The first regatta of 2020 signalled the midpoint of the 2019-20 season for the UNSW Rowing Club (UNSWRC) as they headed to Taree to take on the best and brightest in the NSW rowing community.
The club, under the leadership of Head Coach Natalie Legge, entered the Christmas-New Year break ranked sixth out of all clubs on the Rowing NSW point score. Following a week-long intensive camp, the squad headed to Taree for the regatta from 10-12 January.
There was an extra connection with the venue they were heading to - the club house for the Taree Rowing Club is currently being rebuilt after being almost destroyed last year by a tornado. The architect for the project is Christopher Malouf, a graduate of UNSW and a member of the squad competing at the regatta.
The Taree event, the largest regatta in Australia outside of a championship regatta, saw UNSWRC record some outstanding results. The squad came away with 20 gold medals, seven silvers and 16 bronze. With a squad of 30 rowers competing, this was a highly impressive result for the club.
A highlight of the event was the infamous mixed eights race, where UNSW finished in third place, withonly UTS and Sydney Uni placing ahead. It involved 16 crews racing down the Manning River at once, creating mayhem at the start, but ensuring a spectacular event which was covered by the local news. The UNSWRC crew included some of the youngest rowers in the squad and was stroked by one of the newest members, Eugene Walsh. They were ecstatic with the result, which earned them a $750 cash prize and eight pairs of rowing shoes for the club.
Oliver Harradine and Michael Pickford were the stars of the UNSWRC at the event, each coming away with multiple medals from the event. In the cumulative medal tally gained, UNSW finished in third place for the regatta, behind UTS and Nepean Rowing Clubs. Finishing ahead of Sydney Uni on the tally was particularly rewarding considering it is regarded as one of the premier rowing clubs in Australia.
Squad member Malouf was delighted by the results, believing it is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the squad and coach.
"Overall the result reflects the outstanding contribution Natalie has made over the time since her appointment as Head Coach at the end of last season," he said.
"It also reflects the efforts of the volunteer coaches who have ably assisted with the coaching of the newer recruits in recent times. And naturally the results reflect the individual commitment made by our members to the hours of hard training required to achieve this level of success. We now look forward to a continued improvement in the lead up to both the NSW and the Australian Rowing Championships and the 2020 University Games later in the year."
The UNSW Rowing Club had a highly successful event, finishing in third place on the overall medal tally.