Josh Dunkley-Smith (V) Kathleen Hanson Katrina Werry (V, A) Kirsten Green (V) Lachlan May (V) Lennart Schiesswohl (V) Liam Donald (V, A) Madeleine Thomas Marie Dekeyser Maximilian Hanna (V) Meghan Hester (V) Michael McNamara (V) Michaella Ballas Olivia Sibillin Redmond Matthews (V, A) Robert Black (A) Roy Zhang Samuel Lovejoy-Hall Simon Gadsden (C, V) Thomas Hunt (V) Will Anders William Legge Above L-R: Ellie Tomanovits, Annie Anezakis, Georgie Gleeson. Image copyright Rowing Australia/Delly Carr. (V) Victorian team representative; (A) Australian team representative; (C) Coach