Welcome to April's issue of The Catch 

This month:

• New members
• Updates from the Committee
• Safety - First Aid
• AMRC  
• Masters Regatta #1
• Masters Regatta #2 
• Blast from the Past 
• RFDS Rowathon
• Where's Laurie?
• Help wanted
• Upcoming events

NEW MEMBERS 

Welcome to the new members from March and April:

• Chloe
• Hanna
• Priya
• John C
• Malcolm
• Caroline
• Charmaine
• Patrick
• Sarah (again!!)
• Tony W
• Lou

UPDATES FROM THE COMMITTEE

From the Committee meeting held 20 April 2026:

• ANA RC need to clear our bay at Champion Lakes to make room for AMRC equipment. This will require some coordination and volunteer assistance.
• Thanks to all members for completing the boat audits. This has given Lauren and Michelle plenty of ideas to maintain and/or improve our fleet. This is likely to involve some boats being unavailable for a protracted period, so please be flexible.
• Rowing Radiance continues to attract keen participants, with several of these taking up gym membership or commencing Learn To Row courses. In addition, the Insider Training gang are keeping the flywheels spinning, great work.
• We will be commencing a strategic partnership with Chisholm College students. Further information will be available shortly.

As the summer mornings give way to winter, a reminder to all that if you are on the water before sunrise/ after sunset, you MUST have a 360 degree, white light mounted on the bow, and a red light visible from the stern. White head lamps are NOT a suitable option.

SAFETY - FIRST AID

AMRC 27-30 May 2026 

AMRC is creeping up on us, with crews busily getting their crews together for this event. 

We are still seeking volunteers for this event, with additional members required to manage the boat hires. Due to the distance and current cost of fuel, many interstate crews will be hiring boats from WA clubs. This provides us with an ideal fundraising opportunity; however, we need club volunteers to help. 

There are also plenty of tasks that Rowing WA need assistance with, including:

• Boat holders
• Time keepers
• Regatta administration assistants
• Courtesy bus drivers
• Boat drivers

If you can donate your time, please complete the Rowing WA Volunteer Register prior to 18 May 2026.

RACING NEWS - MASTERS REGATTAS #1 

ANA RC have started the 2025-26 Masters season off with a bang, heading straight to the top of the top of the medal tally.

Regatta #1 was hosted by ANA RC at Champion Lakes on 22 March 2026 and saw the following results in near perfect conditions:

Medals from Regatta #1:

• 5x Gold
  • Rene & Elissa (Women's A-D pair)
  • Warren (Men's A-D single scull)
  • Rob & Stu (Men's E-M pair)
  • Richard, Chloris, Nancy, Nigel & Kay (Cox) in the Mixed quad
  • Alec, Stu, Rob, Andre, Hilary, Sandy, Rene, Elissa & Courtney (Cox) in the Mixed eight
• 4 x Silver
  • Richard, Andre, Phil, Nigel & Nadja (Cox) in the Men's Coxed quad
  • Lindsey, Claire, Michelle, Mary & Bella (cox) in the Women's coxed quad
  • Dale (Mens A-D single scull)
  • Hilary, Sandy, Rene, Claire, Mary, Lou, Lucy & Michelle (Women's eight)
• 4x Bronze
  • Hilary & Sandy (Women's A-D pair)
  • Stu, Rob, Nigel, Andre, Adam, Alec, David, Thomas & Courtney (Cox) in the Men's eight
  • Alec, Stu, Rob & Andre (Men's coxless four)
  • John & Ian (Men's E-M double scull)

A big shout out to Mark and Russ who continue their journey through the Boat Race official (BRO) training. Thanks guys, we couldn't have the regattas without you.

As hosts, we supplied volunteers for the BBQ, cake stall, boat drivers and other personnel. These events are a steady fundraiser for the club and all volunteering is greatly appreciated. A big thanks to all volunteers, especially Alec for his tireless organisation of these events.

