2018 Yearly Club Captain Report

Again, we are at that time of year where we can reflect on the season and recognise the individuals who made it all possible. We had another very successful season which has been made possible due to many years of hard work by people both past and present.
The club manager, Greg Hinvest, along with the board have had another very successful year. Financially we are again in a great position and this has allowed us to continue to be able to have a well-funded program with four boats (two quads, double and a single) being purchased along with repair work and general maintenance jobs being completed. The continual financial support is made possible by everyone working together for the common goal of providing the best for our rowers. However, it is not just the financial support, but the care that the club has for the rowers which has continued to shine through and has been pivotal to the continual success of the rowing program.
A hand full of individuals deserve special mentions for going beyond what is expected of members and in doing so making the club that bit better for everyone else.
Jeff Edwards has again been a great support personally to me as Vice-Captain. He is always willing to talk through issues with me and help in any way possible, from weekly raffles, boat loading or taking photos at regattas, are but just a few roles Jeff has taken on this season. The time he has put in is greatly appreciated by me and is something I know that has been instrumental to the many achievements reached this season.
Jason Waddell has continued on as Senior coach this season and the time he invests at rowing is only a small part of what he contributes with countless hours spent listening to me ramble on about rowing at home, on the phone or any other way I can hassle him. Without this I know the program would not have run as smoothly as it has this season. While his contributions are a great achievement, his ability to balance this with his own training is a credit to him. His rowing achievements this season were numerous and resulted in him claiming the Maurie Reddan OAM president’s Trophy (highest club point score) and the master’s club highest point score award.
Mark Davies has been a big part once again in helping around the club for the rowing program from driving the trailer, fixing boats, picking up boats, rigging boats, constructing a new coaches room and so much more. I could spend a lot of time writing about what Mark has done this season alone but I know he would not be happy if I did this as he is far too modest about his contributions. This year he was rightly given the honour of a single being named after him as an appreciation for the many hours he has invested into the program. He was also awarded the Ken Henson Trophy (club person of the year) for his efforts this season. Along with all of this he also found time to go for the occasional row and even competed in the final regatta of the season, the NSW Masters Championships where he claimed two silver medals.
Danny Robinson has again helped greatly with the repairs of boats including the refurbishment of four Sykes tracer singles and countless odd repair jobs as required. This has been a great help and has allowed the boats to be continually used throughout the season. It is greatly appreciated.
Our coaching staff this season has again been key to the program’s success. Lindsay Callaghan continues to put in countless hours and his commitment over the many years he has been part of the club is greatly appreciated. Jess Markut came to the club this season with a wealth of knowledge that she passed on as much as she could in the gym sessions she held. She has now moved interstate but her time at the club did not go unnoticed and is appreciated. Bianca Waddell again helped at gym sessions where possible this season and though she has moved interstate she continues to be involved in the rowing program.
We unfortunately had substantial damage to four boats this year with two being written off and the other two requiring substantial repairs. The club was very understanding and allowed the purchase of boats to replace these. As I looked upon the boats being named at this year’s presentation I did a quick calculation to work out that the four boats being christened displayed a sixty thousand dollar investment from the club. It is moments like this that makes me feel super appreciative of what the club provides for the rowers. It allows rowers to focus on rowing instead of continual fundraising efforts and allows coaches to spend their time teaching individuals the fine art, that is rowing. This support never goes unnoticed and is something I am very appreciative of.
With the club purchasing new boats it presented the opportunity to recognise the contributions of outstanding members. The Lyn Edwards and John Campbell were the two boats written off this season and as such it seemed fitting that both deserving members should be given new boats. Colin Death has been a long-time member, once a rower himself and now an ‘old boy’ who is a proud club man, was recognised for his time by a second boat in the shed being named in his honour.
The above individuals have given a lot to the club both this season and season’s past. However, it is the efforts of all club members that makes this program run and every small effort moves us forward, from helping at learn to rows, hosting club regattas, breakfast duty, raffles and all the other jobs that are required to be done. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in a small or big way as it all helps allow the program to run.
This season we held both our head events, scullers and crew. Both were successful events with good entries again and were run smoothly thanks to the help of many members on both days.
For the first time ever we attended the Central Districts Rowing Association Sprint Championships. This was a successful regatta for us. The biggest achievement of the day coming in claiming the Linwood Throsby Gift Relay which entailed 3 mixed boats, double, four and quad. This was not a smooth victory with the heat not going to plan with a crash causing the team to not qualify to the final but thanks to the generosity of Newcastle Rowing Club we were given a finals spot. We took this opportunity with both hands and went away with the win. This victory showed the depth of our program this season and the resilience of all involved in overcoming an obstacle and moving forward.
