NOVEMBER 2015 NEWS Above – Josh Dunkley-Smith – presentation of bronze medal at 2015 World Championships (photo courtesy of Rowing Australia) Head of Yarra Celebrations Published 22nd November 2015 As mentioned below, this year Mercantile has nine crews entered, with the club looking to again showcase its supremacy in Australian rowing, as crews battle their way up the challenging 8.6km course from Birrarung Marr to Hawthorn Rowing Club. See below for details of our entries. Racing starts at 10:30AM on Saturday 28th November, and is expected to conclude at 3:30PM. Friends and family are invited to the river to cheer on the crews throughout the day, either by bringing down a bike and following along, or from a number of great vantage points, such as ‘Big Bend’ along the course. The winner’s presentation will take place from 4PM in Hawthorn, following which crews will paddle their way back to Mercantile. Upon return, the Mercantile bar will be open, to celebrate what is sure to be a very successful day of VIIIs racing. All family and friends are invited to join us. Competitors and supporters are reminded that access to Boat House Drive on Saturday 28th November will be restricted. Please make alternative parking arrangements. January Camp Published 22nd November 2005 Competitive athletes intending to attend the Johnsonville training camp from January 3rd-10th, are reminded that payment is now due. Please ensure that you are fully financial no later than 11th December. Please contact club treasurer Duncan McKinnon via [email protected] if you have further queries. Mercantile goes first and second in both Men’s and Women’s Open Eights at the Melbourne Head Published 22nd November 2015 Mercantile dominated the open events at the Melbourne Head Regatta on Saturday 21st November taking first, second and fourth in the Women’s Open Eight and first and second in the Men’s Open Eight. It was a dominating performance. The men’s eight was stroked by our French visitor Hugo Laborde. Our open rowers had raced earlier in the day at Carrum in the national time trials. Above: Our winning men’s open eight In a new event on the program, there was parent and child double scull in which Mercs had two entries. It was won by Chris and Tony Johnson who will soon make it three generations of Mercantile members once Chris finishes school. His father Tony and grandfather Andrew Sinn are prominent Mercs members. The regatta also saw our men’s masters finish third and fifth in their event and we had entries in the women’s club four and the men’s masters double scull. Follow this link to a photo gallery for this regatta. Member in the news – Jeff Lawrence Published 20th November 2015 Mercantile member Jeff Lawrence had his hands full of politicians this week when the next round of Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund grants were announced at his factory this week. Fortunately his company Sykes Racing was one of recipients. Jeff said his company would set up an advanced engineering lab in suburban Geelong that will create faster rowing boats. “We believe we’ll be able to create up to 11 new jobs – a lot of engineering staff and obviously some production staff for that to occur – and we believe we’re going to have some great opportunities, as well as some upskilling of existing people that will come as a result of that.” Mercantile well represented at Melbourne Head Published 19th November 2015 Our open rowers are out in force despite the university exams and to your scribe’s knowledge, the first Mercantile parent and child crews. Women’s Open Eight • A. Dunkley-Smith / F. Albert / H. Lewis / J. Morrison / J. Cleary / M. Cordner / S. Sutherland / C. Sutherland / S. Banting • M. Hester / G. Stewart / A. Marulli / O. Ward / M. Thomas / A. Bateman / K. Werry / O. Sibillin / A. Orr • I. Ferrali / R. Hooper / C. Jennings / R. Hooper / C. Ward / G. Sibillin / K. Duggan / M. Brown / C. Lawrence Men’s Open Eight • J. Wilson / A. Widdicombe / A. Clarke / J. Linke / T. Hunt / D. Crawshay / L. Donald / J. Dunkley- Smith / J. King • C. Grace / A. Kinsella / W. Legge / J. Grey / A. Wolf / C. Nott / D. Brighthope / C. Tomczak / R. Zhang Parent and Child Double Scull • Christopher and Tony Johnson • Peter and Alex Somerville Men’s Masters Eights • P. De Garis / T. Juzefowicz / A. Guerin / R. Perillo / C. Kimpton / A. Phillips / E. McMinn / J. Thompson / S. Jenner • S. Morrison / A. Johnson / G. Barden / R. Wraith / H. Edgar / P. Somerville / R. Howden / P. Tomanovits / W. Webster Men’s Master’s Scull • G. Hansen / H. McVicker Women’s Club Four • P. Wijnen / V. Dowell / J. Williams / J. Mardjetko / E. Krassaris Drew Ginn attempts world record Published 18th November 2015 Famous club member Drew Ginn is attempting the 24hr World Record on his