S2 Episode 6: Racing Wrap and HOTR Predictions

Things are hotting up as crews around the country finish their final preparations for the upcoming Head of the Rivers and National Championships.

Join JRN pundits Chris McCarthy, Stuart John, and Antonietta Di Cosmo for all the analysis and hot takes from around the country in the build-up to the pointy end of the season.

This podcast is sponsored by WinTech Racing Australia.

WinTech Racing has established itself as the world's largest and foremost sustainable boat builder, producing over 2000 shells annually.

They are dedicated to promoting the growth of rowing by making it easier and more affordable to buy boats featuring cutting-edge technology that improve performance at all levels. 

Learn more about how you can get a fair price and unfair advantage at wintechracing.com.au

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:04

Okay, this has to stop. People are running around calling lightning to call Marel.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Schoolboy rounding is truly it's not in a purple patch, it's pretty close to it at the moment. I'm gonna say a top three between Scamel and Rigby is 1754 entries, which is a record about 50 more than last year.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Welcome to Rowing Down Under, a podcast by Jaggeren with Chris McCarthy and Stuart John.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

G'day Raman fans, and welcome back to Rowing Down Under, the Jaguaran podcast for all the latest racing news and opinions in the world of Australian roaming. My name is Chris McCarthy, and I'm joined by the man who's been panic buying all the petrol in the ACT, Stuart John, and the lady who left a banana peel on turn four of the Albert Park Circuit on Sunday, Ant De Cosmo. Welcome back to both of you. Stu, how's life been in the ACT?

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Well, it was great until you told everyone I was panicked buying the petrol. I mean, it's and it's only because I'm going up to help you guys out with your little tiny regatta. Uh but Pennerith next weekend with the head of the river, schoolgirl head of the river. No, it's um it's the week off, I think was a chance for everyone to have a bit of a think and uh get ready for the final part of the season. We've got uh ACT championships, heads of the river, uh the nationals coming up, and a few interstate crews. So looking forward to going through quite a bit of those.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

And you've had some better weather down there in Mexico than we've had up here in Sydney. A nice uh change, I'm sure. How have things been uh down in the southern state?

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Uh in the great state of Victoria, it has been amazing, actually. We've had some really, really good weather, even for our Vic State champs at Ballarat last weekend. It was only really windy on the Sunday, but Friday was really nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

And fast, fast on the Saturday as well.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

Very fast conditions.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Rowing Down Under season two is proudly sponsored by Wintech Racing Australia. Wintech Racing have established themselves as the world's largest and foremost sustainable boat builder, producing over 2,000 shells annually. They're dedicated to promoting the growth of rowing by making it easier and more affordable to buy boats featuring cutting-edge technology that improve performance at all levels. Now, this is the part of the spiel we're supposed to throw superfluous words at you like best, fastest, ultimate. But Wintech Australia are better served by real words like authentic, character, and service. Because what Wintech stands for is genuine and built upon the very best people and practices. Wintech's unwavering commitment to sustainability, affordability, and innovation drive them to propel the sport of rowing into a more inclusive and exciting future where your excellence will know no boundaries. Learn more about how you can get a fair price and an unfair advantage at WintechRacing.com.au. But before we start, I thought uh Ant, we uh have had you on a couple of podcasts now. We're hoping you'll join us for a few more if we don't figure out something else in the meantime. No, I'm kidding. We're hoping you'll be here for a few more. Um so I thought we would uh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:11

I'm still asking questions.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Yeah, yeah, well we're we're asking the same question. So um, but um I thought we would just uh take a bit of an opportunity for our audience to get to know you a little bit better. Um we all know that you're from Victoria, we've made that clear with uh several jokes already in the first two minutes of this podcast. But just tell us a little bit where you come from in rowing what you do at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Um I was a gen girl, uh, so I started Gen Azano, which is one of the schools here in Victoria, and then I found myself in club land by accident, actually started at Mercantile, and then I ended up at Banks, and then I was tapped on the shoulder to row lightweight after much debate, and then one thing led to another, and now I'm here, and I find myself on too many microphones and with too many opinions.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Starting to weaponize the microphones as uh as you look towards lightweight retirement, which is probably never gonna happen, but I say it every year.