The NSW State Sprint Championships was our most successful to date with the club taking six gold, four silver and five bronze. This impressive achievement led to the club placing second on the point score table for the regatta, a great result. While there were many impressive individual performances, many of whom went on later in the season to attain some solid performances, it was the entire groups performance that led to this great result.
The January rowing camp is always a highlight of the season and this season was no exception. With twenty-five rowers taking part in the camp it was a great atmosphere and it led to some good improvements of all the rowers involved. At the conclusion of the camp we once again went off to Taree for the three-day regatta. We had good results despite the majority of day three being written off due to high winds. The big race of the weekend was the mixed eights race. This year we went off with a twelve second handicap compared to last year going off four seconds and claiming second that year. We were confident with our crew this year but we did not expect to be up in the top crews due to the increase in our handicap. A collision early on did not look good for our chances but the crew battled through and went on to come second with a strong UTS crew taking the win. The help of many people made this weekend possible and the continual success at the regatta year in and year out would not happen without that help. Again, this regatta showcased the comradeship present at the club with rowers jumping in crews with far less experienced rowers to help out, cheering each other on and jumping in the water as required to help crews in and out as needed. It is this that makes me the happiest, more than anything else, and makes all the time and effort worthwhile.
The NSW Championships continues to become a tougher and tougher competition with interstate crews becoming more and more frequent in all age categories. Four of our junior rowers made the finals in their respective age groups which is quite an achievement. Jooya Kalantar, this year’s Ralph Rylance Memorial Trophy (school rower of the year) recipient, had a great regatta placing fourth in the under seventeen double with Miles Harrold and claiming a silver in the under sixteen single with the gold going to a boy from Queensland. Jooya’s impressive club results were a reward of the hard work he put in over the off-season and his ability to balance his rowing at his new school along with club rowing is something he should be very proud of.
School rowing events were again present in our schedule and presented a good opportunity for the rowers to represent their school. We attended the NSW Independent Schools Championships, NSW Schoolboy Head of the River, NSW Schoolgirl Head of the River and the Combined High Schools Championships. A standout in these competitions was Aimee Wagner who placed second in the NSW Schoolgirl Head of the River and won the Combined High schools Championships in the year nine single. This was on top of also placing fifth at the NSW State Championships in the under sixteen single. These results were a reward of the relentless work this rower has put in over the season and was why she was rightfully awarded the Baden King Trophy for special effort.
Kate Murdoch has again this season excelled at the highest of levels.  Winning at the NSW Sprint Championships, NSW Championships and then going on to win three gold medals at the Australian Championships in the para single, double and coxed four. She then went on to also convincingly win the interstate para single at Nationals for the third time running, being the only winner of the event since its inception in 2016. This has subsequently led to her selection into the Australian mixed para coxed four that will head to the World Championships in Bulgaria in September. These are impressive achievements and are a credit to her hard work along with her coach Lindsay Callaghan’s on-going work with her.
The Australian Championships also showcased a few other Nepean rowers. A great achievement for us was to be able to boat a club men’s double with Angus Harrold and Jason Waddell teaming up. They crossed the line in fourth in the final and it was a great effort by the boys and they gave it their all, so they were happy. However, it came out later that the third placed crew was disqualified and the boys would take the bronze. To say they were shocked by the news would be an understatement. They were not able to be part of the formal medal presentation but it was no less rewarding when they got their bronze medals and did something the club has never achieved before, in claiming a club event medal at Nationals. Angus Harrold had a great season in taking third in the NSW Schoolboy Head of the River and placing eighth in the under nineteen single at the NSW Championships. These achievements were inevitable with the step up in focus he put into rowing this season and if he chooses to continue on this path he has the ability to reach great heights. He was rightfully awarded the Callaghan Plumbing Towards 2024 Olympic trophy this year.
On the back of this great achievement for the club-based system which has been made possible by a big focus we have had on grade competition over the years, we headed to the Edward Trickett NSW Grade Championships. We again targeted big boats with the eights being a big focus. We were able to boat two men’s and two women’s eights again and also stepped the men up to the B and C categories (having raced C and D eights last year). All four boats claimed medals and overall the club went away with two gold, three silver and two bronze and placed fifth on the medal table for the regatta. The continual success in grade regattas and in particular at this penultimate regatta is an achievement that has taken many years to build up to and is a credit to everyone who has been involved in the program over the years.
The success of the grade regattas has relied on juniors stepping up and jumping into the coxswain seat. We have had several rowers cox this season and many with great success. The most consistent coxswain of the year and the individual who led all four Nepean eights to medals at the NSW Grade Championships was Hugh Harrold. His willingness to help out by jumping in is greatly appreciated as I know he will eventually grow, sooner rather than later we hope, and will no longer be able to cox, which I know he will be very sad about. Hugh claimed the Lloyd Death Memorial Trophy (coxswain of the year) along with the Terry Baskett Memorial Trophy (novice of the year) at this year’s presentation.
