OCTOBER 2020 NEWS Provided by your faithful correspondent Trident. Past News can be found via the links on the right of this page Above: Empty boathouses - the result of COVID-19 News covered this month: • Mercantile's COVIDSafe plan and timetable • Happy birthday Bill Wallace • An image of the Club under COVID • Annual general meeting report • Annual General Meeting Saturday 17th October at noon • David Crawshay elected as Chair of the RA Athletes Commission • Vale Derek Marley • Latest advice from RV on access to the river • Mercs zootie seen at .... • Round 6 of the Rocket Challenge kicks off • Status of nominations for Committee • Drink wine to help the Club, now that is an idea • More disruption from Peppercorn lawn • 2020-21 dates • Member profile – Michael McKay • New member profiles Mercantile's COVIDSafe plan and timetable Published 24th October 2020 The Mercantile COVIDSafe plan and tmetable for access is in the Member only documents section of the website. Regardless, the following protocols now apply. ‘Get In, Train, Get Out…’ The Essentials - • DO NOT COME TO THE SHED IF YOU ARE UNWELL. • UNSCHEDULED TRAINING IS NOT ALLOWED. • LET COACHES KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF YOU DEVELOP SYMPTOMS. • GET TESTED IF UNWELL & REMAIN ISOLATED UNTIL YOUR RESULT. Club Rules - • You must not be late to your session (if you miss your time slot then you don’t row) • You must not arrive early for your session • Come dressed and ready to get on the water, there is no changeroom access • Bring your drink bottle (filled up) and your own tools for rigging Process Upon Arrival… 1. Use hand sanitiser before entering the building and touching equipment 2. Enter the building via the front steps and access the boat bays via the front entrances 3. Sign In using QR code (open the camera on your phone, scan the black and white image/code and answer the questions. This is important for our contact tracing.) 4. Bags can be stored in upstairs area. The gym area is blocked off for St Cath’s to store bags – please do not access this area if you are not a coach. 5. Wear a mask at all times except in the boat 6. Minimise traffic in the boat bays – wait your turn and maintain 1.5m social distancing 7. Wash and disinfect equipment thoroughly after use. Especially oar handles. 8. Hand sanitise upon leaving the shed 9. Sign out using QR code Enjoy your training, thank you for your patience and efforts to keep us all safe and healthy. YEAH MERCS! Happy birthday Bill Wallace, 94 today Published 25th October 2020 Past Captain Bill Wallace has reached the heady age of 94 years old today. Well done Bill and we hope to see you down in Melbourne from Sydney one day soon. We know that you were planning to visit last year but other factors prevented this. Happy birthday. An image of the Club under COVID Published 25th October 2020 Most of us have not seen the Club for a long time. Here is an image of our sad looking gym - no equipment and no rowers. Annual General Meeting report Published 20th October 2020 The 140th annual general meeting of the Club was conducted via video conference, the first time in our history, with nearly seventy members attending. Whilst the meeting was conducted in an efficient manner, sadly it bore none of the humour, outrageous interjections or personality of past meetings. The President spoke for all in stating that an in-person meeting next year would be welcomed. A scene from the virtual meeting The meeting re-elected Anthony Johnson as President along with the following Vice-Presidents: o N Philippe R Batters o David E G Colvin o P Henry C Edgar o Andrew M Evans o Warwick B Hutchins o Jeffrey J Lawrence o John Leeming o David Pincus o James B Tomkins OAM o Roger B Wilson OAM o David J Yunghanns o William Webster Your Committee for 2020-21 is as follows: Captain - Meghan Hester Vice-Captains - Skyla Froebel and Will Legge Hon Secretary - Andrew Guerin Hon Treasurer - Duncan MacKinnon Performance Director - Tom Courtney Boathouse and Equipment Manager - Simon Morrison Social Manager - Jenny Fraumano General Committee members - o Sam Patten o Graham Barns o Felicity Frederico o Alex Clarke o Tom Nickson The President spoke of the great work of outgoing Captain William Webster over the past four years as well the superb contribution of outgoing Committee members Angus Maloney, Peter Somerville, Hamish Fitzsimmons, Julie Orr, Sebastian Jenner and Gemma Sibillin. He was also pleased to see that the two Vice-Captains of the previous season had sought to stand for the position of Captain following the retirement of Bill Webster. This was a healthy sign for the Club. The two highlights of the meeting were the unanimous election by acclamation of both Duncan MacKinnon