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Catchlines - 28th August 2026

We are pleased to confirm the ERC committee for the 2026/27 season:

President - Luke Mascaro

Vice Presidents - Christine Camiller & Lucas Mills

Captain - Le Fei Yeo

Vice Captains - Don Cochrane & Ben Stevenson

Treasurer - Position vacant

Assistant Treasurer - Zara Mason

Secretary - Judy Armstrong

Bar & Functions Manager - William Drew Finn

General Committee - Greg Bird, Matt Croker, Ben Delaney, Mark Dwyer, Karen Fitzpatrick, Lukas Matic & Sophie Robe

We are seeking expressions of interest to fill the vacant Treasurer role - if you would be interested in helping the club to perform this important function, please email president@essrc.com or secretary@essrc.com

Membership renewals season 2026/27:

Members are reminded that 2026/27 membership renewals were due to be paid by 30th June. If you haven't renewed your membership as yet could you please organise for payment to be made asap. Your RV subscription cannot be renewed until your membership has been paid, therefore unfinancial members are currently not covered by RV insurance.

If you are experiencing financial difficulty and would like to organise a payment plan, or if you have any questions regarding your membership, please reach out to treasurer@essrc.com or secretary@essrc.om

Membership Category rates	2026/27
Senior	$525
Youth	$425
Junior	$375
Social	$60
Boat Storage	$200

September Thursday Night dinner:

We will be going Greek for our next Thursday Night dinner on 3rd September.

The Master's Squad will be hosting, with a very impressive array of traditional Greek dishes on the menu:

Mains:

Slow-cooked chicken infused with lemon, garlic and oregano

Traditional Greek Chickpea & Vegetable Casserole

Sides:

Greek-style oven-baked potatoes

Salads:

Traditional Greek Village Salad: Tomato, cucumber, red onion, olives and feta

Pasta salad with marinated artichokes, fresh dill and olive oil

Desserts:

Lime Tart & Fruit Crumble

Dinner will be served at 6pm, with tickets again at $15 per person.

(poster courtesy of James Drew-Finn)

Saltwater Challenge volunteers needed:

The 2026 Saltwater Challenge is just over one week away (5th September), and we are still in need of a few more volunteers!

As we all know, ERC is a volunteer run club, and our regattas rely heavily on the help of all our members to run smoothly. There are a range of ways that you can help out. To see the roster, and allocate yourself a task, please follow this link: 2026 Saltwater Challenge Volunteer Roster. You will be able to allocate yourself for a role in the spreadsheet.

If you are worried about what a job on the roster entails, click on this link to read the job descriptions

Do you love to bake? We'd greatly appreciate donations of homemade cakes, slices, other sweet treats or lolly bags to sell for $3 each at the food tent. Every delicious donation helps raise valuable funds for the club and is always a favourite with competitors, volunteers and spectators.

Any other questions? Feel free to reach out to Karen Fitzpatrick (karenjunefitz@gmail.com) or Luke Mascaro (lukemascaro@gmail.com).

Thanks,
2026 Regatta Organising Group

The Saltwater Challenge - More Than a Race:

The Essendon Rowing Club Saltwater Challenge is much more than a 4.5 km rowing time trial. Held annually on the Maribyrnong River, the event has grown from a modest club regatta into one of the highlights of the Victorian rowing calendar, attracting crews from across Australia.

A Vision Becomes a Tradition

The Saltwater Challenge was conceived and sponsored in 2002 by long-time Essendon Rowing Club member Frank Camiller (dec). Frank had a vision of creating an endurance event that could, over time, develop a reputation comparable with the iconic Head of the Yarra.

Frank's own experiences of venturing upstream and finding himself surrounded by nature was the driving force for his vision. He said, "It was a great way for me to get away to a peaceful environment without actually driving there." Frank went on to say, "This part of the Maribyrnong River, so close to the city is a hidden treasure."

