Happy winter solstice, rowers...

Finally, the shortest day of the year is past and now we have some hope of rowing in daylight. I, for one, am absolutely stoked because I'M OVER ROWING IN THE DARK!!!

Fortunately the weather is not the only interesting thing going on at WARC and the best news of today is that finally the results for the pennant regattas are up on the RWA website.

To check out how WARC has fared this year, see here:

Bunbury regatta
ANA regatta
Schoolgirls regatta
Saturday's MUBC regatta

As you'll probably note from the pennant points table to the right, we've not really managed to close the 40-point gap on ANA but we're still well and truly clear of UWA, who are in third. I'm on the record in telling the upriver magpies we're coming to get them, so here's hoping we pull out all stops for the July 5 regatta and go hard to catch ANA.

Couple of quick thank-yous and acknowledgements: Thanks to Leanne Youngs who has volunteered to take over from Marie Limb as secretary for the WARC committee. Good luck to Marie, whose baby is due! So excitement! Good luck to the guys heading over to the worlds with Sean Leyland, it was great having you training out of WARC and your professionalism and attitude have raised the bar. We miss you already!

And finally, welcome to the new troops from Wesley College who are rowing with Tim Murdoch on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's great having you around and we're looking forward to some racing.

FOR THE DIARY:
Next erg test (2km... ouch...) plus busy bee: June 28
Janelle and Jase's engagement party: June 28
Entries due for next pennant regatta: June 29
Draw for next pennant regatta: July 1
First pennant regatta at Champion Lakes: July 5
WARC headrace: July 13
WARC boat naming ceremony for, like, five boats: July 13
Youth cup athletes/coach application cutoff - July 14
Olympics start: August 8

MUBC regatta debrief: And the coveted Race of the Day (ROD) goes to...

...the X-chix WE4+.

The ROD award: After careful analysis of... well, nothing at all, to be honest... the ROD goes to the WE4+ crew of Stacey, Gara, Hodgson and Neumann (cox: Rule. *cough*) who came from dead last off the start to row through the seven-boat field to come second behind the winning WARC crew. They kept their composure, kept the power on and the rate steady as they rowed through boat after boat. I think some of our senior rowers could learn a thing or two from these gals.

Win of the day: A close call between the WD2- of Youngs and Devery and the WC4+. The U16 crew of Foster, Vermeersch, Gorfin, O'Mahony (coxed by the very able Mieke Wevers who impressed the socks of the WB8+ when she took command) dominated from the start to take out the hotly-contested WC4+ in 4:19.

Crab of the day: A toss-up between the men's B quad (str: Cochran) and the women's B quad (str: Walters... crab victim: Rule) who both crabbed when they really should know better.

Crash of the day: To Elle and Glenda who managed to career into the pier on the way up to the 1000m start... then walk about 500m back to the trailer carrying the boat. Thanks to Caine for arranging repair of the Lipscombe!

Thanks of the day: To all those who came to boat unloading, particularly the X-men who came back to the club after their race at midday. We were seriously short of bodies at boat unloading which is why very few of the boats are rigged and the club is a bit of a mess. Unloading 23 boats with just 14 people is a big ask. I'm not really into giving out penalties but suffice to say: The club cannot support rowers who do not support the club. Unloading boats is as much a part of rowing as doing Jacob's Ladder in the event of rough weather: it has to be done, and it's not fair on others if you opt out.

Other stats:

WARC had 53 competitors in this regatta, up from 45 last year. We took out eight events, which was actually down from 11 last year but I might add the 2007 regatta had a few more veteran and sweep events in the senior grades and overall our performance including places (we had lots of seconds) was up.

The serious and the insane head west. A long way west. And they're looking for backers.

The sanity of the average WARC rower has been called into question from time to time. Our propensity for pre-dawn exercise and masochistic attitude towards getting up, in the dark, and going backwards in a vessel with no brakes leaves the average office Joe shaking his head in disbelief.

But now we have conclusive proof that WARC rowers are nuts, embodied by four brave souls who are set to take on the behemoth of the Indian Ocean, and they plan to win.

Interpid WARC paddlers, vice captain Peter Tomic, ex-captain Andrew Taylor, LTR guru Matt Hort and David Louw, have formed a crew and have registered to compete in the world's longest race, the Indian Ocean Rowing Race. Which goes from Geraldton to Maruitius. Yes, you didn't mis-read that, Mauritius, which is, like, an entire other country.

The lads have nominated Surf Life Saving WA as their charity and plan to take part in 10 major public events in Perth (including Wallabies v. Springboks, City to Surf, and other stuff.) as well as organise four charity events (golf day, charity dinner, 24 rowing challenges) to raise money for SLSWA.

