Oarsome: Kardinia International College year 10 students Erin Fahey, Paxton McPherson, Leah Dovallon, Alice Gleeson, Natasha Ferguson, Courtney Andrews, Siobhan Quinane, Fairley McPherson, Phoebe Powell, Lauren Barber and Georgia Delaney prepare to make a splash with Barwon Rowing Club.
JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
FOR people whose pastime involves being on the water, rowers spend a lot of time traversing the land.
Barwon Rowing Club president Sean Drew said club members often travelled to rowing events all over the state.
“There’s a lot of travelling to various regattas. For instance, we had crews in Adelaide for the recent masters games there,” Mr Drew said.
“There are usually lots of weekend regattas in January and February, too.”
Mr Drew said the club entered rowers in various events as they progressed through the sport.
“Rowers go through different ratings as part of a points system around the state,” he explained.
“If you win races you get more points, if you lose them you also lose points.”
Geelong recently hosted the Head of the Barwon. Shortly beforehand an annual Corporate Head of the River, raising funds for Give Where You Live, attracted many new faces to the sport.
“The Corporate Head of the River helps get people involved and gives them a taste of rowing in a club environment,” Mr Drew said.
“We’ve had a few members join us after participating in the corporate cup.”
Mr Drew believed the club was in a healthy position, running popular school and masters programs.
“It’s more about participation and people having a good time. You can be serious if you want to be.
“We’ve had members who have gone on to win world championships as well as multiple Victorian representatives.
“But the main aim is to get as many as possible involved enjoying the physical benefits and the social networks and friendships.
“Our club is anything but elitist because we have all walks of life involved.”
The club runs learn-to-row sessions Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.
Mr Drew said the club had put a lot of time and effort into redeveloping its base on the banks of the Barwon.
The new clubhouse was undergoing finishing touches ahead of its official opening in late January.
“The club has been going for 142 years and this promises to be one of the biggest events we’ve had in our history,” Mr Drew said.
“It’s been a long drawn out process over 10 years to get it done, with new change rooms, kitchens and social rooms.”
The redevelopment received funding contributions from City of Greater Geelong and State Government on top of many hours of club fundraising.