The first regatta was a modest beginning, attracting just 21 boat entries. Few could have predicted how the event would develop and in 2019, 200 quad sculls and 794 competitors. This history reflects the ambition of its founder, the commitment of ERC volunteers, and the enthusiasm of the rowing community.

Winter sculling wrap up:

The Winter Sculling Series concluded on 15th August, with a small participation group this year across 11 weeks. We had consistent participation by Lachie Bird, Dion Mitchell and Elizabeth Drew Finn, with Lachie competing in all events of the series.

Some notable mentions:

At Albert Park, Lachie came in 3rd out of 16 experienced men
Maddy Van Ewyk represented the Masters and came in 9th out of 22 women in the Round Island event
For Herald Shield, out of 81 participants, Dion came in 2nd, just shy of 1 point to take the top spot, and Lachie came in 8th
For Stokes Salver, out of 46 participants, Elizabeth came in 9th
We had very healthy participation numbers for Head of the Maribyrnong with it being our home ground, with 14 participants. 5 men coming top 10, and 6 women coming in top 10

ERC Hyrox event:

We are excited to announce that ERC will be hosting its first open Hyrox event on Saturday, 26th of September!

This will also be a fundraising event for the club, conducted with friendly competitive spirit. All funds raised will go towards boat maintenance and the purchase of new equipment.

Hyrox for those who are not familiar is a global indoor fitness racing series that runs with 8 functional workout stations. For the event this has been adapted based on location and rowing specific fitness with this having shorter outdoor runs and having stations where exercises relate more to rowing.

For the day there will be two events on offer:

Hyrox 5: for beginners/ intermediates of five stations with a half runs between stations; and

Hyrox X: with 10 stations and a mix of half and full runs between stations.

The event will be $5 entry, and is open to people of all abilities and ages with matchmaking occurring to make the event fun, fair and competitive. Pay cash or tap on the day to enter.

We will have the BBQ going, with music and the bar open after the events have concluded.

Austin Flowers & The Morris Minors:

Austin Flowers and the Morris Minors have booked to perform at our club again, playing iconic music of the 1960s, covering the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Searchers, Hollies, Spencer Davis, Cream and more ...

The event will start at 2pm on Sunday, 18th October

The bar will be open, with drinks selling at function prices. Ticket prices TBA

Halloween Party:

The Senior Women's & Men's Squad will be holding a Halloween Fundraising party at 6pm on Saturday, 24th October, to help raise funds for their travels to the Australian Rowing Championships, at Champion Lakes, Perth 15th-21st March, 2027.

Ticket prices will be $20 per person, which includes finger food.

Tickets can be purchased online here, with ticket sales closing at 5pm on Sunday the week prior to the event (18th October).

Tax deductible donations to the 2027 Nationals Fundraiser can also be made through the Australian Sports Foundation

Why do People Really Row - Beyond Medals and Speed:

"Why do people really row? What is their modus operandi? Not everyone is the same, yet on regatta day you would think they are. We spend a lot of time talking about the people who are trying to win races, make it into winning crews or higher-end representative crews, or achieve personal bests, but they are only one part of the rowing community.

Walk into any rowing club, and you will find people with many different reasons for being there. Some have joined because they want to learn a new skill. Some are looking for a way to improve their fitness. Some have reached a point in life where they want to try something completely different. Others are looking for friendship, connection, and a sense of belonging."

Author Guy Besley gives and interesting insight into why we row in a recent issue of "The Coxswains Journey" ...

ERC Development Squad:

Thank you to Anneka Smith and Jaimee Mayne from the Senior Squad, who have taken the lead on coordinating and coaching our Development Squad.

The Development squad will be training at 9am on Saturdays and one evening per week once daylight savings begins. The development rowers are also training at 9am on Sunday mornings, looked after by Jessie Freestone, John Haag and until recently Don Cochrane, as well as a number of regular volunteer helpers.

ERC Learn2Row programs:

ERC will be running a Junior Learn2Row School Holiday program, on the first week of the September school holidays...

