WELCOME TO RV E-NEWS

The Victorian rowing season got off to a successful start last weekend with single scullers taking on the Grand Ponderosa Cup - we're excited to see the action continue this weekend!

On Saturday, almost 600 athletes will be heading to Essendon to take on the Saltwater Challenge, whilst on Sunday we'll see Beach Sprints return to Williamstown Beach!

Read more below.

Rowing Victoria

       UPCOMING REGATTAS

NOMINATIONS OPEN - STATE TEAM SELECTORS

Rowing Victoria is calling for nominations for selectors to assist in the selection of 2026 Victorian Senior, Para, & Youth State Team. The team will compete at the Interstate Regatta on 29 March 2026, on Lake Barrington, Tasmania.

Nominations close 5pm Friday 26 September.

GRAND PONDEROSA CUP

Well done to Lake Eildon RC on their efforts in hosting the Grand Ponderosa Cup last Saturday. It is always exciting to have new events on our regatta calendar.

It was fantastic to have Damien Gallagher, Murrindindi Shire Councillor, join us at the event. Damien is pictured below with Lake Eildon RC President, Mario Laing, and Rowing Victoria President, Deb Spring.

NOMINATIONS OPEN - RV ANNUAL AWARDS

Nominations for the below awards will close on Monday 29 September 2025.

Awards will be presented at the 2025 Rowing Victoria AGM & Annual Awards, with the date and venue still to be confirmed.

To be eligible to nominate, you must have been a member of an RV Association, Club or School in the 2024-2025 season and clearly state your name and affiliated body upon nomination.

The following awards are open for nominations:

Club Person of the Year
Coach of the Year
School Person of the Year
Regatta of the Year
The William Waterfield Outstanding Service Award
The Kath Bennett Community Service Award
The Bob Duncan Award
The Susie Palfreyman Award

SALTWATER CHALLENGE - SILENT AUCTION

Essendon Rowing Club, in partnership with the Essendon Football Club Social Club, is thrilled to announce a Silent Auction for a rare and exclusive item – an Official 2025 Squad Signed Essendon Football Club Home Guernsey! 

⭐️ Framed and ready for display
⭐️ Officially licensed and AFL-endorsed (with Certificate of Authenticity)
⭐️ A must-have for fans and collectors alike!

🗓 Last bids at 3:30pm 6 September 2025
🚨 Online Bids Open Now!

This is your chance to own a piece of Bombers history while celebrating an incredible day at the Saltwater Challenge. Don’t miss out – place your bid during the event!

HEAD OF THE YARRA - MERCHANDISE

2025 Head of the Yarra merchandise is now available for online purchase and delivery.

Items can be personalised with club squad identification, check them out below.

SPORT INTEGRITY WEBINAR - TECH-BASED ABUSE IN SPORT

Join us this National Child Protection Week for an important conversation on keeping our sporting community safe online.

The webinar Tech-Based Abuse in Sport - Exploitation will help coaches, administrators, and parents recognise and respond to harmful online behaviours such as grooming, unwanted contact, and doxing - and give you practical tools to protect athletes, especially children and young people.

🗓 Thursday 11 September
🕢 7:30-8:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Online

Don’t miss this session with experts Lisa Purves (Sport Integrity Australia) and Wayne Holdsworth (SmackTalk).

ESAFETY WEBINARS

Online Safety 101 for Community Sport Clubs

These sessions are for community sport leaders and volunteers who want tips to create safer online spaces and learn how to respond to online abuse.

📅 12 November 2025
🕧 12.30pm – 1.15pm AEST

Social Media Self-Defence for Athletes

These sessions are for state, national and pathway athletes (18 years and over) who want to set up safer social media accounts and learn strategies to respond to online abuse.

📅 26 November 2025
🕧 12.30pm – 1.15pm AEST

Webinars for parents and carers

eSafety also offers a range of webinars to support parents and carers in helping their children navigate the online world safely. 

REMINDER: BOW & STERN LIGHTS

It is important that ALL rowers on ALL waterways (and coaches on bikes and powerboats) between sunset and sunrise have adequate lighting for your safety and the safety of others. 

Rowing boats, in restricted visibility and between sunset and sunrise, are required by LAW to exhibit;

• Two all-round white lights - one attached to the boat at or near the forward or bow end, and one attached to the boat at or near the stern end.
• Bow light - A continuous white light is considered acceptable if it is visible in clear conditions from a distance of 1 kilometre.
• Stern light - A flashing white light is considered acceptable if it flashes at least once per second and is visible in clear conditions from a distance of 1 kilometre.

Not withstanding the above, it is considered acceptable for a light to be masked so as not to interfere with the vision of the vessel’s occupants, provided at least one light is visible from any direction (see diagram below).

BIKE LIGHTS

In addition to safely lighting our boats, it is important that coaches are also meeting requirements off the water. By law, your bike must be fitted with a rear red reflector, a bell, and at least one working brake.

When riding at night and in low-light, you must use a front white light and a rear red light. The light can be flashing or steady but must be seen from 200 metres away. It is also a good idea to use flashing lights during the day to help other road users see you.

SAFETY REMINDER

Rowing Victoria would like to remind all members the importance of using our equipment and waterways safely and appropriately.

Please follow traffic rules, including correctly using designated turning zones. Rules and maps for all waterways can be found on our Venues webpage. By following these rules, our waterways are safer for all. 

We have also been made aware of a number of incidents where rowing coaches have been sighted either riding without helmets, using megaphones at incorrect hours, or using mobile phones while riding (both in conversation or filming their crews).

For your own safety, to avoid fines, and to respect other members of the community, we ask that you please ensure you are obeying the law and not partaking in the behaviours above.

WATERWAY ACCESS & INCIDENT REPORTING

Could all waterway users please ensure they are acquainted with their local waterway rules; traffic direction, turning points, stationary obstacles etc.

So that RV, Maritime Safety Victoria and now, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority can support the community in providing safe waterways, please register all incidents via the RV Report an Incident tile on the home page of the RV website.

A consistent management of reporting will assist us in ensuring we are kept safe on the water and the chances of equipment damage is mitigated.