SPEAKER_03 4:05

Every year I'm retiring. Since year one, I'm retiring, and then every year I come back.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

It's it's it's it's the lightweight thing. Oh no, I can put on weight, and then all of a sudden it's January, and you're close to weight, and you go, Oh, I may as well.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Well, maybe one more, one more round.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

I'm so glad we don't have this for the para. Like it's just straight out, you've you've got an impairment, that's it. You don't need to, oh, will my fingers fall back off again this year? I don't know. Um, you know, it's it it's just you are para. That's it. It's all done. You did you can only go downhill from there. It's so much easier.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

I'm glad you think so, Stuart.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

I'm not gonna bite on that. Uh get myself into even more trouble.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Moving on.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Moving on. Moving on, moving on. So uh it's been two weeks since our last podcast. We've had uh a few bits and pieces going on around here in New South Wales, some interesting results to talk about. And uh down south in Victoria, we've had the uh Victorian State champs as well. Um, and ACT, we've had the head of the lake. We'll start off with you, Stuart. You wrote a uh a great article about uh the point score trophy overall uh for the head of the lake. Didn't quite turn out as you predicted, correct? Tell me how the how the weekend sort of unfolded on that front.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Yeah, great weekend. ACT junior championships on the Saturday, and then the ACT Head of the Lake on the Sunday. So on the on the Sunday for the Head of the Lake, the schoolboys and school girls were going for the Governor General's point score trophies, and they are based on whatever position you come and however many entrants there are. So in the article that I wrote, I tipped Radford College to win to end Cranbrook's run of point score trophies. Um, so it would be Radford College, Maris College, and Cranbrook, and said, with Canberra Grammar's lack of competition at the senior level counting against them. This was because Canberra Grammar were the only schoolboy eights, they were the only schoolboy fours that were entered. And I thought, okay, well, they predominantly do sweep. The other schools do sculling, there's more entrance in the scullings, therefore, CGS will not get the win. So, of course, Canberra Grammar won their first ever Governor General point score trophy. Uh, later on this uh before nationals, I will be tipping highly against uh Queensland and the ACT in the hopes that that gets them up. I'm gonna be putting the kiss of death on New South Wales and Victoria for all of my interstate uh races based from that. So it's uh which is why Chris won't let me anywhere near the King's Cup.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

You are just the oracle of rowing at the moment, Stuart. You've been on a on a great run of predictions the last few weeks. And uh it hasn't it hasn't, and I I can I can't talk. I haven't had a great run either uh so far since the start of the year. And you were out at Ballarat, as you mentioned, and you were both racing and commentating uh alongside our co-commentator Richard Dorstein. Which one did you prefer more? Which one went better? It's not a loaded question. It is 100% a loaded question.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Because if I turn around and say, Oh, I I you know, I I think the racing went better, people could turn around and be like, actually, no, this, this, this, and this. And then if I turn around and went, no, I think I did a better job commentating, I'm pretty sure my phone will blow up with all the people telling me what I did wrong.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

Um Which one did you not get electrocuted in?

SPEAKER_03 7:27

Okay, this has to stop. People are running around calling me lightning to cosmo now. Like Jack Steele introduced me, calling me lightning to cosmo. My own coach is taking the piss out of me. It has to die. It's just it's not that funny. It's not that funny.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Although the amount that we're laughing begs to differ.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Actually, there was one point on the Saturday, and uh it looked like some weather was rolling in, and there looked to be a bit of lightning. No, it was Friday afternoon, sorry, towards the end of the day. And uh Richard made a comment about uh where's Aunt De Cosmo? She seems to be summoning the lightning or something along those lines. And I was like, okay, okay, this is this is my legacy.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

So, Stu, we I Ant and I had dinner on uh on Saturday because I was down in Melbourne, and uh the first thing uh brought my partner Gabby along, and the first thing that Gabby said was uh was she brought up the lightning strike like pretty much before she'd even said hello to Ant. And Ant full thought I'd clue her up and made her do it. No, Gabby just brought it up and it was it was it was a good moment. It's it's it's a thing, it's gonna hang out.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

What do you want?

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Lightning to lightning to Cosmo. That that's uh can you can you do nicknames on WhatsApp chats?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Let's um all right, we're digressing. We're digressing.