When: 8.30am to 10.30am each day, Monday, 21st - Friday, 25th September

Cost: $80 per participant for the one week program

Requirements:

No experience necessary!
Moderate fitness / good general health
All participants must be able to swim 50m unassisted in light clothing.

Expressions of interest to join the program are being taken via the Junior Learn2Row webpage.

The course is being run by coaches Ben Delaney, Glenn Bottrell and Barry Gardner.

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ERC will also be running another Adult Learn2Row program with 4 x weekly sessions to commence at 9am on Saturday, 12th September.

The program is sold out with 8 participants registered to attend.

The course is being run by coach Lisa Gandolfo, and Judy Armstrong.

New members:

Welcome to our new members who joined this month:

Ria Blade (Junior Membership),

Tim Laing (ex Footscray City RC), and

Michael Romanin, a returned rower who is now part of the Development Squad.

Member profile - Judy Armstrong:

Q1: Why did you join ERC?

I did the Learn to Row when I was 50 years old, after seeing 8 gorgeous girls rowing an 8 down the river one day. I decided my 18 yr old son needed to get involved in that, so I wandered into the club to enquire. My son wasn't interested as he is more into trail bike riding, however my daughter, Romy, decided she would like to be one of those gorgeous girls, so she and I did the Learn 2 Row together. Romy only rowed for a year or two, then gave it away, however, 17 years later, I am still with the club.

Q2: What do you do outside of rowing?

I now have three grandchildren that I mind on a regular basis while their parents work, so they keep me pretty busy. My husband Mark and I are also members of the Lotus Car Club, having recently purchased a Lotus Europa, we try to go on as many 'early morning runs' as we can with that club.

Q3: Some fun facts about you?

The only mildly interesting fact I can think of about myself is that a couple of years before I started rowing I was learning to play the piano. I sat my first and second year exams at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts, getting a few surprised looks when I showed up for exams as a somewhat mature age student, when the other students were all school age. Unfortunately I developed a problem with my arm which resulted in me withdrawing from my third year exam, and put an end to any concert pianist ambitions that I might have had. Fortunately my arm problem hasn't impacted on my rowing.

Q4: Favourite time of day on water?

Prior to taking up rowing I really wasn't a morning person, or a winter person. Much as I still hate getting out of bed for an early row on cold mornings, I do now appreciate how beautiful it is getting out on the water at the start of the day, even if it is only 5 degrees.

Q5: Where in the world would you like to row?

I have talked about going to the World Masters Regatta for a number of years now, and certainly Lake Bled looks amazing, so maybe I will get there one day. In Australia I would have to say that Lake Barrington is a pretty spectacular place to row.

Q6: Most memorable rowing experience?

My most memorable experience would be my very first Nationals pair race, on Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra 2013. My pair partner (who shall remain nameless for fear of embarrassing her) and I came into the boat handlers the wrong way around and had to do a very quick spin to get us pointing in the right direction. The rudder in the boat we were using at that time was sticking to bowside, (it's true!!) so somewhere down the 1000mt course, having rowed at 120% of my strength, I called out to my pair partner "I'm done, I can't go any further." We were mortified that we had to limp our way down to the finish line. We did eventually work out what was wrong with the steering and I was vindicated. Getting hailed on at the start line at West Lakes, Adelaide, the following year is pretty memorable, and oh yeah, being part of a Melbourne RC crew winning the Female G8+ Head of the Yarra in 2024 is right up there too!

Captain's Team Safety Tip:

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 to show:

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.

Events calendar:

Thursday Night dinner - Thursday, 3rd September

Saltwater Challenge - Saturday, 5th September

Junior Learn2Row program - Monday-Friday, 21st-25th September

Hyrox Event - Saturday, 26th September

ERC Open Day - Sunday, 11th October

Austin Flowers - Sunday, 18th October

Halloween Party - Saturday, 24th October

Henley on the Maribyrnong - Saturday, 12th December

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