Building on from our focus of grade racing, master’s racing has been another focus for us. Our goal has been to both grow the program with new rowers and encourage current members to race. This has certainly been a work in progress and this season saw our best master’s results in a very long time. Both in terms of participation rate and also for competition achievement, it was a success. A good example to reflect this success is Jacqui Ford who was this year’s recipient of the Bruce Neale Trophy (most improved rower award). She stepped up to master’s racing this season and her increase in rowing focus paid big dividends including three medals at National Master’s and at a club level placing second on the overall point score table.
For the first time since 2011 we travelled interstate with a squad of rowers and it was the first time in our recent history that the master’s squad endeavoured on such a journey. We headed off to the Australian Masters Championships held at Lake Barrington in Tasmania. It was a great achievement just to be able to have eight rowers and coxswain take part but the results were outstanding with seven gold’s and two bronze, placing thirteenth in the medal tally based on pro-rata rate and placing twenty third on the Champion club point score table. This is a great result for eight rowers, a coxswain and we cannot forget the help of Brisbane Waters Rowing Club. This event would not have been possible without the support of the club and special thanks must go to Mark Davies and Jason Waddell for there work before, during and after the event. The racing was great and the results impressive but it was the fun of being around each other for those five days that was most memorable and something I will never forget. I would also commend to you the regatta report for this event on the club website along with all regatta reports for this season. Following on from this the NSW Master’s Championships took place two weeks later and saw the National squad being joined by more club members for the local regatta and again we had great success with three gold, three silver, three bronze and two first places in the mixed doubles.
Upon reflection of these events and both the team and individual achievements it is incredible to think we have built up to this through many years of hard work. It is funny, as I was writing up the Champion’s list this year I thought, this is taking so long (what a good problem to have). Upon this thought I looked at the same list from just a few years prior and it becomes clear just how far the program has come. This is a big credit to everyone involved who has made this possible. While I talk about success as medals I remind everyone that this has never and will never be a goal of this program. It is about everyone doing their best and reaching their personal goals. Through this vision the typical definition of success in the claiming of meals is obtained but it is never, and in my opinion, should never be the end goal.
This season has been the result of many years of work and it is apparent that next season will see many members carry on but we will have a new focus in rebuilding our lower grades with both the introduction of new rowers and the development of our less experienced rowers. Our depth this season is a great achievement and was instrumental in the club coming fifth in the NSW point score but we can never be complacent and we need to keep working so we never become stagnant. 
Campion College has again been a key driver in this continual growth. This season has been their biggest yet with some great results. With over ten new rowers signing this season and several renewing from last season the future looks just as bright. This program continues to grow due to their internal hard work at the College and Jason Waddell’s work as their lead coach. The growth of this program over the years has been great to witness and it is rewarding to see them enjoy this sport.
Our location has always been one that we are lucky to have and one we have willingly shared to others through hiring our facilities. This season we again hired the facilities to numerous local schools and clubs along with international teams, in the Australian underage and men’s team along with the junior Japanese team. This is a credit to the club for being so accommodating and welcoming, and something we should be very proud of offering to others.
A few updates need to be noted on what is happening around the club.
The bridge construction is starting to come to an end with construction planned to be completed by November. This will be very welcomed with the water going back to its normal traffic flow making training easier and safer. It will also see the Head races go back to the full five-kilometre course and the recommencement of our annual club regatta which will run on the seventeenth of November this year.
The pontoon extension has been delayed however work is planned to commence in July and the work should take approximately one month to complete. This will be a great improvement for the rowing community. It is much needed with the women’s NTC athletes being here full time and a continual interest from city clubs to row on the river.
Our boatshed will be undergoing work in the coming month. This will see external access being put in for the men’s and women’s changerooms. This will cause a short-term inconvenience to members and comes at a financial cost to the club. We have decided to come up with this arrangement to allow other rowing clubs to access our facilities in the best way possible. This again highlights our willingness to help others where ever we can and again is a credit to our members in being so considerate of other rowing clubs not fortunate enough to have facilities at such a great location.
This has been another wonderful season to reflect on. It always seems my reports are long but I think the efforts put in by the many people who make the achievements noted above possible, deserve recognition. This is especially important on the ninetieth anniversary of the club. Looking back at old photos, articles and listening to stories of older members puts everything into perspective and it is cool to think we will become part of the history of this great club one day. I would highly recommend the ninetieth anniversary book made by the club which Melissa Grech and Greg Hinvest were pivotal in making possible, as it gives a good overview of the club over its very successful ninety years of running.
I would just like to say a personal thankyou to my family for their support again this season. Without them I would not be able to put in the time I do at the club and it is greatly appreciated.
Congratulations to everyone for a great season and all the best in your preparations for next season.
 
Daniel Waddell
Nepean Rowing Club Captain and Coach