Please see the selection policy and nominations form for the 2025 ACT Masters Interstate Regatta.
Athletes should submit a full crew for consideration for the event, with a relevant time from the 2024/25 season. Only one entry per nominated crew is required. Nominations close 5pm Friday 9th May 2025
Rowing ACT is very pleased to announce our ACT Interstate Team to compete at Lake Barrington in Tasmania at the Australian Rowing Championships.
These crews will represent the ACT in distinction, and join the ACT’s rich history of interstate representatives. In Tasmania, our debutants will join the likes of Sarah Cook OLY, Kathryn Ross, Nikki Ayers PLY, Caleb Antill, Jaime Fernandez OLY, Tom Westgarth and Luke Letcher, and so many others that have represented the ACT with great pride and distinction.
When these athletes take to the water in Tasmania, they will be wearing the ACT crest with great pride. We encourage all our ACT representatives, past and present to wear the crest with pride. To take pride in yourselves, your crews and your state.
Our crews for the Interstate Regatta are:
Presidents Cup for the Men’s Single – Hamish Harding #299
Nell Slater Trophy for the Women’s Single – Catherine Khan #363
Penrith Cup for the Lightweight Men’s Four – Matthew Rickard (#365), Oliver Manning (#371), George Bowditch (#372), Garvan Hayes (#373) Alex Tomanovits (Reserve)
Victoria’s Cup for the Lightweight Women’s Quad – Alexandra Moylan (#325), Ruby Gray (#368), Ronja Staerker-Ashby (#369), Abbyghail Richards (#370)
Noel Wilkinson Cup for the Men’s Youth Eight – Jesse Rosin (#374), Darcy James (#375), James Robson (#376), Max McAlpine (#377), Dylan Outram (#378), Cameron Schmidt (#379), Harrison Braithwaite (#380), Benjamin Haywood (#381) and Moira Geraghty (#382), Angus Scott and Campbell Milne (Reverses)
Good luck to all!
N
Following a phenomenal 2024, Nikki Ayers PLY and doubles partner Jed Altschwager have been named on the Australia Day Honours list, for services to sport.
Nikki and Jed have both been awarded Order of Australia Medals (OAM) in recognition of their efforts at the Paris Paralympics, becoming the first Australian crew to win a gold medal in rowing at the Paralympics. Their efforts over the past cycle to become the Paralympic champions in the PR3 Mixed Double scull, especially in its first iteration at the Paralympics has been nothing short of incredible and something that Rowing ACT is incredibly proud to have been a part of in the journey to gold.
Congratulations Nikki Ayers OAM PLY!
Rowing ACT is thrilled to announce the appointment of Tom Westgarth as Lead Coach for the ACT Performance Pathways Program. This appointment follows Dave Fraumano’s move to join the Rowing Australia coaching staff under the GEN32 program.
Tom brings a wealth of experience, having been named Rowing Australia’s Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019, and having coached across all levels from TID to Olympic rowers. Returning to the ACT after 15 years away, Tom has deep ties to the rowing community in the region. A former school and club rower, he represented the ACT (Interstate Representative #112), debuting in the Youth Cup in 2001 and competing in Kings Cup crews in 2002 and 2003, and Australia at the Under 23 World Championships.
Tom’s coaching journey began as an assistant coach with the ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) overseeing TID and youth development in the territory. He has held prominent coaching and leadership roles, including Assistant and Head Coach at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) and senior coach for the Hancock Prospecting Women’s National Training Centre (WNTC). His impressive track record includes nurturing and developing talent, guiding numerous crews to interstate, national, and international success, most notably leading the women’s four to multiple gold medals between 2017 and 2020, culminating in Olympic Gold.
Rowing ACT is excited to welcome Tom back and looks forward to the expertise and passion he will bring to the ACT Performance Pathways Program.
Tom commented “I am thrilled to be returning to the ACT where I started my rowing journey. The future of our sport in Canberra is exciting with great new initiatives to introduce more young people to the water and strong school and club programs operating on all sides of the lake.
I look forward to reconnecting with the local rowing community and assisting all our athletes in a pursuit to be the best on the world stage.”