SPEAKER_03 8:49

Um let's talk about some roads.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

So I unfortunately haven't been out at Circ for the two regattas that we've had out uh over the last couple of weeks, but have been some very interesting uh results. Uh the schoolboy 8 competition's hotten up and uh Pimble with a good showing as well. I've been out at uh I did get to sample the best of Iron Cove uh for a schoolgirl regatta, and let's let's say I'm glad that we only go there once or twice a season because it's it's not quite the beautiful waters of Cirque or of Ballarat or Negambi or Lake Burley Griffin. Uh Iron Cove is an interesting place to race. Can I get from each of you one standout performance from the racing that you witnessed have witnessed over the last couple of weeks? Stu, you're up first.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Look, I think I think just some of the racing that they had, particularly at the year 10 level, um down at the head of the lake. So in the schoolboys and the schoolgirls, um, some great results in there and just some really speeding speedy looking crews. Looking forward to seeing how they go moving forwards. Um, and the other one was really Canberra Girls Grammar. I think at the head of the lake they won every single year level quad event. So year eight, year nine, year ten, and senior quads. I don't know what Caz Pipers is feeding them at Girls Grammar, but uh it's it's the bad Amin Green Machine all over again. Um so it'll be interesting to see how they go at nationals. Uh because I know that Nick Bartlett at Gibson Grammar is uh talking up his schoolgirl quad as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

As always, as always. But uh and Ant, uh, are you gonna tell me that Gibson Grammar was the uh the highlight crew that you saw at uh Vic State Champs?

SPEAKER_03 10:27

I actually was gonna turn around and talk about Fitzland performance because they nearly beat Banks in the medal tally. They cleaned up on Saturday and they did a really good job across all of their events. So unironically, yes, I was gonna talk about Kippy Grammar, but now I feel like I need to pivot. So let's pivot. Obviously, Banks standout performance from my own club, winning the medal tally, the point score for the first time since it's actually pre-2000. We went back and looked. We have not been on the top of the charts for a very long time. So I'm very proud of all my club athletes who did that. But also the schoolboy eights posted some really like the first eights posted some really fast times on the Saturday. So that was really exciting to see. And and I know Richard commentating really just fell off his chair for that race.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Yeah, Scotch 549, I think, which um it's not common that you'll have a regatta happening at Cirque and anywhere else really in the country on the same day, and Cirque won't be the quickest. Um yeah, it wasn't on that occasion. So it was a pretty healthy tailwind.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

That was went sub-six in that.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Yeah, schoolboy rowing is truly, I think, is uh if if it's not in a purple patch, it's pretty close to it at the moment. Um, you know, I think in Sydney we had four schoolboy hates under six minutes a couple weeks ago as well. Um, and uh I think our head of the river is gonna be fascinating. I think the the quest for the Barrington Cup is gonna be a an absolute ripper between Scotch, Shaw, St. Ignatius, and then we think maybe Melbourne Grammar and Xavier are gonna be back in it as well. Um by the time they're gonna be.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

So it's gonna be fascinating. From what I saw of that um Prince Alfred College crew at the South Australian Championships, they were just so dominant and they really pushed a high performance Adelaide University crew the entire way in the opens. So I'm curious to see how they're going to go, first of all, the head of the river, and then can they take the Barrington Cup back to Adelaide for the second time in about five years or so?

