Greetings intrepid paddlers

Twenty-one points, ladies and gentlemen, bowsiders and strokesiders, coaches and coxswains. There is just 21 points between WARC and ANA in the pennant talley after Saturday's UWA boat club regatta. Possibly even less, as WARC was belatedly awarded the MC1X (won by Michael Stott) however I don't have the update at this stage.

Now lets get something straight: The UWA regatta was a bit of a fiasco. It was cold, it was windy, it was downright horrible. We lost and broke things (not least the captain's state of mind).

But if a picture can say more than 1000 words, let me present you with this:

Proof the WARC spirit thrives against the odds. (more on that particularly spectacular boat-roll later.)

Meanwhile, we've launched the new WARC website. Please check it out here. Most importantly, check out the "news" link. Our wonderful web designer Dylan "I'm so hot right now" McEvoy has given the brains trust access to the news site so boat loading, regatta, merchandise and other details can be put up in between newsletters. We're still building it... there are more profiles to come, picture galleries to put together and all that sort of stuff, but the bones are there.

Please let me know what you think of the site! (Oh, and why is Dylan so hot right now??? See here. He's so going to kill me for this. Second from the top.)

In other news, the WARC committee would like to welcome Trent Leach on board who will join the brains trust in the role of Vice President, taking over from Steven Parks who has returned to the US. We also thank Steve for his (always insightful, often controversial) contribution to WARC since he joined the club in 2003.

FOR THE DIARY:
WARC headrace: July 13
WARC boat naming ceremony: July 13 (from 10am)
Su's last row before getting married: July 18
Youth cup athletes/coach application cutoff - July 14
Entries for FRC regatta due: July 20
FRC pennant regatta: July 26
Olympics start: August 8 (getting close!!!)

Oh, and finally, some words of wisdom from a procrastinating Vice President Caine Holdsworth (Pussycat Dolls fan and longtime member of the bowside union):

"Don't you wish your bowside was hot like me?"

UWABC Regatta and the Row of the Day goes to...

...the MD8+.

The ROD award: After careful analysis of... well, nothing at all... the ROD goes to the MD8+ who rowed during probably the most horrendous conditions of the day. Despite a crab of boat-stopping magnitude from Mikey Jones, the guys pushed through from dead last to narrowly beat Fremantle and take out the race. Other speccy races included the WC8+ (0.04 in second!), WB4- (came from behind to win) and everything that Deirdre Devery was in... she is unstoppable.

Win of the day: Michael Stott in the MC1X. Michael rowed excellently in the MC1X and won convincingly, only to see the race awarded to a rival sculler. After a bit of careful high-end negotiation, Michael has now been named winner of the race.

Crab of the day: Having already mentioned Mikey "Sickboy" Jones in the MD8+, the other spectacular crab would have to go to Lanie Gara who was in the bow seat of the winning WM8+. The great thing with bow seat is that Lainie recovered so well no one else noticed she'd even caught a crab and the crew came through to win.

Disaster of the day: Ahhhhh our problem children the X-Men. The ME4X+ is yet to adequately explain how or why the Francis ended up the wrong way up. But in the words of Coach Darryl Salisbury: "You guys could be the first quad to roll on the new course!" Always looking for the silver lining...

Thanks of the day: To Peter Tomic who has spent the last couple of days repairing the Wesley trailer after the "long vehicle" sign got cleaned up in a wayward U-Turn. To Sten Campbell for driving the trailer and not completely losing it when the sign got bashed, to Verity Keogh from Wesley for loaning us the trailer in the first place, and not going completely mental when we wrecked it.

Other stats:

WARC won 11 events at this regatta, up from six at the same event last year. They included: ME1X, MC4X+, WM8+, ME4X+, MD8+, WD4X+, MD1X, WC1X, WB4- and the WM4-. At the end of the regatta, we had two full boxes of UWA glasses (which are still on the floor of the club, so please collect if you haven't already. We had 45 athletes compete in an average of three events each. For the rest of the results... click here.

The not so good news...

While on paper the UWA regatta on Saturday was a huge success - WARC picked up points, had some great rows and some amazing wins, it was no means an easy feat.

The tent: We lost the bag of a tent we borrowed from North Cottesloe Surf Lifesaving Club. The bag was worth $150 and another has been ordered from the maker. The tent is worth about $4500. We will no longer be borrowing that tent. It is unknown whether WARC can justify the purchase of a similar tent (keep in mind, it's worth about the value of a single scull). With the inclement weather and compromised facilities at Champion Lakes, WARC had relied upon the good will of NCSLSC and we don't know what we're going to do in terms of shelter for the next regatta. Even if we do buy one, it will not be ready in time for July 26.

The boats: Boat damage from the regatta was extensive and will take days to sort out. The Moose probably copped the most severe damage to a skeg when it fell off trestles, but a lot of boats copped small dings, the cover for the brand new Wintech rigger got blown away and covered in mud, and all the boats were disgracefully ditry when they came back to boat unloading.

Loading, unloading and availability: The trailer was late to get to the regatta and some crucial items were missing despite a very clear loading list, leading to race scratchings. A few people had not communicated their availability to their coaches effectively which also lead to last-minute substitutitons and scratchings. For each error like this, WARC cops a fine and the captain cops a lecture from RWA. If you cannot commit to boat unloading every second regatta (so, once a month) the truth is you probably cannot committ to rowing and you may wish to find yourself another sport.

