August 2025 Bow Ball Bulletin
Success at Oceania
Max Currie, Dan Stute and William Hexter just got back from the inaugural Oceania Teams Rowing Championships! There were some great races and some great results — but most importantly, an opportunity to make a bunch of new friends and great memories.
Huge thanks to everyone who supported them — especially those who donated to cover their costs, and to Pauly Ting and Dee for helping with fundraising.
Big shoutout to Perfect Balance Rowing, Melissa and Simon Watts and the Junior Australian U19 Quad 2025 for donating prizes for the fundraiser, Tristan for coaching, Rowing Victoria for organising the team, Nagambie Rowing Club for hosting, and Rowing South Australia for running an awesome event.
Here are some quotes from each of our athletes:
“The Oceania regatta was truly a special event that I hope to attend again. It was such an extraordinary experience to be racing against New Zealand and all the other states. It’s definitely something that has pushed me forward as a rower and it’s something I will forever look back on. Let’s just hope that next time it’s some good weather” - William
“Having the opportunity to race with and against some of the best athletes across the Tasman was a great experience. Thanks for everyone who donated to make the event possible” -Dan
“We hope there’ll be more opportunities like this in the future — it was an unforgettable experience and we’d love to do it all again” - Max
RESULTS
5th Race 1 - Lightweight Men's Single Scull - Time Trial and Final - D.Stute
7th - Race 5 - Men's Pair - Time Trial and FInal - W.Hexter, J.Houghton
4th - Race 7 - Men's Double Scull - Time Trial and Final - A.Critchell, M.Currie
🥇 - Race 22 - Men's Quad Scull - A Final - D.Stute, A.Critchell, J.Matheson, M.Currie
4th - Race 27 - Men's Coxless Four - A Final - W.Hexter, A.Williams, J.Simpson, J.Houghton
🥇 - Race 34.- Mixed Coxed Eight - Final E.Mirabelli, J.Caruso, F.Spano, B.Hearn, A.Critchell, R.Davey, J.Lee-Conway, D.Stute, Cox: A.Hall
🥉 - Race 35 - Men's Coxed Eight - Final - J.Forsyth, S.Chin, J.Matheson, W.Hexter, M.Currie, A.Williams, J.Simpson, J.Houghton, Cox: A.Hall
Victoria won the Rusty Robertson perpetual trophy for the most successful Under 22 years team through all events at the three day regatta and the Noel Donaldson Sculling Trophy for being the most successful sculling team at the event.
A Great Committee for a Great Year Ahead
We welcome the new Committee for the 2025-26 season and gratefully acknowledge the work of those who served last year. Thank you from all of us at HRC.
Incoming 2025-26
President - Bill Olayos
Vice President - Max Currie
Captain - Tristan Krstevski
Vice Captain - Mark Oliver
Secretary - Frances Graham
Assistant Secretary - James Lyon
Treasurer - Richard James
General Committee - Jen Wheelahan
General Committee - Steve Gaspars
General Committee - Emile Stigter
Auditor - Dimitrios Beroukas
Head of the Yarra Chairperson - Rob Perkins
Outgoing 2024-25
Thank you to:
Chris Brown - President
Julie Cotchin - Vice-President
Tristan Krstevski - Captain
Pat Freeland-Small - Vice Captain
Frances Graham - Secretary
Lou Olayos, - Assistant Secretary & Social
Richard James - Treasurer
Max Currie - House Keeping
Ruth Oliver - Membership
Bill Olayos - Bar
776BC Club Kit Arriving Soon
Club members are going to be looking great this season in our new 776BC Club Kit.
Orders are arriving 28th to 30th of August.
If you have missed out, please have a look at the online shop!
New items (such as hats) and sizes for existing items will be stocked shortly!
Also, we are currently waiting to achieve at least 15 orders for the Canterbury Club Gear.
Once 15 orders have been made, an email will be sent out to members to confirm if they are still interested.
The club will then invoice each person who has confirmed and the item will be available for pickup at HRC. There is some great winter gear available such as hoodies, spray jackets and puffers.
Please email Tristan if you have any questions.
32nd Rowathon needs your Support
HRC is once again proudly supporting the Royal Flying Doctor Service Rowathon hosted by Wentworth District Rowing Club on the Murray River, 13th September 2025.
We have 13 rowers participating in the Rowathon! Donations can be made by clicking the following link and donating through individual rowers or the Hawthorn Rowing Club Team. We greatly appreciate your support!
The Team:
Chloe Cheng, Albert Smart, Dominique Horne, John Fogarty, Melissa Watts, Simon Watts, Kate Maddock, Meredith Walters, John Lake, Mark Campbell, James Lyon, Michael Lefebvre and Jenny Lefebvre.
For more than 90 years, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has supported the healthcare needs of rural and remote communities located right across Australia. From its roots as an aeromedical organisation providing emergency services across the Outback, RFDS has always been dedicated to lessening the barrier of distance associated with accessing quality healthcare in the most remote corners of our country.