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Yeah, that would be that would be uh I would think that would be an upset. Um I think absolutely yeah, and uh would be great to see. Um as I said, school earnings in a great place, and I think if yeah, if a crew from Adelaide steals the Barrington Cup, I think that would uh be say even more about how uh uh what a good place it's in. Um can I get one for me, standout performance for the weekend. This weekend just gone. Pimble Ladies College were the sole entrant at uh the Sydney Rowan Club Regatta and the School Girl Eight. Um School Girl Eight is the only schoolgirl event at the Sydney Rowan Club Regatta, um, so they were the only school to go to enter. They ran that event alongside the open and the club women's eights. And uh Sydney and Sydney Uni had their sort of club eights and under-21. Had Lucy Spores in it, Olympic gold medalist, um, and like some pretty good handy under 23s and some pretty handy club rollers. Um, and uh Pimble chowed them up. Pinball beat everyone. They were well clear of all the under-21. From both Sydney and Sydney Uni, and they beat the Sydney Open 8. And uh there's 638, which uh it's pretty handy, backs up there, was it 634 or 6364 that they did a few weeks ago? Um yeah, I can't wait for Head of the River this weekend. That's gonna be a cracker. Um can I get a quick little just a highlight of how sort of real positives or a negative if you want to throw some shade at someone on on how those two big regattas down south um have unfolded, Stu, from you? Head of the lake's always a pretty good celebration of uh junior rowing down in the in the capital.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Yeah, absolutely. It was a shame uh we couldn't have um the Governor General Samantha Mostin attend. Um she's always extremely busy, but as a patron of rowing and as someone who learned to row in Canberra herself, uh I know that she really, really supports it. It was just it's just a really pleasant experience. Like the weather in Canberra at the start of March, end of February is for the most part pretty good. Um, it threatened to rain, but not quite. The wind conditions were quite nice. It's just a really great vibe to it. So it's uh no, it's it's one of my favorite rowing weekends. Like, obviously, I'm not competing, I'm just on a microphone, and it's it's a little bit different to everywhere else in that there is no finish tower. You have an outdoor barbecue chair, a camping chair, and a microphone, and you're holding onto a microphone with one hand and a piece of paper with the program in the other, and you're calling them over the final 200 meters, 250 meters, because you can't see down the other end of the course, and there's no timing or anything. So it's it's it's grassroots, I think. And that's probably what I love about it. Like, I love watching Aussie rules at Mardecore Oval when the Giants play, just sitting on the hill with a couple of mates, with a couple of drinks, watching the footy, and that's what I love about the head of the lake. It's grassroots rowing, you just sitting down, watching these uh kids go at it. The parents are all going nuts, they're cheering and hooting and hollering, and it's just a great vibe to it. Absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Yeah, it uh they certainly do a good job of it. And any highlights or lowlights? I think it would be remiss of us not to touch on uh the Friday experiment, as some people have uh uh mentioned to us uh for Vic State Champs. Probably didn't quite work out, but maybe that was because of the timing being so short after the New South Wales State Champs. Any thoughts on the weekend as a whole?

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Yeah, no, I I personally like the three-day format. We did it two years ago, but the program could it's just gotten so big now that you really can't fit all of the events on two days. And as our states is classed a community regatta. So we have all those like fun grade races and things like that. But it just means that when you want those underage events or those high performance selection events, um, it just the the days just sort of blow out, so you kind of need that that third day, but it's still like tinkering with the timetables, like perhaps starting a bit earlier and on the Friday and things like that. But I'm sure you know our com our commission will work it out. Um no, I definitely, as I said before, Gives Line Grammar, amazing. Uh, the lightweights, obviously we're gonna talk about lightweights, just we had a full heat and a final in Victoria on the Friday for the lightweight single skulls, which was amazing to see. The last couple of years that I've done that event, we've only had a first and final. So it's just I think you could say like a revitalization of lightweight rowing in Victoria, which is is good to see. I had four races on that Friday, so back to back to back to back. So I was definitely dead by the end of it. Um but all around, I think it was a really well done regatta.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

And I'll give a bit of a shout-out. I really thought I thought the live stream was fantastic. Um and how good was that drone? Um but had the drone up the whole day, or pretty much the whole day, you know, bearing sort of the wind and stuff, but like the graphics were good, it sounded good, the camera was, you know, the cameras were high quality. I thought um whoever's put that that live stream together and however they've funded it and everything, kudos, have done a great job. Um, and I think a lot of regattas um can learn from that of how you put together a great live stream without charging anyone for it.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Um I was gonna say no paywall.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

We're gonna talk about head of the school girls in a minute, sure. Uh don't you worry, Anna. Um I will I might maybe I'll have to pay this year because Ant's commentating, but um uh that leads us on quite well. I'll um that leads us on quite well. We are sort of getting towards the pointy end. It kind of feels like we've had some down kind of weeks the last couple of weeks overall. Everyone's kind of got stuck into our sort of training block before Heads of the Rivers and and and Nationals, and we've got Head of the Rivers all over the place this weekend with uh Head of the School Girls, uh South Australia's this weekend as well, isn't it, Stuart? Yes, yep, South Australia's this weekend, New South Wales School Boy and Schoolgirl. I think Tasmania's this weekend as well. Mercs. Are they coming out two hours?