Thanks to our three amazing junior girls, Bella, Luca and Ava who jumped into the coxswain seats of the women's quads to lead these crews.

Volunteers are reminded to update the Volunteer Hours to ensure their hours are counted - if its not on the tracker it didn't happen...

MASTERS REGATTA #2

Regatta #2 was held at Canning Bridge and saw even better results for ANA RC despite the event being held in slightly more challenging conditions, with unpredictable currents and the odd pleasure craft zipping by to stir up the water.

ANA RC came away with 21.25 medals (Dale was the 0.25 as part of a WARC composite men's quad), way too many to call out individually.

Highlights of this regatta were:

• Warren & Dale's domination of the men's A-D double scull
• Nathalie, Jindalae, Max, David & Kay (cox) taking out victory in the Novice Mixed coxed quad
• Nathalie teaming up with Kate, Lou, Claire & Courtney (cox) to take out the Womens's Novice quad
• Mary & Ian winning the Mixed E-M double, with Richard & Nancy hot on their stern for second place
• Alec, Stu, Rob, Andre, Hilary, Sandy, Rene, Elissa Courtney (cox), winning the Mixed eight just ahead of UWA

A regatta at Canning Bridge is not complete without some kind of drama - thanks to Nathalie for diverting from her travels to pick up the riggers for the Chute. These came in very useful for securing the oars. An awkward moment, perhaps not as bad as the umpire boat that ran out of fuel.

BLAST FROM THE PAST - GLYN HEATH

Again, not technically from the past, Glyn Heath is the man behind this popular coxed quad.

Glyn has been a member of ANA RC since 1989, when the club shed was located at Canning Bridge. He commenced in the role of Treasurer later that same year and went on to serve as either Captain or Treasurer continuously from 1989 to 2007. During this period, he also held key roles at Rowing WA, where he led the design and construction of the Champion Lakes Rowing Centre boatsheds.

Glyn was instrumental in the relocation of ANA RC from Canning Bridge to its current home in Bayswater. Together with his wife Catherine, he has helped establish the structure for the club’s Learn to Row program and other initiatives that have supported the rebuilding and growth of membership at Bayswater.

On the water, Glyn and his doubles partner Steve Bourne (see September edition) achieved considerable success, winning numerous State and National Masters medals. Their highlights include a silver medal in the coxless quad at the Sydney World Masters Games. Glyn is pictured above with Steve, Chris Marinelli and Brett Dewar.

RFDS ROWATHON 12 SEPTEMBER 2026

If distance rowing is your thing, this event may just be the highlight of the year. 

The Royal Flying Doctor Service Rowathon is technically 'not a competition' and sees entrants row an 80km course on the picturesque Murray and Darling Rivers, generally starting at Wentworth Rowing Club, NSW with the location of the destination depending on the water conditions at the time.

All entrants and supporters are encouraged to support the RFDS program by raising funds for this critical service. The event is open to all rowers, in all classes of boats.

Further details can be found here. If you are interested in doing this please email Elissa. This event will be held on the same date as the RWA State Championships and the World Rowing Masters Regatta so factor this in for your decision making.

WHERE'S LAURIE??

At the time of writing Laurie, AKA Delirium, was in the vicinity of Khancoban, in the western foothills of the Snowy Mountains, and approximately 550km south of Sydney in his quest to ride across Australia with the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride.

Hopefully he has some warm lycra packed for this stage of his epic trek. Keep pedalling Delirium, you are amazing!

HELP WANTED!

We are looking for 3 to 4 cool, energetic people to form a Social Working Group to organise our social calendar, primarily the Annual Dinner and Awards Night scheduled for 7 November 2026.

The Working Group will take instructions from the Committee and report back to them with time spent on this will count toward your volunteer hours. 

Please respond to Alec if you are interested.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• 3 May -  Masters Regatta 3 and qualification event for the Interstate Crews
• 17 May - Masters State Championships, Champion Lakes
• 27-30 May - AMRC