In Victoria, the Flying Doctor works in partnership with a number of community health organisations across the state to improve the health and wellbeing of our rural communities. RFDS Victoria provides three key services:
The Rural Women’s GP service
Flying Doctor Wellbeing
Flying Doctor Speech Therapy
Regattas
The next regattas are as follows:
The Grand Ponderosa Cup in Lake Eildon on the 30th of August.
Please email Tristan to enter.
The Saltwater Classic also begins on the 6th of September.
Please complete the form below. The faster you complete the form, the quicker we can get to training!
Head of the Yarra is Go
With a full field of 280 eights now confirmed we have 3 ½ month to HOTY on the 22nd November.
This year we have four official sponsors and suppliers:
Merchandise – Pontoon
Rowing - PBR
Technology – Oar Inspired
Beer - Breheny Bros
Pontoon also have HOTY clothing designed specifically for our event. 👉Take a look and place your orders here.
Volunteers are our next focus. They are the backbone of the event. It is a fun experience to join the Orange Tsunami of volunteers and help our club run the best head race this side of the equator!
👉You can sign up to volunteer here.
We are looking forward to another great event and having you all onboard on the 22nd November.
Rob Perkins
Chair, Head of the Yarra Committee 2025
HRC Needs You
Head of the Yarra - Saturday 22nd November 2025.
The Head of the Yarra 8s Regatta is the big annual fundraiser for Hawthorn Rowing Club.
We need all club members to help out, either on the day or prior to the event. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Volunteers will be provided with lunch on the day.
Below is a list of volunteer roles.
Please email me and let me know your preferred role.
Below is a list of roles to choose from.
Bar staff - must have Responsible Serving of Alcohol certification
Landing/ Guiding boats - help crews off the water/ walk crews up to the racking area (this year, volunteers on the landing will do a mix of boat landing assistance and walking)
Umpires - various locations along the river
Soft drink stall (Team leader needed)
Pack up crew - pack up tents, put away signs, picking up rubbish at the end of the day - either city end 2.30pm, or Hawthorn end 4.00pm, or both!
Start hub city - assist with traffic management, merchandise stall, staging marshalls (R
Set up crew - put signs out at Hawthorn Rowing Club, accompany trailer to city start hub with tent and bins early Sat morning, set up tent
Neighbourhood letter box drop (1-2 weeks before)
If there is any other assistance you can provide, or if you have any questions, please contact me.
Many thanks,
Housekeeping Items
Please put Cox Boxes back on charge and in the allocated area. If you don’t know how to do so, ask the Captain and he will provide you with a tutorial.
Please return club lights back on charge after using them
Don’t don’t flush wet wipes or very large amounts of toilet paper down as tiny roots find their way into the wipes
You’ll notice there is now an emergency light in the club oar section. This light is permanently on and cannot be turned off.
Do NOT change the gearing on any of the general use oars (green sticker) oars. If you do change them, you MUST change them back after your session after every use.
Monthly Roundup
It’s been another busy month at HRC, with Ruth Oliver conducting pilates classes for the all-stars Spain eight who will be travelling to the 2025 World Rowing Masters Regatta to be held in Banyoles, Spain in September.
Our ever capable Captain Tristan Krstevski has improved the system we have for storing and using oars. Please keep an eye on the Housekeeping section of Bow Ball and do your best to make HRC a functional and usable space for all.
HRC’s own award winning coxswain and elite athlete Guy Besley has just released his New York Times Best Seller Beyond the Call — and HRC members can grab a free digital copy using code HRC01 at checkout.
Whether you're a seasoned cox or just keen to understand racing strategies, this guide offers real world advice on leadership, psychology, and technical mastery.
Want the paperback? Grab a half-price collector’s edition during the soft launch, perfect for a signed copy.
👉 Download the eBook free here
👉 Buy the paperback here
A genuinely useful addition to your rowing knowledge base.
Catherine Ashley has shared two insightful new blog posts to support our members’ training and performance.
1. Beyond Squats: Building Stability and Strength
In this post, Catherine introduces alternative exercises to squats, highlighting how they enhance stability, strength, and overall rowing performance. These movements are especially useful for members seeking variety or dealing with limitations around traditional squats.
2. Stroke by Stroke: Mastering the Muscles Behind Your Power
This article breaks down the rowing stroke into its key phases—drive, recovery, finish, and catch—and identifies the muscle groups engaged in each. Catherine offers targeted advice on how to strengthen weak areas to improve technique and efficiency on the water.
Tristan Krstevski, Richard James, Pauly Ting and Chewbacca Currie (informally known as Chewy) were spotted coaching our youth members on the beautiful Goulburn River. It looks idyllic but no doubt there was some hard work and some cold weather to be braved too!