SPEAKER_03 18:37

Scotch Merck's, yeah. Same weekend as Head of the School Girls.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Oh, Scotch Merck's Scotch Merck's coming up, sorry. Yeah, yeah, the big qualifying regatta for uh the APS Head of the River. Um it is it's certainly all heating up and we've we've all got a very busy few weeks ahead of us. We won't go too deep into predictions, I don't think, because uh we'll have all those uh in-depth predictions coming out on JRN.news over the next week. Um so if for some reason you listen to this podcast but don't uh follow JRN on everything on uh social media, please do and uh keep your eyes peeled because it is a big, big couple of weeks coming up for prediction articles. Um however, we will get some uh some quickfire little predictions, I think, out of the two of you. Ant, we'll start with you first. Who's gonna win the school girl head of the schoolgirls?

SPEAKER_03 19:23

I reckon Loretto's got it. And I reckon in the juniors MLC would be really close with most of the events, but I I'm calling Loreto now.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

I'd be inclined to agree based on what I the little that I've seen of them. Um Stuart, who's going to win the sprint eliminators up here in New South Wales?

SPEAKER_02 19:42

Look, I've just been looking at it. So we've had um Cara Gruskoviax dropped out, Romy Cantwell's come in, and I think that you know she could be very underrated as to how she might go. It's really, really interesting. I mean, Bella Scammel won it last year, and she is just such a powerful rower. Um, but Tara Rigney was only about the width of a bow number off her in the final race. Uh, and then you've got Emma Twigg just to throw another one in there. And Emma Twigg, I think it it's really interesting because the 250 metres is what you've got for the beach sprints. So right now, Emma Twigg is training in 250 meter blocks, so that may help her in the eliminator. Um, so I'm gonna say a top three of Twig, Scammel, and Rigney. The order, I pr I'm not gonna take a guess on that one.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

Do it, do it.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Um come on, Stuart.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

No, I'll I'll just put the kiss, I'll I'll put the kiss of death on all three of them already.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

So you'll get splinters sitting on the fence like that, don't you know that's it?

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Let's go, Bella Victoria. Well, there's no ACT ones this year, so it's just like, oh geez. Well, it's uh I think for me the order is ACT Queensland because I'm from Queensland, Victoria, because my dad's Victorian. Um, so yeah, Romy probably. Well, as though Bella's from the country, so you know. Um let's say Scammel Twig Rigning. One, two, and three. I can get around that.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Yeah, but I agree, it could go anyway, either way. Uh I reckon Twiggy's got it.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

Yeah, well, I mean, in the at the World Beach Sprints, she was a cut above everyone else. Like Magdalena Lobnik from Austria was the reigning world champion. Emma Twigg in the final just eviscerated her, just and it was pretty flat conditions. So you're expecting to see that again this time around. She's just just a human cheat code when it comes to rowing.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

But then you've got to do eight of them. And is trading specifically for 250s gonna help you do eight of them?

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Yeah, but it's Emma Twigg. Yeah, I know it's Emma Twigg.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I don't want to underrate Emma Twigg, but nah, she's got an engine on her.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

I back her in. She can do this. Emma, if you're listening, I back you in.

SPEAKER_02 21:59

She She's she's absolutely got an engine on her. I think what we saw last year was that Bella Scammel's just got so much power and over 250 meters. Like she's got a big enough tank that over 250 meters, like in the final, she got out to about half a boat length lead over Tara Rigney. Rigney took it back, and you know, as I say, it was super close by the end of it. But Bella's just got that power, and I think, you know, because she's only early 20s, she's had another year worth of training, so she's only going to be stronger.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

She also, it was a brand new boat that she'd gotten into the day before and hardly been for a row and she hadn't sculled in months when she uh when she did that uh last year. So I don't know if she's been training the skull. I uh I doubt she would have done too much, to be honest, uh, in the skull. But clearly doesn't affect her if if she has done a f even a few sessions, she'll be even quicker. So um, yeah, I think that's gonna be as uh once again is gonna be a fantastic event. I can't wait uh to be there to uh uh present it and have you up in the commentary box calling it. Um schoolgirl head of the river, schoolgirl eight here in New South Wales. I'm leaning Pinball. I don't think I think what we saw at State Champs from Kinross is fantastic, but I I think Pimble have shown that they are significantly quicker than that race at uh state that they put together at State Champs, and I reckon they're gonna take their first Head of the River title since 2019, um, which is weird to think about because they were so dominant for so many years. They've won the schoolgirl head of the river more times than any other school by a long, long margin. And um I think they've won like 15 of them, and there's only been like 30 of them. Um less than that, even. I'll have to double check my numbers before the weekend. Um I think they're gonna do it. Any opposition, Stuart, you want to get being team Kinross?