Currently the guys are in the search for potential sponsors. This event represents a great opportunity for sponsors to broaden exposure and increase association with the charity. Woodvale Challenge are organising the event, Woodvale has organised multiple Atlantic and North Atlantic races since 1997, which have gained huge exposure across the world.

If anyone has some contacts who might be interested in sponsoring this WARC crew, please get in touch with Matt Hort via Matt.Hort@clough.com.au

Their will be regular updates on the guys progress in this newsletter and on their website which is currently under construction, a link will be posted on the WARC website shortly!

To find out more about the event please click here to see the Woodvale Events home page.

To support them more, join their Facebook group: Four blokes, a boat and the Indian Ocean (if you can't find it, go via the WARC group "Weird and Wonderful Westies rowers"

School stuff

Alan Salisbury's squad has also continued its strong performance in the school events, with the girls likely to front at the next pennant regatta on July 5.

Bronte Walter continued her stellar sculling performance, winning her single event while Candice Augustine came second in her first ever single scull race.

The girls teamed up with Natalie Serles and another rower from PC to put in a good performance in the quad as well.

The good news is, the girls are likely to don the black and red for the next pennant regatta, along with the guys from Wesley and take on some of the Project Oarsome (first year school-age rowers) events.

We reckon that's just brilliant!

Equipment

NEW SPEEDBOAT HAS ARRIVED!

WOOHOO!

So, I bet you're wondering why there's a pic of a Banana Split called Fleegle to the left. Well... after a LABA session one night, some of the WARC brains trust were sitting around and talking crap (which is how most of our good ideas eventuate) and came up with the brilliant idea to name the WARC speedboats after the Hannah Barbera kids characters in the Banana Splits. Hence we currently have Drooper, Bingo and Snorky. Fleegle is the last of the set, and appropriately in the show Fleegle was the leader of the Banana Splits.

Don't believe me? Wikipedia knows everything.

This is a big purchase for the club and should ease pressure on our current fleet of engine-equipped boats.

Sorry to any Gen Y kids out there who never saw the show... it was good. Promise!

We're also after a name for the new HW single (pictured with Caine Holdsworth on the left taking it for a debut spin). To stick with WARC tradition, our sculls are named after local wildlife, rather than people. Our other sculls include the Kaardar (racehorse goanna) Tursiops (dolphin) Catosylus (jellyfish) etc. The committee has chosen not to name sculls after people as the life of single sculls tends to be shorter than bigger boats, like the Bill Irvine, Alan Salisbury and Keith Gamble. And we don't want to be getting rid of boats with people's names on them!

Email your suggestions to mensvc@warowingclub.org.

(I've already submitted the "Lucky Shag).

Need a bit more rowing? How you can get involved...

I'd like to say thanks to Leanne Youngs who (if you've read your email thoroughly, you'd already know this) has taken up the mantle of Secretary after reading the last newsletter. We still have a few places to fill at WARC and around the place. I'd also like to thank those who have considered the Vice President position and would like to let you know it's still up for grabs if you want.

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.

Vice President: WARC Vice President Steve Parks has returning to whence he came (the US) with wife Kelly in tow, much to the devastation of those who rowed with both of them. While we wish them all the absolute best, Steve leaves a gap on the WARC committee in the form of a role for a vice president. Caine Holdsworth holds one of two positions for VP, while Warren Anderson is the incumbent President.

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.

Secretary: RWA, the governing body of rowing in Western Australia, is also short of a secretary.

Pennant points

ANA - 552
WARC - 509
UWA - 279
BRC - 266
FRE - 235
SRRC - 205
CUBC - 174
MURC - 112
PRC - 42

Next club regatta: Pennent regatta at Champion Lakes, Saturday July 5.

WANTED: Trestles

WARC is in the market for some trestles. If you know how to make trestles (preferably stainless steel) or know someone else who does, who might be in the market for a bit of extra work, please contact Peter Tomic on mensvc@warowingclub.org or 0407 303 382.

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.

Caption competition

What has Phil Colby worried?

Has Zak got concussion/stitches/lost a limb? Has someone busted a boat? Email your suggestions to peta.rule@amawa.com.au.

Skippers tickets

If you missed out on the WARC-run skippers ticket course oon January, you have another chance to get your ticket through RWA.

VENUE: Canning Bridge Rowing Centre
DATE: Wednesday 16th July
TIME: 6pm
COST: $150

The course consists of a revision session plus a theoretical examination followed by an on water practical assessment the following weekend or when a suitable time can be arranged.

Please note: that the practical on water assessment assumes that you can already drive a dinghy and does not include practical tuition sessions.

You must pick up a work book to complete the theory session. These cane be obtained from the Dept of Infrastructure and Planning or RWA do hold a small supply. The theoretical test that you sit will be taken from this book.

To book, email Pierre on executiveofficer@rowingwa.asn.au.