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This is your Captain Speaking
After the success of 2008 when WARC jagged the
B and C pennants and was narrowly beaten by ANA for the club of
the year, we have our work cut out for us this coming season.
The good news is, we already have everything we need to make ’09
a great season for Westies – athletes old and new (and old
and young!), new boats, new office bearers and renewed enthusiasm.
I’m looking forward to the challenge and I can only assume
you are as well if the number of athletes currently getting out
on the water (despite dodgy wind conditions!) is anything to go
by. Or perhaps it’s just everyone is trying to work off a
bit of Christmas excess…?
Either way, it is fantastic that there are so many of you going
through your paces in the (so-called) “off-season”:
Keep it up!
Important:
The new email for the captain is captainwarc@iinet.net.au.
Please do not use captain@warowingclub.org any more… we’re
having technical difficulties with that address.
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Lord Mayor's Cup
You should have already received the first newsletter
and registration pack for the Lord mayor’s Cup regatta. This
year marks the 20th anniversary of the LMC, and the event is crucial
to keeping WARC afloat (in a financial sense). Crews need to be
registered by February 5 – only a month away. Please get registration
forms in to Helen as soon as possible.
It has long been an understanding that being a member of WARC in
whatever capacity comes with the responsibility of being involved
in the Lord Mayor’s Cup. It’s not a huge ask and when
we consider the benefits – 2008 raised somewhere in the vicinity
of $24,000 – it is crucial everyone gets involved.
It is singularly Westies most important, competitor-supported
fundraiser and without it, we would not have four
new, absolute first-class boats arriving in January (more about
that below).
Every member is expected to help out with the LMC by coaching at
least one crew and taking on a role on the day of the regatta. If
you’re a bit nervous about coaching, fear not: we have a very
structured support network to “coach the coaches” and
any athlete who rows at a competitive level at WARC definitely has
the skills to coach a LMC crew.
Please email Deirdre at deirdre.devery@arup.com
with your preferred day to coach a crew or crews. If everyone puts
up their hand to assist, it makes the job far easier.
On a personal note, this will be my fifth (I think) Lord Mayor’s
Cup regatta and I can tell you, it is enormously rewarding to take
a crew of complete novices from not knowing one end of an oar from
the other, to competing in a sprint regatta a matter of weeks later.
You’ll meet some great people, and some potentially great
athletes. Just like our Men’s VC for 2009 Mike Jones, who
joined WARC after being roped into last year’s LMC.
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Learn To Row
The next LTR course is starting on 31
January. The application form will be sent out separately
to this email, please forward it on to anyone who is interested
in learning to row.
Please also consider volunteering to assist with the LTR program.
If you can help with coaching a session or two (particularly the
guys this time around) that would be very much appreciated and will
help spread the load.
If you are interest in doing a Level 1 this year, the hours you
put into coaching our Learn to Row course can be retrospectively
applied to your hour requirements for the L1, so keep that in mind
as well.
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Busy Bee
Please put Saturday, January 17 in
your diary for the “eagerly awaited” busy bee. As I
am sure you are aware, the Club is in dire need of a serious cleanup.
With everyone pitching in, this should take only an hour or two.
Various boats will be taken out of the shed to be cleaned and serviced
on the day. This will be coordinated by Michael Jones.
Please pitch in and help get the Club and the fleet into a fit state
for the commencement of the season.
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New Boats Arriving Soon!
OK, now I have nagged you to death, some brilliant
news regarding Westies ever more impressive fleet.
Toward the end of January ‘09, we will see the arrival of:
1 ex-AIS HW single
2 ex-AIS double/pairs
1 brand spanking new HW coxed 4 (pictured on the left, get excited!)
Yay!
The arrival of these top end boats is a serious boon to the Club
and contributes to an already enviable fleet.
The serious part is that there is close to $40,000 still outstanding
to pay on them (!).
If you are considering making a tax effective donation to the Club,
please refer to my earlier email or contact Nick Reid (treasurer)
at nreid@wacapitalgroup.com.au for any information you need to make
a donation.
These boats will benefit all athletes, from the top end to novices
as the boats are rotated through the ranks and better equipment
becomes available to the less experienced members.
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Umpires
As you may be aware, for 2009, RWA have introduced
rules related to each club’s obligation to provide umpires
for regattas throughout the season. In short, if we do not provide
enough umpiring hours over the season, Westies may lose
the right to compete at regattas, including States.
At the moment, Westies has three people sharing the umpiring load
across the regattas, one of whom is also a competitive member.
If you are interested in becoming more involved in the sport of
rowing and would like to take part in umpire training (and help
Westies out in a significant way), please email me at captainwarc@iinet.net.au
and I will put your name forward for the umpiring course that is
due to take place toward the end of January.
The course is a few hours in duration, followed by training at regattas
throughout the season – as few or as many as you are comfortable
with. Importantly, your regatta training hours count toward Westies
total umpiring hours, so you contribute your assistance in a meaningful
way almost immediately.
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New Westies Website
The new WA Rowing Club website has been launched:
check it out at http://warowingclub.org
Many, many thanks to Dylan McEvoy, the team at Thinking
Digital and Peta Rule for the fantastic work they've put in.
Keep an eye on the website throughout the year for news, photos
and all other things Westies.
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Goodbyes
It is with considerable regret that we bid (temporary)
farewell to some fantastic members of the Westies family in 2009.
Janelle Austin, Dee Samutt, Peta Rule, Peter Tomic, Phillipa Colby
and Roland Shepherd are on their way to Malaysia, France, India,
Singapore (via Mauritius), the UK and the world respectively. Westies
wish you all the adventure and happiness that your sojourns are
bound to bring you.
Play safe, find somewhere to row and come back to us as soon as
you can!
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For the Diary...
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Freddos
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