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Look, I Pimble are definitely the quickest boats, but we saw it in New South Wales Championships, you put them under a bit of pressure, and that was where Kinross were able to go away with it. So it's gonna come down to who can hold their nerve over the last 750 metres. If Kinross, if Pimple have got out and they're just leading, they will take it. Kinross won't come back. The question is, if Kinross are even half a boat length ahead at the 750, 750 to go, 500 to go, does Pimple have it in them to make that comeback?

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah, I agree. I don't know, I think brilliantly, like it's gonna come down to who executes the race best on the day, which is what we want to see. That's what sport is. If sport was predetermined, you'd hand out the medals on the start line, and that wouldn't be very interesting for anyone. Um, and uh yeah, so very much looking forward to that, and we'll have the full um previews up in the coming days. Um the other major talking point uh for this podcast is the entries for the national championships close tonight. Uh so by the time that uh you're listening to this, probably already closed, and you can check them out. At the time of recording tonight, we are up to 1,784 entries, which is a record. Um there's about 50 more than last year. Uh less athletes, though, so more people doubling up. So that's probably not too surprising. There are slightly more events this year, um, and I would imagine some people probably wanted to make it more worth the while going down to Tasmania again. Um, once again, and um, so but we could possibly see um record athletes and record entries uh this year, which uh just looking at the entries, my big takeaway is that there's less second eights and third eights and things like that. Like it is a higher quality field, like a higher calibre field. More people are keen to go to this event, but only bring in their top crews, uh, which is what we want to see at the national championships. There's still dozens and dozens and dozens of events in the schoolboy and schoolgirl single that maybe uh aren't uh the top, you know, the top scolar at every program, but um it it looks like a higher quality national championships field than we've seen um in the last couple of years. So very much looking forward to that. Uh and first, what's uh any any entries that are really starting to pique your interest ahead of Barrington in a couple of weeks?

SPEAKER_03 26:18

I don't well, I always try and take a peek at obviously the events that I feel are relevant to me, relevant to me, which is the lightweight ones. But um, I don't like to look at the entries until they've closed because I find that so many coaches will just wait and wait to the very last minute before they go and put their entries in. So I tend to like to look, but um, in the school boys, I notice a few of them are double up, but then really interesting, Melbourne grammar is only their first aid is only doing the one race. So just those sort of things, having a look at the decisions that schools are making and and sort of why is probably really interesting, and trying to ascertain if there's a pattern or not. But otherwise, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Yeah, that is interesting because long way to go. A lot of people often double up on 19-8, but then you know, you got to race the 19-8 on Saturday morning, and then you got the semi-finals of the school late on Saturday afternoon. That is a tough day, and we've seen crews come unstuck in recent years because of that. Geelong Grammar, last Geelong Grammar, which one of the Geelongs last year, won the 19-8 and then didn't make the final. Or I might double check that, maybe scratch that one. Um, Stuart, what's piquing your interest?

SPEAKER_02 27:23

Well, I mean, just to um from Ant's perspective, you've got three entrants in the open lightweight women's eights. Uh so that was a new event for 2025.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

You've now got three coming back. Sorry, last time you said it was a new event and Ant got hit by live. 2020 um.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

Oh, I think what's really interesting here for me is that the, and you know, same as you, Ant, I'll look at the para entries because that is the category that I row in. So um what's interesting, we've got women's PR1, uh Sarah Ashley Tate from Surface Paradise, who has had to uh borrow equipment. Um, Surface Paradise had their boat and trailer go up in flames after the New South Wales titles. Um, there's been a massive amount of support for them. Um and Sarah Ashley Tate, as a PR1, you've got very specific equipment that you need to have. You need to have the pontoons on the sides, you've got to have the strapping across the chest. Um, so she's being able to enter into that one. Um, we've got two entrants in the PR1 men, single scale, Eric Hurry and Mitchell Bales from Torrens.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Just just on Sarah Stuart to derail this conversation slightly. Do you know who lent her the boat that they've got?