and Warwick Hutchins as life members, and the President advising that he had appointed Arthur Atkins DFC as Patron of the Club. The President spoke at length about Duncan's and Warwick's extensive service to the Club and how pleased he was that Arthur had accepted the position of Patron. The meeting concluded with the virtual awards presentations. We are already looking forward to the next annual general meeting which will be in person, not virtual! Annual General Meeting Saturday 17th October at noon Republished 1st October 2020 The Club will break new ground in October with it's first digital annual general meeting in its 140 year history. Notices of the meeting will go out this week with the details. Further there will only be an announcement of trophy and award winners as it will not be in person. This will be a very interesting experience for us all. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. David Crawshay elected as Chair of the RA Athletes Commission Published 11th October 2020 Club member David Crawshay OAM has been elected Chair of the Rowing Australia Athletes Commission. Well done Crawsh. Mercantile has again a member on the RA Board. Rowing Australia has reported as follows: Rowing Australia (RA) today announced that Olympic gold medallist, David Crawshay, has been elected as the new Chair of the Rowing Australia Athletes’ Commission (RAAC) and in turn has been appointed as a Director on the RA Board. He takes over the Athletes’ Representative position vacated on the RA Board by Hannah Every-Hall whose term on the Commission and Board concluded earlier this month. Crawshay, who won gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the Men’s Double Scull, will join the RA Board for his first meeting on 20 November 2020, via video conference. A three-time Olympian, Crawshay is highly respected among the athlete body. As an athlete, he first competed for Australia in the Nations Cup in 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he won a silver medal in the U23 Men’s Quadruple Sculls. He went on to represent Australia at 17 World Rowing Cups and 10 Senior World Rowing Championships, while he of course also rowed for Australia at the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games. Siobahn and Daniel and Crawsh. David and Siobahn managing all aspects of life in 2015 Off the water, Crawshay is a lawyer with a Bachelor of Laws from Charles Darwin University and Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law, Melbourne. He currently sits on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal as a member hearing appeals in the Migration Division. Upon the announcement of his appointment, Crawshay said, “It is a real privilege to be elected the Chair of the Athletes’ Commission and to be appointed to the RA Board. Rowing has been such a large part of my life and it is great to be involved once again. “Firstly, I would like to say thank you to Hannah Every-Hall for the excellent work she has done chairing the Commission and representing the athletes on the RA Board. I have always been impressed with her engaging personality and her work ethic and so it’s no surprise that she leaves both roles in good shape. “I’ve had an association with the Athletes’ Commission since 2005 and I appreciate the types of issues that are discussed and resolved. I look forward to chairing the Commission, but also being a member of the RA Board and contributing the athlete voice to the strategic growth and development of rowing, especially during these challenging times.” Crawshay joins the nine-person RA Board. The RA Board is made up of Chair, Rob Scott, Deputy Chair Flavia Gobbo and Directors Merrick Howes, Ben Dodwell, Bryan Weir, Sarah Cook, Georgia Beattie, Andrew Michelmore and now, Crawshay. Rowing Australia President, Rob Scott, added: “We are delighted to have someone of David’s calibre elected to the Chair of the Rowing Australia Athletes’ Commission and in turn to be the voice of the athletes on the RA Board. The Commission is a vital conduit for the athletes to communicate to not only the RA Board but also the organisation as a whole. “David’s international rowing career speaks for itself, he’s an accomplished Olympic gold- medal-winning rower, respected worldwide, and I join with the entire RA Board and wider community in welcoming him as a Director of Rowing Australia. “Finally, I would like to pay tribute to outgoing RA Athletes’ Commission Chair, Hannah Every-Hall, for her sterling efforts leading the Commission and her commitment and passion in the RA Board room. “Hannah continues to be active in our community, especially in Victoria, coaching and supporting newcomers into rowing and those who are aspiring for international selection.