April 2009
UQ Boat Club rides the wave of success
Monday March 30, 2009
The UQ Boat Club (UQBC) had a lot to celebrate recently, having showcased one of their best ever performances when they took to the water at the annual Australian Rowing Championships earlier this month.
The club continued their long-standing history of success, winning five gold, five silver and seven bronze medals at the national event that ran from 3rd to 9th March in Lake Barrington, Tasmania.
After an intense six-day club regatta, the event culminated with an interstate competition on the final day, which saw UQBC field their strongest ever representation in the Queensland state team.
UQ’s Head Rowing Coach, Lincoln Handley, said gaining so many places on the state side was a true testament to the overwhelming talent in UQBC.
“With 27 athletes and three coaches on the Queensland team, we had a majority of the seats, which is a tremendous effort for any club,” Lincoln said.
Another record was set at the event, with women achieving better overall results than their male counterparts for the first time in decades.
The men still lived up to their reputation as traditional competition heavyweights, though, scoring their fair share of medals.
With such strong results across all teams, picking the standout performances was always going to be hard.
Alison Scobbie ensured her performances were remembered, winning gold in the U23 lightweight women’s single and combining with Catriona Rose to win gold in the U23 lightweight double scull.
Alison pulled out a strong effort late in the single, having spent the first 500 metres in last place before winning with a big margin of five seconds.
Angus Morton combined with Chris Bigg to give the UQBC combo an all-the-way win in the open men’s lightweight double scull.
In another strong performance, UQBC’s Jared Bidwell won bronze representing Queensland in the President’s Cup. Jared earned himself a personal best, coming in under seven minutes for the first time.
Jared boldly led Beijing Olympic Gold medallist, David Crawshay, through the 1000 metre mark, but could not hold him off in the sprint to the line.
Another highlight was the silver medal in the women’s under 23 eight going to an all-UQBC crew featuring six UQ students including the Krippner sisters, Fran Patterson and Kirstin White. It was the first time UQBC had entered a straight women’s U23 eight.
Some competitors had more than just their medals to celebrate, with 10 UQBC athletes invited to compete in the national selections in Sydney from 15 to 26 April.
June 2008
UQBC Masters strike gold at National Championships
Jo Cook and Tim Douglas of UQBC Masters travelled to Nagambie for the Australian Masters Championships from May 29 to June 1. With excellent weather and water conditions across the weekend it was a perfect weekend for rowing. Tim and Jo secured a gold medal in the mixed D4+, a feat all the more remarkable as Tim shared the victory with his father Ian Douglas.
King's and St. John's victorious in ICC Regatta
After a busy eight weeks the College Rowing Program culminated in the ICC regatta on Sunday 25 May with King's College victorious in the men's and St.John's College in the women's pointscore. 247 students participated in this competitive but festive event and many students were thrown in the deep end, learning to row in only three weeks and refining their technique to compete in five regattas.
Queensland Masters Camp
On the weekend of May 10 and 11 a keen and committed bunch of Masters rowers gathered to improve their technique and gain some additional information about sports fitness and nutrition at a camp at Lake Kawana.
May 2008
Congratulations to BMW raffle winner
Congratulations to C. Cubasch of Melbourne, our lucky winner of the UQBC BMW 118i raffle, drawn on Saturday 10 May at the UQBC Shed. The draw for this magnificent vehicle, valued at over $43 000, was witnessed by over 20 club members after a concerted few months of ticket sales.
Golden start for Kehoe and Conrad
University of Queensland Boat Club (UQBC) members Sally Kehoe and Sam Conrad both tasted success in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, winning gold in the Australian women’s and men’s eights at the first Rowing World Cup event in Munich on Sunday.
Live coverage of Rowing World Cup
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) will provide exclusive coverage of the 2008 FISA Rowing World Cup series beginning with this Sunday’s free event in Munich, Germany. Fans can log on to WCSN.com for live and on-demand coverage as the world's leading rowers compete for the Rowing World Cup Leading Nation Cup.
April 2008
Set to shine on international stage
UQBC are set for grand representation on the international stage this year following announcements for the Senior Olympic team and the Australian Under23 and Junior teams. Sam Conrad will become a third generation Olympian when he lines up in the men’s eight in Beijing, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
Masters in commanding form
The UQBC Masters have kicked 2008 off with a bang, most recently achieving excellent results at the Queensland State Masters Championships. The squad returned with an admirable collection of medals from the Championships hosted at Kawana Waters on 12 and 13 April. Despite the heat and strong winds on the first day, the women’s D eight battled valiantly to bring home silver.
March 2008
UQBC supreme at Australian Rowing Championships
In an unprecendented performance the University of Queensland Boat Club brought home nine gold medals, six silver, and five bronze at the Australian Rowing Championships last week. UQBC finished the competition in second place overall behind Sydney University, an enormous feat given the size of some of the Victorian and New South Wales crews.
Rowing National Championships update
Jared Bidwell has won the first medal for UQBC at the Rowing National Championships at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith, securing gold in the U23 single scull. Winning in a time of 7:06:16, Jared narrowly beat out two Melbourne University Rowers to finish on top of the podium.
February 2008
On track for National Championships
UQBC rowers continued the medal haul at the NSW State Championships, with a total of nine gold medals. 24 rowers competed over the two day event, held in Sydney, which was the last chance for rowers to compete prior to the National Championships in March. UQBC finished second overall for the regatta, narrowly behind Sydney University.
Interview with Sally Kehoe
Rowing Australia had the chance to catch up with Sally Kehoe, member of the women’s sweep squad, to ask her about her preparations for Nationals and Olympics, as well as life outside of her beloved rowing.
January 2008
High Performance Camp brings out the best
The week of January 6 to 12 saw the UQBC high performance squad of 20 athletes and three coaches embrace their toughest training week of the year with a club camp at Maclean in Northern NSW. 1500+ training minutes (25hrs+) of on-water training in singles, pairs and eights as well as 300km’s on the bike tested the resilience of all. Despite a flooded river excellent conditions prevailed with most sessions ‘glassed off’ with no other on-water traffic.