SPEAKER_02 28:33

I think it was R. A have um helped her out. But I know Eric lives up there now. Um, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's been able to pull a few strings as well.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

Well, that's that's really great to hear because that was uh yeah, pretty, pretty crap. They lost their entire trailer on the way back from the New South Wales State Champs, and it was awful to see. And it was great to see that um like they're on national TV and the the donations that were coming into their GoFundMe page were um really, really great to see. And um, if it is RA that's lent her a boat, that's um really fantastic to hear from them.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

Yeah, absolutely. And and it helps her out, and you know, um, she's already a Commonwealth Games representative, um, I think at Paratriathlon. It'd be great to have a men's and a women's PR1 single scholar at the World Championships, maybe not this year, but in coming years. I think Mitchell Bales is getting a lot quicker as well. We've got an entrant um in the PR2 single skulls, um, Sam Germain from Adelaide University, three in the PR3 women's uh and six in the PR3 men's, and then only three entrants in the PR3 double skulls, which is really interesting because in Perth back in 2023, we had Heats and Finals in the PR3 double skulls, um, which was the first time that we'd had that. And so it that concerns me a little bit, but I also wonder whether or not it's a reaction to the fact that we have you know three back-to-back national regattas that are all really hard to get to. So um Tasmania, Tasmania, and then Perth next year. So I just wonder whether or not this year they're sitting it out, whereas normally it's really easy, say, for um the community rowing club guys, for example, um, to make their way to Circ as opposed to going down to Tasmania. So I just wonder whether or not this is the off-year for power rowing. Um, but I'm really excited to see some of the people that are in there. Um, I think the women's race will be fascinating. Uh, you've got Susanna Lutz in there, Ella Marshall from Banks. Um, she's come along since she's been classified, Wallace Russell in there as well, and Izzy Egan from Radford College, the reigning national champion, who was a ways off the pace at New South Wales. So that's going to be fascinating. And in the men's one, uh Cormac Hayes and Flynn Wilkinson in the PR3 singles at New South Wales Championships were really close. And I am looking forward to seeing how they go in the opens, and then also if they are both selected in the interstates. Um, because I think Cormac, I think they both had a bit up their sleeve, and I know that Cormac's really, really keen. Um, and you know, the ACT with Nikki Airs and Nick Niels and Kat Ross have such a great um a great history in the Paris single skulls at the interstate in particular. So I'm I'm really, really looking forward to seeing what Cormac can do.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Just have a bit of a look now. It's obviously going to take us a while, I think, to go through and kind of see who's missing, I think, to ascertain whether, you know, I mean, you know, we're gonna have record entries and possibly a record number of athletes, um, and and and really see whether there is that fatigue and and and what sort of impact. Uh but just had a look through the two new events and the under 17 Coxed eights, uh, being the not this school Coxed eights. And in each of them, at the moment, this might change, there is one club crew in each of them. One of them's a composite in the men's and um commercial in the women's. Is it worth adding a whole nother event for one club crew to be able to race? Should they have just opened up the school under 17-8 to accommodate having the club crews in it?

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Like um or does it give the does it give the under-17-8s the opportunity to do a second event in the same way that the schoolboys school girl eights do the under-19s?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Yeah, but I think that's stupid as well.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

So I was gonna say, I tend to agree with you. I think it gives the school kids like a second opportunity to race. But I know this idea of putting together super crews is sort of sort of starting to come out in the year 10 level, like having those schools start to mix up in certain. I think there's a South Australian one, isn't there? Of uh like I confident going.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Yeah, there's a there's a couple there's one with a couple of South Australians, a couple of Tasmanians, one from WA, and a couple from New South Wales. So the Yellow Pages has had a workout for that one.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

Um but is is that a super crew or is that you know, for each of those rowers, they're really good rowers, but they just don't have you know their own crews to play with.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

I would say it's a bit of that. Um smaller programs um or programs that don't have massive under-17s, getting people um together for that. Yeah, I I just when we're so stretched for time, I've always been like, I don't know why we doubled these events up. Um it's just my point is the under-17 quads have always been so, so competitive with all these crazy composites and club crews, and like they've always been really interesting to follow through the competition. Um, and uh the eights just looks like a double up of the year 10-8s. Um, so I'm not 100% sure if that's quite worked out as intended, but um will be interesting to race. I'm sure the racing's gonna be great no matter what. Um, and maybe I won't have any time concerns with this new reprochage format. And as a lightweight on a windy course, what do you think about the lack of repercharges uh happening?