bike in support of a great cause, Tour de Cure. “On 27th Nov @ 2pm I will begin what will surely be the biggest physical and metal challenge I have had to overcome, all in the name of a great cause.” WHY IS DREW ATTEMPTING THIS RECORD? ‘My mum was beautiful, caring and made me feel so special and important growing up. My whole family did, but it was mum who left before her time. Mum passed away due to cancer in 1987 when I was just 12 years old. This moment in my life was devastating and I struggled to understand why it happened to me, my mum, our family. Having someone taken from me as a young kid like this, impacted and shaped my attitude to life and the crushing loss was hard to comprehend at the time. It did however set me on a course once the grieving process had settled. Her death taught me to make the most of my opportunities. I still miss her every day and I have found reason to believe she is still with me as I go through life and I am sure it has contributed to the enjoyment I have tapped into during training, competing and developing as an athlete, a man and as a dad. Cancer is one of the hardest things to live with and one of the hardest things to deal with if a loved one has it. More recently I have struggled to get my head around its impact on many families close to me and specifically families in our Rowing community where I have seen mum’s, dad’s and kids confronted with the challenge of living with, overcoming, and loosing their battle with cancer. Why then am I, a former Olympic Rower embarking on the 24hr Solo World Record on a bike? Why indeed? It’s to honour my mum, my family and those friends near and far who have or are dealing with cancer. It’s to seek a challenge so grand that greats like Oppy made it one of his greatest achievements. It’s to support a great cause, Tour de Cure, which I have long wanted to support and raise funds for. Since 2007, Tour de Cure has raised in excess of $19M, funded over 200 world class cancer Research, Support & Prevention projects and achieved 16 Cancer Breakthroughs. In addition to this, they have shared a BE FIT BE HEALTHY BE HAPPY cancer awareness message with over 45,000 kids around Australia. This World Record attempt is my way to do all of you near and dear to me proud, as you have brought inspiration to me over many years. Your strength, like mum’s, was in the face of serious and significant challenges. In some very small way: • I want to raise further awareness for this disease and show my support for those living with cancer. • I want to honour those who lost their battle with this disease. • I want to do something which will challenge and open my mind and eyes to the human condition and capacity. • I want to do something with a team of passionate people which will be all consuming and provide an opportunity to ride and reflect on my mum and those wonderful childhood memories. • I want to raise money for Tour de Cure to help with their initiatives which I believe are taking us closer to finding a cure for this disease. Please support my efforts by make a making a donation and be sure to leave a message of support which I will need to call on as I take on this enormous physical & mental challenge.’ Drew Ginn Fundraising page: https://www.tourdecure.com.au/pages/events/events- calendar/detail/f9c5ba92a6f95def84c01eea5d6dab44 Mercs welcomes two French Rowers Published 15th November 2015 Lea Duret and Hugo Laborde are visiting Melbourne until next April and have joined Mercs. Both have settled in well into the training regime of the Club. Both are dual national representatives for France. Lea was a junior in 2011 and in 2015 finished 4th in the World Under 23 Championships in the pair. Hugo has also raced at the World Under 23 Championships in 2014 and 2015. In 2015 he finished 7th in the pair. Hugo has teamed up with Tom Hunt in an under 23 pair as part of the under 23 men’s squad. Enjoy your stay and also enjoy Mercantile. Mercantile enters nine crews in the Head of the Yarra! Published 13th November 2015 Mercantile has entered nine, yes nine, eights in the Head of the Yarra on the 28th November 2015. The entry fees alone amount to $3,600. The crews are: Women’s Open Eight No 1 – the Club’s best on show Fiona Albert, Addy Dunkley-Smith, Jess Morrison, Hannah Lewis, Charlotte Sutherland, Sophie Sutherland, Madeleine Cordner, Jennifer Cleary, Sarah Banting Women’s Open Eight No 2 – some of our past champions returning Robyn Selby Smith, Sarah Heard, Sonia Mills, Sylvie Withers, Joanna Gray, Sophie Robson, Pauline Frasca, Kate Hornsey, Sam Pullin Men’s Open Eight – our best open and U23 rowers Liam Donald, Angus Widdicombe, Alexander Clarke, John Linke, Tom Hunt, David Crawshay, Darcy Frawley, Josh Dunkley-Smith, Roy Zhang Women’s B Eight – an excellent