Newcastle University Boat Club Newsletter, November 2009 NUBC Regatta Regatta season is well under way this month and the past few weeks have seen a lot of NUBC members racing away their study-related blues. October 31st was the date of the NUBC’s much anticipated second regatta of the season, which proved to be a success, both in terms of race results and organisation (not too many dramas with the new exec!). The blinding stream of gold medals began right from the get-go, with the Mixed Quad Scull of Marshall, Gibson, Maxwell and Holmes delivering an encouraging early victory in Race 1. The Merewether High crew of McLarty, Lightbody, Saltis and Dwyer finished off the race in a close second position. Next was Alexandra McClelland, who won a convincing race in the Women’s C Grade Single Scull, followed by a win in the Women’s D Grade Quad Scull (Buckton, Mujic, Sands and Gardiner.) The Women’s C Grade Quad Scull also took out a medal (McClelland, Dwyer, Saltis, and Gardiner.)
place. The Flowers and Mujic boat recovered from some wayward steering to place third. In the last heat, Hanley and Holmes destroyed all competition with an impressive 16 second win. Well done to all those that raced. A big thanks goes out to all those that helped out: BROs, SES, tinny drivers, Nick the regatta planner, and Margaret Mackenzie for commentating – your time and effort is invaluable!
Merran, Oods, Ro and Tom (Mix4x) receive their medals
The Mixed Eights race is always popular amongst the NUBC folk; with two club boats entered this regatta. Victory was assured as no other clubs entered (unfortunately), however the race proved to be extremely exciting nonetheless – with Newcastle Uni 1 crew crossing the line just 2 seconds ahead of Uni 2. The rest of the day saw similar strong results: Men’s D Grade Double Scull, 1st Place (Hanley, Marshall) Women’s C Grade Double Scull, 1st Place (Buckton, Sands) Women’s Open Quad Scull, 1st Place (Flowers, Maxwell, Holmes and Bissett) Men’s D Grade coxed Four, 1st Place Newcastle Uni (Marshall, Flowers, Gibson, Evans and c: Pfennigwerth), 2nd Place Merewether High (McLarty, Dunstan, Lightbody, Smith and c: Gardiner.) The final event of the day was the Mixed Double event, which proved to be hugely popular (20 entrants!) First to race was the combination of Lowe and Sands, who came home in second
Kate, Emma, Erin and Genevieve return from their success in the their Quad Scull
The close race between Newcastle Uni and Merewether High in the coxed four…that’s what we like to see!
all, and ticket sales raised $200 for the University Champs W.A 2010 fund.
Merran, Bronwyn, Ro and Anna are pleased with their new trinkets NUBC members baking up a storm
Spring Regatta The weekend before the NUBC regatta, a dedicated group of members trekked to SIRC at an obscene (and potentially unwarranted) hour of the morning to compete at the Spring Regatta. Some good results were achieved on the day: The Merewether girls are too!
Jack and Merran far ahead in the mixed double!
Baking Nothing prepares you for a day of racing better than a night of feverous food preparation and a sick stomach from eating too much cake mix. With this in mind (as well as the needs of hundreds of hungry competitors arriving the following day) baking parties are fast becoming the regular pre-regatta social event. The night before our regatta saw blood, sweat, tears and beers being poured into hundreds of delicious and not particularly nutritious sweets (metaphorically speaking). These tasty morsels were sold (by the handful) at our world-class NUBC canteen – keeping visitors stomachs full and raising some funds for the club. This year, our increasingly gourmet hamper was admired by
Men’s D Grade Double Scull, 1st (Mujic, Evans) Women’s C Grade Quad Scull, 3rd (Bollinger, Flowers, Buckton and Mujic) Men’s D Grade Single Scull, 2nd (Jack Hanley) Women’s C Grade Coxed Four, 3rd (Buckton, Mujic, Van Ewyk, Flowers, c:Bollinger) Other Regattas Hunter Valley Grammar School’s regatta was held on the day following the NUBC regatta. Anthony Mujic took one for the team and was our only representative (possibly due to exams, or extreme tiredness from the baking party…). He claimed second place in the Men’s A Grade Single Scull. Port Macquarie Rowing Club’s regatta was unfortunately cancelled due to flooding. Bronwyn Flowers and Anthony Mujic took a holiday instead.
Upcoming Events NUBC Formal Dinner (Nov 21), be there or be decidedly square. Guest speaker Charlie Bartlett. $40 RSVP ASAP nubc.info/dinner CDRA Sprint Champs (Dec 6), short, fast, delicious races! Entries close Dec 2! Get into it! Annual NUBC Nelson Bay Social (soon!)