Thank you to the Junior Girls Squad for putting on a fantastic Indian cuisine dinner at our last Thursday Night dinner.

Our next Thursday Night dinner will be held on Thursday, 2 July, to be hosted by the Senior Mens Squad. Menu details will be announced closer to the time.

The 2026/27 season membership invoices have now been emailed out to members. Committee requests that you please organise to pay your membership renewal invoice as soon as possible.

As previously advised, the ERC Committee has decided against any increase in our membership fees for the next season. The only change is that single scull boat owners must hold a full (not Social) membership, unless their boat is being used by another member.

Please reach out to Leanne, treasurer@essrc.com if you have not received your renewal invoice, or if you have any questions regarding your membership.

Are you a whizz on Facebook and Instagram? 

Do you love being creative? Do you want to help celebrate and share our club's stories? The ERC Social Media Team needs help to raise our social media profile. If you have Facebook and/or Instagram skills, we would love to have you join the team.

Contact Christine Camiller on 0404097133 for a chat on what is involved.

ERC will be running a basic First Aid including CPR training course in our clubrooms on Saturday, 27 June.

The course will be run by Emergency First Aid, and will run for 4.5 hours on the 1 day, with some online work to be completed in your own time or in a time organised by yourselves.

The training has been organised primarily for ERC coaches to refresh their qualifications, however, there will be a limited number of places available that we are offering to members. 

The cost for the 4.5 hr course is $95 pp, which is a heavily discounted group rate.

Members who are interested in attending this course please send your expression of interest to Lisa Gandolfo lisagandolfo24@gmail.com or text (with your name) 0420511024

There are still places available in our Winter Pilates classes which started on Tuesday, 9 June. 

Cost:    $100 for 10 x 1 hr classes

When:  5:45pm Tuesdays, 9 June to 11 August

If you would like to participate in the Pilates classes, please register and pay through our Events page here

The end of the financial year is only a couple of weeks away. If you have been thinking of donating to the ERC Boat Fund, now is the perfect time to do it. Donations through the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) of more than $2 are tax-deductible, and are a great way to contribute to the development of rowing and to the support of ERC. 

Donations to ERC's Boat Fund can be made through ASF Online 

Well done to Dion Mitchell, Lachlan Bird & Maddy Van Ewyk who all braved the cold last weekend to compete in the John Whiting Round the Island leg of this year's Winter Sculling. Thanks also to Dion for towing the boats (his first time, with Don Cochrane's guidance from the front passenger seat).

Congratulations also to Lachlan for coming 3rd in the Albert Park Grand Prix the weekend prior. 

Great results at the recent Australian Masters Rowing Championships, with a smaller than usual contingent of ERC Master's rowers heading over to compete at Champion Lakes, Perth.

ERC came away with 4 Gold2 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. Well done to all who competed, and thank you to Mark Dwyer, Alan Haynes and Jeff Walker for towing the boats.

Other medal winners were Stewart Allsop & Bill Nugent, winning Silver in the Men's Masters G2x; a Silver to Tim in a composite Mixed Masters F2x; and Bronzemedals to Tony Sirotic & Lou Barker in the Mixed Masters C2x; and Tim & Bill in a Men's Masters G4x

Congratulations also to Mitchell Jacka and Tony Sirotic, for a great result, finishing third against very strong crews in the Men's IS Masters D8+

Victoria also won Goldagain in the Women's IS Masters D4x

ERC recently received a request from a Fitzroy High School teacher, to do a presentation to his Year 11 Geography students, on the 2022 Maribyrnong River flood and how it affected our club and the clubs in the area.

Thank you to Lisa Gandolfo for preparing a well researched and informative presentation, with lots of photos and videos, which the students and their teacher, Neil McLean, enjoyed very much.

The students then wandered over to Coulson Gardens to look at the effects of the floods there, and were then heading to the Anglers Hotel for some lunch.

Last Sunday, ERC held an event in our function room, with Austin Flowers and the Morris Minors (formerly The Beavers) performing. 

This will be a regular Sunday event in our function room with future dates and ticket prices to be announced.

Q1: How/why/when did you get into rowing?

I got into rowing via a corporate charity regatta through my work back in the early 2000's. I’m probably one of a handful that can say their rowing journey started with “learn to row” at Mercantile RC!  

At the completion of the charity regatta, Tom Swann - my 17yo coach - suggested I should continue on with rowing at club level. I subsequently ended up rowing with Powerhouse RC for many years, and Tom ended up representing Australia at the 2012 Olympics. We’ve remained good friends ever since, with him following my son Lachlan’s progress at ERC Junior Boys. 

Q2: Why did you join ERC?

Before moving out to semi-rural Whittlesea, I spent my childhood in Moonee Ponds and later Strathmore, as did my father and Grandfather. My dad played a handful of games with Essendon football club in the VFL back in the 1950’s, so I guess when Lachie wanted to try rowing, going with the red & black was an easy decision.  Plus it's a great family club that welcomed us from Day 1. 

Q3: What do you do outside of rowing?

I have many and varied interests, and after recently retiring from the funds management industry after nearly 40 years, I feel like I’ve never been busier!  Outside of sport, and my role as Team Manager for the JBS, I have been involved in vintage aviation for about 30 years, and I still dabble occasionally in classic car restoration and amateur motor sport.

Q4: Some fun facts about you?

I was a junior speed-skater (ice) in my early teens. My best friend in primary school was Eric Banadinovich, AKA Eric Bana. 

Q5: Favourite time of day on water?

Sunrise on a clear summer morning. 

Q6: Where in the world would you like to row?

Lake Bled in Slovenia on a clear day would have to be up there - as it is for many people. The upper Yarra River beyond Hawthorn is also picturesque and reminds me of parts of the Thames and the River Wey from my time living O/S in London. 

Q7: Best piece of advice you have been given?

Two equally important pieces of advice I have received; 

(1) never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. 

(2) learn to do the basics right, and then the incremental 1% - 2% improvements are how you grow physically, mentally and spiritually. 

(Oh and 3; never spend more than you earn!)

Q8: Most memorable rowing experience?

A hot summer afternoon on the Yarra, and a tiger snake tried to get climb on board the pair my rowing partner and I were training in.  Memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Thursday Night dinner - Thursday, 2 July

ERC AGM - Sunday, 16 August

Saltwater Challenge - Saturday, 5 September

ERC Open Day - Sunday, 11 October

Henley on the Maribyrnong - Saturday, 12 December

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.