The Australian Rowing Championships (ARC23) took place at Champion Lakes from 27 March to 2 April 2023. The event broke entry records of recent years and gave rowers from WA the opportunity to participate en masse! Crews came from as far as Townsville and Tasmania, there were 432 entries from WA, and Rowing WA did not disappoint in organising a sensational regatta.
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Events | 129 | 129 | 129 |
| Entries | 1,309 | 1,438 | 1,568 |
| Seats | 3,855 | 4,345 | 4,750 |
| Athletes | 1,600 | 1,926 | 1,894 |
ANA was represented with 11 rowers, and ARC23 also marked Graham Scattergood’s debut as ANA’s Head Coach on the national stage. ANA have not had entrants racing at ARC for a while, so it was great to have made a comeback!
Unfortunately, bad weather on the Friday forced the cancellation and rearrangement of races, which caused event clashes, resulting in some ANA crews being forced to scratch from some events. However, racing against elite crews, including Olympic representatives from across the country, was great practice and a great experience for our rowers.
Some highlights:
• Two doubles (Elissa & Maz, Nadja & Nat) made it to the semi-finals;
• Rene & Nadja competed in the final of the LW2X;
• Bronte & Laura came first/second in their Perth College quads D finals; and
• Liam & Mark put in a great race in their doubles repechage.
The ANA crew could not have been able to compete without the help from many others. Special thanks to:
• Julie and Glen for putting up with late nights and early mornings towing the boats;
• Graham and the whole ANA coaching team;
• Claire and the entire maintenance team;
• Our many event volunteers including Andre, Khyati and George (who were named the ‘Coles Volunteers of the Day’ for Sunday) as well as Sangeetha, Frances, Indra and Dave; and
• Club members for working with limitations on access to the racing boats and cheering via WhatsApp.
Well done to all rowers and a big thank you to all helpers and volunteers. Bring on the Australian Masters Rowing Championships in Sydney in June!