SPEAKER_03 34:12

Um, well, we don't that's kind of a hard one because I'm used to dealing with first and finals a lot, and it's like you don't have a second chance. You just gotta a coach said this to me, and it's sort of resonated. You don't get to choose when you perform, you must perform when you're asked. So I actually don't mind the idea of repertages sort of slowly starting to die away because you've got first and finals and all these other things. Yeah, there's wind and there's rain, and you could turn around and say that there are all these environmental factors that adversely affect your performance. But we're in an outdoor sport. That is then be the rules of the game. If you don't like it, play netball or some other or basketball, sorry, that's inside, not netball, but go find another sport. So as a lightweight, yeah, it can be really windy and it can be tough to deal with, but if that's what's gonna happen on that day, then you just sort of have to work it out.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

But I like the attitude because it's good. I I'm a fan of this uh getting rid of the repercharges business and having the you know, relying on times to progress through the finals for some events. I think it's good. It means having a look at the provisional schedule, it actually means that we um for all of the finals blocks, or at least for a couple of the days stew, um we uh have 10-minute races on 10-minute intervals provisionally, um, which will mean that we actually get to commentate entire races. Um, and we get for the broadcast, we get entire races this year for a lot more events, which is going to be fantastic. So that's what they've done with the extra time and a few earlier finishing times earlier on in the week, uh, which will let us head to the Sheffield Hotel to record a couple of podcasts, I think.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

Yeah, or the or a hotel in Devonport somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

Well, I think Ant is staying close to the course. So we won't have to. This is I've not got so far as to planning out how we're gonna record podcasts at Nationals yet, but uh I love how you're inviting yourself over here.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

I'm actually I'm bumping in with Susanna Luxie of all people, and I think Bridget Harwood might be coming to join us. So there's gonna be a whole mix of the city. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Knowing Luxie, knowing literally knowing Susannah, there's no way that we could record a podcast and not have her come out and be like, actually this, or what about that?

SPEAKER_01 36:25

Brilliant, brilliant. I can't wait to hear from her. She's not allowed to uh come in on our interstate podcasts, though. Uh that's uh uh no no competing members in that one. Um I don't think. I think we already have enough bias going on. Well, only from you two.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

I've got so many states. Yeah, you've got two states.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Victoria, ACT, Queensland, pick one, man. Pick one.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

ACT in Queensland.

unknown 36:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Anyone but New South Wales, you know, the place where he does the most commentary.

SPEAKER_02 36:59

Yeah, yeah, exactly right. Well, you know, when you grow up in Queensland and you've got a Victorian father, you just, you know, New South Wales doesn't come into it. Yeah, yeah. He's got a root of origin jersey.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

Just a giant hole in the middle of Australia, or the middle of the East Coast.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We you literally drive into a black hole when you cross the ACT border.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

Exactly. There's that's nothing. You go straight from ACT into Queensland.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

Yep. I wish I could. It'd have made coming back home a lot easier.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Well, you wouldn't have to stockpile as much petrol, you know. Exactly. Well, I think that's brought us very nicely full circle. I don't think there's too much more we need to touch on, and ant uh needs to get up and go to training because ant's the only one of us that is actually a properly competitive uh rush. I'm not throwing shad at you there, Stu, but uh Ant uh I wouldn't say that I'm oh I'm average at Miss Otto. So that wraps up another episode. We'll be back after the um big head of the river weekend uh coming up this weekend. So expect another podcast wherever you listen uh this uh coming Monday, I believe we should have something out. Uh and uh make sure that uh you hit hit the follow button wherever you're listening and uh give us a five-star rating. It does really help us out. As always in uh 2026, Rowing Down Under season two is proudly sponsored by WinTech Racing Australia. Win Tech Racing have established themselves as the world's largest and foremost sustainable boat builder, producing over 2,000 shells annually. They're dedicated to promoting the growth of rowing by making it easier and more affordable to buy boats featuring cutting-edge technology that improve performance at all levels. WinTech's unwavering commitment to sustainability, affordability, and innovation drive them to propel the sport into a more inclusive and exciting future where your excellence will know no boundaries. WinTech Racing can be found at a regatta near you and will be at the upcoming National Championships at Lake Barrington. Learn more about how you can get a fair price and an unfair advantage at wintechracing.com.au