What it means: Since Saturday's regatta, I received a a myriad of emails and phone calls about why these things happened and who, ultimately, is to blame. The more we try to blame each other, the more disappointing this is. I can only ask that every single rower takes personal responsibility for themselves and their racing. Everyone must check that the gear they are racing is properly loaded, properly tied down and appropriately cared for. Rowers need to have the phone number of their crewmates so they can call if they don't show up on time, make sure their race is scratched so we don't cop a fine or talk to their coach about availability. Working as a team does not mean blindly hoping that someone else will do it. It means asking everyone to take some responsibility, rather than leaving it all up to someone else.

A note from the U19s

This Friday, four lads who spent five weeks training out of WARC with their coach, Sean Leyland, will head to Austria to compete in the worlds. It was an absolute pleasure and an honour to host them at WARC. WARC received this note from crew member Elliott Bannan this week.

"On behalf of the Australian U/19 cox-less four I would like to extend to you our sincere thanks and appreciation for your help. I'm sure that no other club, even our own, would have offered so much of their equipment space and time without asking for anything in return. Your hospitality went beyond the expectations of our crew, we know that the constant use of "the Moose" caused inconveniences, exacerbated by the length of our stay. However everyone soon adapted to make coach and crew feel very welcome. We wish you and the West Australian Rowing Club every success at the coming state championships. I hope your club continues to build upon it's fantastic flotilla and atmosphere, enjoying a burgeoning membership in the process."

We wish the boys the best and want to let them know they will always be welcome at WARC. We also farewell Sean Leyland who will not return to Perth after the Worlds, but whose influence and dedication to this club was immesurable.

Boat Naming and the WARC headrace

Sunday's headrace kicks off at 8am and the conditions are looking SPECTACULAR. All crews must be up past Maylands by 7.50am to prepare for the start. WARC will have 15 boats looking to get off the deck and we will be aiming to have staggered boating times (small boats first, big boats after) to get everyone off the deck in time to get to the start. Keep an eye on your email and talk to your coach for more details.

This will be the last Head of the Swan race rowed after a vote at a captain's meeting earlier this year narrowly defeated a motion from ANA, UWA and WARC to meld the UWA and WARC headraces into one event to race from the Causeway to UWA. Which we think is a sham!

This event has 47 boats - a big achievement for a restricted-entry race - and almost all the clubs are represented.

Winning crews will be advised by a marshall at the finish line to row over to the deck to be presented with their trophy.

Rowers: Please be patient! You may not be able to land immediately after the race. But we will have lots of helpers on the deck to help get you launched and landed safetly.

After the race at 10am, we will be having a boat naming ceremony to recognise the outstanding contribution of Charles Somerset to the WA Rowing Club. You should have already received details of the boat naming ceremony this week, so please consider sticking around for it.

Pennant points

ANA - 683
WARC - 662
UWA - 409
FRE - 398
BRC - 345
SRRC - 290
CUBC - 240
MURC - 122
PRC - 51

Next regatta: Head of the Swan headrace from Maylands to WARC, Sunday July 13

Su's last single row

Su Guy is getting married, and her last row as an unmarried woman will be on Friday, July 18. All of Su's rowing mates are invited to come down to Sassy's from 7.30am to join her for breakfast. Want to know a bit more about Su? Check out her profile here, and then, there's always this picture...

WANTED: A coach!

WARC is looking for another coach to add to the family in red and help bring along the aspiring athletes at our ever-burgeoning club.

This year we have taken on two coaches in paid positions and are now looking for a third.

If you know someone who would be suited to joining a well-supported and already-set program who has a good eye for detail and is interested in taking their career as a coach further, please email peta.rule@amawa.com.au or call the captain on 0414 282 448. Remuneration is both competitive with other organisations (including schools!) and based on experience.

UP FOR GRABS: lockers

WARC still has lockers up for rent for the 2008 season.

For $20 you get a lockable spot to store all your rowing kit (a tip from regulars: don't leave stinky rowing socks in them though), plus a key.

To put your name down and get a locker, contact Peter Tomic on mensvc@warowingclub.org or 0407 303 382.

WANT MORE ROWING?

At WARC:

LTR coordinator: Matt Hort is busy training to row to Mauritius. (yes, this ocean row really is going to happen!) As a result, we do not currently have anyone driving our Learn to Row course and at this stage, we will not be having another course during the competitive season. If you know of anyone (we would consider financial compensation for this task) that might be interested in coordinating and organising a Learn to Row program, please email peta.rule@amawa.com.au.

Bunnings coordinator: Last year, WARC raised in the vicinity of $8000 by running barbecues at Bunnings. We have a task-list and details about how we ran them last year, but we currently lack someone to take on a coordination role to make sure these happen. If you, or anyone you know, would like to help raise some serious dollars for WARC by getting the members to cook sausages at Bunnings, please email peta.rule@amawa.com.au.

Social secretary: In recent years, WARC has held a quiz night and a cocktail party. Without a social secretary to drive these events, they will not happen. Former social secretaries have simple task lists to follow so it's just a matter of following instructions for some of the best nights in the WARC function room. If you're up for a party, please step forward to drive these events.

At RWA:

Umpires: As of 2007, clubs with insufficient umpires will face penalties for not supplying umpires. WARC has been targeted as one of the clubs with insufficient umpires. All it requires is a bit of weekend time, a skippers ticket and a love of the sport.