News
The Catch: December 2025
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Welcome to December's issue of The Catch This month:
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"RO RO RO" The Christmas season has snuck up again. The Committee would like to wish all members a happy and SAFE festive season, however you celebrate this period. We recognise that for some, Christmas is a difficult and/or lonely period. If this is the case, please be aware that our rowing events continue over this time, with Christmas Day and Boxing Day morning rows. These are a great way to remain connected with friendly faces and common interest. |
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NEW MEMBERS Welcome to the new members from November:
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UPDATES FROM THE COMMITTEE From November's meeting:
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G'ROWING SOCIAL ROW This year we welcomed the Gig quad/ fours that were made possible through the RWA G'Rowing Clubs grant. One of the key purposes of this program was to expand the activities available to recreational members and in the near future we are hoping to introduce some out of the ordinary rowing tours, with an outreach to recreational members across WA. There are many exciting destinations to consider and this is a work in progress. The first of these tours is scheduled for 13 December 2025, with Glyn leading the charge. This event will be a 20km row from ANA RC to Guildford Grammar, with morning tea at the Woodbridge Cafe. We have extended this invitation to the Canning Bridge and Champion Lakes Rowing Clubs as they have a high number of recreational members. If the 20km is not for you, there are opportunities to complete the 10km distance, swapping at the Cafe. Please email Glyn if you are keen to join. |
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SPOTLIGHT ON ... PHIL AND TONY's SINGLES Over the past few years Phil C and Tony B have built a loyal following with their small boat squads. These sessions are available to all members who are looking to build confidence and skills in single sculls, with refresher sessions on choosing your scull, oars, the basics of sculling (e.g. accurate squaring and feathering, going in a straight line, turning, parking and even getting off the water again perfectly dry). These sessions are perfect preparation for moving to Phil’s Saturday morning scull session or Louisa’s and Lauren’s small boat training sessions. Tony’s sessions are 6.00-7.30am Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays or Sundays or by arrangement. Join the Small Boat Buddies WhatsApp group to see what is going on. Phil's singles coaching is on 8.30am Saturday's and is a self-paced session that is great for confidence building and gaining technical advice, again for all members. Please join Phil's Singles WhatsApp group to register for sessions. |
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HEAD OF THE YARRA 22 November marked the annual Head of the Yarra (HOTY) with ANA RC's 'F Troop' making the journey across to Melbourne for this epic 8.6km race. This year over 275 eights raced from the Melbourne CBD to the Hawthorn Rowing Club, setting off in regular intervals. This race is known as a cox's race due to the winding river and crews desperate to catch up and overtake the crews in front. The stress this places on the coxes charged with maintaining the safety of the crew and the equipment is immense, yet our Kay takes on this punishment regularly! The F Troop put in weeks of training in preparation for this race under the watchful eye of coach Lauren. Well done to:
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JUNIOR NEWS - CONGRATULATIONS LUCAS H Lucas H followed up his win as ANA RC's Brian Tonkin Coxswain of the Year award by being selected in the Trinity crew for the Henley Royal Regatta, in addition to other regattas in the UK. Sadly this means he will not be coxing for the Juniors in season 2026 but no doubt he will return with more tricks up his sleeve. Well done Lucas, please let us know your schedule and we will watch on livestream. |
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ANNUAL DINNER The Club's Annual Dinner was held on Saturday 8 November at the Maylands Golf Course with a Roaring 20's theme. This saw some amazing costumes being worn, particulary from our juniors for who this period was practically pre-historic! Congratulations to all award winners, special mention to Ingrid and Dave K who received the Club Member of the Year and Club Coach of the Year respectively. Special thanks to Kathryn for planning and making the decorations, and our chatty MC's Hilary and Laurie. |
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ACT-BELONG-COMMIT #2 Event 2 of the Act-Belong-Commit grant funding is being used to hold the 'All Members December Celebration Function' on 21 December 2025. Commencing at 8.30am, the Club will provide a selection of healthy, tasty treats to fill up on after your rowing session - head over to the BBQ area to the west of the Paddle Club. ALL members and family are welcome to attend as we celebrate our rowing friendships and recognise our values:
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BLAST FROM THE PAST - ALEXANDRA HAYES (bow seat) Having done all the 'named' eights we move on to the coxless fours/ quad sculls. The bright yellow Empacher is named after Alex Hayes, who commenced rowing with ANA as a junior. She achieved success in WA regattas, resulting in her selection as a member of the WA Under 19 eight that won bronze medal at the Australian Rowing Championships in 2006. She continued performing well at State and National levels, and was selected in the Under 23 Australian Lightweight Quad Scull for the 2010 Under 23 World Championships in Belarus, finishing 4th. She was then selected in the Australian lightweight quad scull for the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Slovenia, finishing 6th, and again in 2013 for the event in South Korea, finishing 5th. |
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CHINA TRIP David H has been on a 'work' trip to China for the past couple of weeks and managed to squeeze in a row with the Zhejiang Vanke Rowing Club in Hangzhou. David was able to take the ANA RC Masters Premiers pennant with him to display with the club who are very big on flags - it was impractical for David to take ANA RC's with him and this was the best we could do. Members lucky enough to be travelling are reminded that many interstate/ overseas clubs are happy for us to join them. Contact can generally be made via the relevant rowing body, social media or following referral from our members. |
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NEW YEARS EVE 'NOT AS LONG ROW' It's on again! And what better way to a) send off 2025, and b) kick start your New Year's Resolutions than the Not As Long Row, proudly sponsored by Act-Belong-Commit. The 20km 'Not As Long Row' was started last season following the huge response to the 30km 'Long Row' to enable all Club members to participate. This event consists of a social row from the Club to Guildford Grammar School, with a healthy breakfast and drinks, before making the return trip to the Club. Newer members who do not feel they can manage the full 20km are able to meet and change over at Guildford Grammar. The event takes place in Quads/Fours and Eights/Octo and while it is preferable that participants form their own crews, 'orphans' (i.e without a crew) are welcome to enter and we will allocate crews. Please REGISTER HERE Of course these events cannot take place without support - we also need tinny drivers/safety marshalls and BBQ Masters, please nominate for these on the registration form and get the new season's volunteer hours in early. |
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CLUB MERCHANDISE Orders for Club merch will open again in the New Year with prices and confirmed items to be publicised once details are finalised. Orders for racing uniforms (zooties and race singlets) will be made prior to the commencement of the Masters season. If you need something prior to then orders can be made directly from our suppliers - Oarsome |