Rowing Update
As always, we have had a busy start to the season, with the Ergathon, Foot of the Goulburn Regatta, Senior seat racing and Intermediate Practice races at Carrum all having run so far this term.
Congratulations Jessica Hare
Congratulations to our Senior Rowing Coordinator, Jessica Hare, who was recently recognized at the Rowing Victoria AGM and Awards with the ‘School Person of the Year’ award for 2022/23. This award is presented for respect, initiative and personal commitment to the sport of rowing. Jessica was nominated for her exceptional work in building a highly successful, positive and inclusive culture within the MGC senior program, as well as for her work as a volunteer coach at Mercantile Rowing Club and with the Victorian Rowing Team as junior pathways assistant crew coach in 2022.
We are incredibly lucky to have such an outstanding and committed leader as part of our program. During Jess’ time as Senior Coordinator, our senior squad has consistently ranked in the top tier of programs at senior level at the HOSG regatta, placing 2nd in Div 1 for the past 3 seasons, and winning the B final the past two years at the National Championships.
Ergathon
The Ergathon was a huge success. It has brought the squads together and built relationships across year levels, provided many opportunities for parents to meet and build connections and also raised a record sum for the program.
Thank you to everyone who contributed with donations, prizes, by volunteering or by a contacting friends and family for donations. The money raised will be invested into the program in the next month to purchase additional ergometers, which will improve the efficiency of our training program substantially.
Most importantly, the rowers had a fantastic time!
Junior Squad Update
Our junior squad is progressing very well. All rowers have received their first technique evaluation and have also completed their first ergometer test. We have had some exceptional performances during ergometer testing, with the majority of rowers holding onto their technique under pressure. On the water, we have progressively introduced all four rowing with feathering, a process that is very challenging to begin with.
Our first regatta is coming up in less than a month, and the excitement for the junior rowers is building. We can’t wait for our rowers to experience their first regatta and to experience the satisfaction and challenges of racing for the first time!
Intermediate Squad
Our intermediate squad had the pleasure of travelling to Carrum on Saturday, running a series of practice races over 1000m, as well as completing a training session on a beautiful, still and flat morning at Carrum. This was a fantastic opportunity to test out the progress made to date, side by side, on a course without the challenge of negotiating other crews on the Yarra.
All of our intermediates have now completed a 1km erg test and received their first technique evaluation, with the erg tests in particular indicating that the hard work in winter and early spring is paying off with some club record erg times!
Senior Squad
The senior squad recently raced at the ‘Foot of the Goulburn’ regatta in Nagambie. The Division 1 Quad won the event with the fastest time, and our Division 2 quad was in a race winning position with 1000m to go before snapping an oar, yet still managed to place second, only 33 seconds behind the winner over 5.2km! Our second Division 2 quad also performed strongly, with two inters filling in and racing five times further than they have ever raced before.
Our Division 2 and 3 eights performed very well, with the Div 2 boat in 2nd place, only five seconds behind MLC, and our Div 3 crew in 5th place, beating both MLC and Geelong Grammar’s 3rds. As we are slowly transitioning our senior crews into eights over the next two years, it is very encouraging to be competitive with these schools who have decades of experience in this boat class.
This Saturday, we also completed some seat racing for the top two crews at Carrum. This process consists of racing three identical boats, at identical rates, with identical settings, while rotating crew members in and out of the boats. Each rower’s contribution to the speed of the boat is assessed through a mathematical process, and this generates a ranking of the individual rowers in terms of a prognostic percentage, with each rower’s individual times being ranked as a % of the fastest rower. We will use this information to inform our final selections for the Melbourne Head Regatta that is coming up in a fortnight.
Thank you to all of the parents who were able to assist with transport at such short notice.
Over the next couple of months, we are looking forward to our seniors racing at the Melbourne Head Regatta, and all squads racing at the Sacred Heart Regatta. Our highly anticipated Senior Camp will also be running as per normal in Bairnsdale, and we are looking forward to embracing the challenges and fun of a full-time rowing schedule for four days!
Glenn Fischmann
Director of Rowing