2009 AMC Wrap Up

2009 Australian Masters Rowing Championships, 28^th-31^st May, Fitzroy River, Rockhampton

In the last weekend of May, Masters rowers were able to escape the chilly Sydney climate and head to the warmer waters of Rockhampton, Queensland, where the Australian Masters were held on the Fitzroy River.

Co-hosted by Rowing Queensland and Rowing Australia, the annual Australian Masters Racing Championship is composed of both interstate and club level competition over four days of racing. The 2009 event was held on the Fitzroy in Rockhampton – a 2000m metre course that had hosted the Championship in 2005 – and welcomed a range of competitors, aged anywhere between 27 and 85 years of age.

Rowers expectations of pleasant Queensland weather were fulfilled during the first few days of competition. The fourth and final day of competition, however, proved a different matter, as high winds caused several boats to capsize, both before and during racing. The Australian Masters boasts crew lists with famous names in Australian rowing – former World Champions, ex-Olympians and State representatives are regular attendees to the pre-eminent Masters rowing regatta. Though racing may be the focus, Rockhampton event organisers had coordinated a social program which, at times, provided action just as exciting as the accompanying on-water activity: live music, bull rides and bonfires were all enjoyed while rising money for the Australian Disaster Relief fund.

On the water, NSW representative and club teams performed strongly. In the Interstate competition, it was the NSW women who were stand-out performers. The Quad Scull [crewed by Tamsin Brew (North Shore), Angela Conry (Leichhardt), Anne Parbury (Leichhardt), Wendy Zammit (SUWRC) and coached by Steve Sherry (Drummoyne] lead Queensland through the halfway mark and held onto the lead throughout the remained of the course to take the gold.

The NSW women also tasted success in the Interstate Women’s Eight, as NSW again led strongly in the early stages, enduring a late, spirited challenge from Queensland to win by the narrowest of margins – just 0.93 seconds. The NSW women’s eight was crewed by Gillian O'Malley (SUWRC), Amanda Andrews (Drummoyne), Anne Parbury (Leichhardt), Angela Conry (Leichhardt), Dianne Williams (Leichhardt), Deanna Fekete (Leichhardt), Alex Warner (SWMLC), Leslie Howatt (Leichhardt), coxed by Robert Wright (Drummoyne) and coached by Steve Sherry (Drummoyne).


The NSW interstate Men’s Quad Scull also climbed the podium, finishing third behind Victoria and Queensland. In the men’s quad were Ken Ambler (Sydney), Tim Tindale (Leichhardt), Robert Henderson (St George), and Mark Williams (Mosman).

Apart from the interstate races, NSW clubs also raced extremely well. Particular mention must be made of the performances of Drummoyne and SUWRC, clubs that returned to Sydney with 8 gold medals each. It was Drummoyne, however, that led the NSW Clubs in the Championship medal tally, weighed down with hand luggage that held a staggering 19 medals: 8 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze.

After such impressive results at the Australian Masters, NSW rowers are well-prepared to produce similar performances on the international stage, when the World Masters comes to Sydney in October.

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