What a weekend!!

TL;DR - It was brilliant, here are the headlines...

• Fremantle RC win their first ever Championship Women's Eight
• Swan River RC win their 23rd straight Championship Men's Eight
• Holly Cannon wins every single Championship Women's event
• Blake Whyatt & Charlotte Broad are the 2023 Pennant Sculling Ladder Champions
• All the photos are here for Day 1 and here for Day 2

DAY 1

Hosted by Murdoch University Rowing Club

President Stuart Diggins: "A fantastic day at Champion Lakes today when Murdoch University Rowing Club (MURC) was the host club for Day 1 of the 2023 Western Australian State Rowing Championships. Working with Rowing WA staff and The State's volunteer Boat Race Officials, we saw perfect weather, great competition between the rowers on the water, and a terrific atmosphere throughout the day. As well as helping on the course, MURC members and supporters also offered a wide range of food and drinks for sale to keep hungry rowers fed and fuelled for their competition. Thank you everyone for a great effort. Funds raised by MURC today will go toward a new rowing shell we have on order and due for delivery in the next couple of months. Thanks Rowing WA for allowing us to host today. Congratulations to those rowers who competed today and good luck to all who will compete on Day 2 of the 2023 State Rowing Championships tomorrow, 17th September!"

Day 1 of State Champs saw 47 races between 8am and 3pm, contesting most of the sweep events across all the Pennant grades. We saw some results we expected, and certainly some upsets! The Curtin Womens C8+, unbeaten all Pennant season, were pipped at the post by UWABC in a race that stopped the boat park. Fremantle topped the medal tally - things are looking positive for their run at the top of the Pennant Points tally, but it certainly gave the other clubs something to work for on Sunday!

DAY 2

Hosted by Curtin University Rowing Club

"President Corbett Poynton: The Curtin University Boat Club hosted the second day of the 2023 RWA State Rowing Championships at Champion Lakes on 17th September. It was yet another day characterised by excellent rowing conditions and thrilling races. The catering, as always, was outstanding and exceptionally well-coordinated. Thank you all for your support. We extend our gratitude to RWA, all the dedicated Boat Race Officials, and the selfless volunteer helpers who made this day possible. Congratulations are in order for all the competitors who put in months of hard work leading up to this weekend. Without your dedication and effort, this event would not have been possible. It is important to remember that winners and losers all play a vital role in the world of competition, for without losers, there would be no winner."

The remaining sculling events were all contested on Day 2, plus the B Grade and Championship Eights. A mild crossbreeze developed through the morning and put coaches on edge, but all crews coped professionally - hats off to our younger athletes for taking it in their stride!Shout out to Jacqui Swick (SRRC) and Alex Rossi (WARC) who were back on the scene to jump in their Club Open Eights, having raced their World Championship Finals just 7 days prior!Fremantle continued their trend of topping of the Medal table, but WARC weren’t far behind with 5 Gold, 5 Silver & 5 Bronze medal results by the end of the day’s racing.A standout performance of the weekend was Holly Cannon (Fremantle). In her various crews, Holly won every single Championship Open Womens event on offer - a clean sweep (and scull...)!!

THE BIG ONES

Fremantle Rowing Club won their first ever Championship Women's Eight.

Winning Crew: cox: Angelie Ng, Sina Metzger, Charlotte Hansen-Knarhoi, Charlotte Broad, Holly Cannon, Lyla Fievez, Emma O’Neill, Juliet Kelly, Sarah Newton

Photo: Fremantle Rowing Club

Swan River won their 23rd straight Championship Men’s Eight title.

Winning Crew: cox: Elinor Scott, Perry Ward, Pat Boere, Myles McQuillan, Johnson Daubney, Sam Marsh, Fergus McNamara, James Young, Harper Davies

And finally, an enormous THANK YOU to our Boat Race Officials who worked so hard all weekend (and all season) to bring us organised, fair racing. Thank you to:

Teresa Belcher, Alan Butorac, Wallace Cheung, KG Dassanyake, Luke Forsyth, Andrew Halley, Michael Hawkins, Paul Johnston, Phill Matthews, John Murdoch, Carole Pedri, Kim Richardson, Dean Steadman, Rosalba Vicario-Adams, Brett Woolfitt OAM, Pierre Pougnault, Lynne Bayliss, Geoff Mitchell, Craig James OAM, Michelle Davis

And thank you to every single athlete, coach, volunteer & club supporter who has made this season a special one. Onwards now to Nationals for those who will be competing, the kick-off of the PSA season, and the Head of the Swan in October.