Wednesday 25 January
Rowers set to celebrate
Geelong News, 25/1/12
Geelong's oldest rowing club will celebrate the opening of its redeveloped boatshed this weekend.
The Barwon Rowing Club – one of the oldest clubs in the state – will open the boatshed on Sunday.
The opening is the culmination of a lot of hard work and fundraising from club members and supporters, as well as contributions from the State Government and City of Greater Geelong.
The previous boatshed was about 80 years old and badly in need of a makeover.
"This event marks a pivotal point in the Barwon Rowing Club's history," said club president Sean Drew. "I believe our new facilities now rival those anywhere in the country and will be a real asset to Geelong."
Sport and Recreation Minister Hugh Delahunty will open the redevelopment.
Monday 23 January
World champions combine to take out senior eights
Launceston Examiner, 23/1/12
AUSTRALIA'S 2011 world championship lightweight men's four gold medallists were part of the winning senior men's eight crew as Rowing Tasmania's state pennant 5 wrapped up in perfect conditions at Lake Barrington yesterday.
World champions Anthony Edwards, of New Norfolk, Sam Beltz, of Huon, and West Australian crewmates Todd Skipworth and Ben Cureton, teamed with fellow lightweight men's four rowers in Tamar's Ali Foot and Blair Tunevitsch, Huon's Tom Gibson and New South Wales Rod Chisholm to take out the men's eight from Hutchins and a Huon-Tasmanian University composite crew.
The Australian heavyweight quad crew of James McCrae, Dan Noonan, Karsten Forsterling and Chris Morgan also rowed in the race as a quad.
The senior men's single scull was taken out by Queensland's Jared Bidwell who defeated fellow Australian heavyweight rower Nicholas Hudson, of Sydney University, with Buckingham's Sam Volker third.
Huon's Eleni Kaliminos continued her good form to win the under-23 and senior single scull.
Kaliminos beat home Huon's Georgia Nesbitt and Tamar's Stephanie Williams in the senior single.
Nesbitt also finished second in the under-23 single scull with Tamar's Ciona Wilson third.
Perth College rower, Catherine Woodall, of Western Australia, took out the women's under-17 single scull from Launceston Church Grammar's Georgie Scott in a closely contested race.
In the men's under-19 single scull, Hutchins rowers Sam Heron and Richard Giblin, finished first and second with St Patrick's College Mitchell Digney.
The men's under-23 double scull, Huon's Wilson Mure and Max Rowan had a narrow win from Tamar's Oli Lindsay and Sam Hall.
In adaptive rowing, North Esk's Malcolm Hall had a good win from Glenorchy's James Amos and Callum Loh.
Thursday 19 January
Chatterton hopes to row, not swim, at Olympics
City Messenger, 18/1/12
BLACKWOOD'S Renee Chatterton grew up hoping to swim at the Olympics.
A teenage superfish, Chatterton won national junior medals and attended Australian training camps.
But her sporting journey took an unexpected turn in January 2009 when a South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) talent program identified her as having potential as a rower.
"The first time I was in a boat was when I was 19 ... and four months later I was offered a SASI scholarship for rowing," Chatterton said.
Fast-forward three years and the 23 year old is shining on the world stage.
She won a silver medal in the women's coxless four at the senior world rowing championships in Slovenia in August and finished fourth at July's under-23 world titles in the women's pair.
Chatterton's impressive 2011 led her to be named SASI's junior female athlete of the year last month.
"When I was 12, 13 and 14 I thought swimming was something I would do forever but then I started swimming just to get through the motions ... I realised there was something missing.
"When I took up rowing I knew that was what it was."
Chatterton narrowly missed making the Australian team for July's London Olympics. The disappointment of missing out has only made her more determined to realise her Olympic dream in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