ACT Academy of Sport Director Gerard Corradini commented “The ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) congratulates Rowing ACT and Rowing Australia on the appointment of Tom Westgarth as the new ACT Performance Pathway Lead Coach. Tom is an experienced high-performance coach with over 16 years’ elite rowing coaching, including Assistant Coach roles (ACTAS and the Queensland Academy of Sport), AIS Scholarship Coach, Head Coach at QAS, and most recently as a Senior Coach at Rowing Australia’s Women’s National Training Centre in Penrith (since 2016). The ACT Performance Pathway Program athletes are fortunate to have Tom to guide the next stages of their high-performance journeys”
Rowing ACT Vice-President Tobias Wehr-Candler commented, “We were fortunate to have an outstanding pool of candidates for this role. Tom’s vision for the performance pathway in the ACT stood out, and we are confident his experience and leadership will elevate rowing in the territory to new heights.”
Tom will commence in his role on the 28th January. Rowing ACT thanks the community for their support during this transitional period, and we look forward to seeing great results from our ACT athletes over the coming months and years.
Are you passionate about shaping the future athletes for Brisbane 2032 and beyond? Rowing ACT is seeking an exceptional coach to fill the role of ACT Performance Pathway Lead Coach, a pivotal position in identifying talent and developing elite athletes within the National Performance Pathways Program (NPPP). This exciting, 4-year contract role based in Canberra will provide you with an opportunity to identify, develop and coach talented athletes, and collaborate with local and national partners to foster a high-performance rowing environment within the ACT.
For more information head to https://www.sportspeople.com.au/jobs/83213-performance-pathway-lead-coach-rowing-act
Rowing ACT is both saddened and excited to inform the community that our Head Coach, Dave Fraumano, has made the decision to resign from his role at Rowing ACT to pursue an exciting opportunity in the GEN32 coaching program with Rowing Australia. To read the AIS Announcement on the GEN32 program, click on this link
This is a tremendous achievement and recognition of Dave’s talent, dedication, and impact as a rowing coach. We are incredibly proud of him and wish him all the very best in this next chapter of his coaching career.
Dave’s leadership and commitment over the last five years have been instrumental in shaping the Performance Pathway Program, and his contributions have had a profound impact on the development of our athletes and the broader rowing community here at Rowing ACT.
This has included some of our best ever Nationals results and a large number of ACT athletes in the Australian Rowing Team over the last five years. During Dave’s time with Rowing ACT, there has been over 40 Australian Rowing Championship Medals won by ACTHPP athletes, 6 athletes placed on underage Australian Teams from the ACTHPP Program, and 8 athletes from the program placed on Australian Senior Teams. These athletes include Nikki Ayers PLY, Luke Letcher, Cormac Kennedy-Leverett, Hamish Harding, Harry Glackin and Nicholas Neales. Dave was also named as coach of three Australian teams – the 2021 U23 Lightweight Men’s Crews, 2022 Senior Lightweight Men’s Coach and the 2024 World Cup I and Final Qualifying Regatta coach of the Men’s Doubles and Men’s Quad.
Dave commences in his new role from January 1, and our immediate priority is ensuring continuity in coaching and programming for all athletes. We are committed to maintaining high standards of support, coaching, and training our athletes have come to expect. While we work quickly to identify and appoint a new Head Coach, Rowing ACT is working with Rowing Australia to put interim measures in place to ensure the preparation and performance of our ACT High Performance and Pathways Athletes remains uninterrupted through the upcoming major domestic competitions.
Rowing ACT will update the community throughout this process, and we appreciate the continued support of the ACT community as we transition to a new head coach over the coming months.
Thank you for your understanding, support, and continued commitment to rowing in the ACT.
Dear Rowing ACT Community;
It seems hard to believe but we are approaching the end of another year. It has been a year of change, a year both of hard work and success but also of challenge. Our ACT community has continued to show great strength, and I would like to take a moment to thank you all for your continuing support of Rowing ACT. We as an organisation are only able to operate with the backing of the ACT rowing community.
I would also like to thank the many individuals within our community who continue to give so generously of their own time to give back to the ACT Rowing Community. To highlight just some of the incredible individuals;
As I reflect on 2024 it has been an incredibly positive year for the ACT Rowing Community and I hope a sign of even greater things to come.
Once again, and on behalf of the Rowing ACT Board, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and a Happy and safe New Year.
Kind Regards
Kent Peters
Rowing ACT President
The Nominations for the 2025 Interstate and Pathways Teams are now open. The policy for Senior and Youth Team Members can be found here. This policy is the same as 2024.
The 2025 Senior and Youth Team Interstate Processes can be found here. The nominations for Senior Team Members close Friday 20th December 2024, whilst nominations for Youth Team Members close Wednesday 15th January 2025. Nominations for both teams may be made here
Nominations for the 2025 School Pathways Squad are also open. The policy for the Pathways Squad may be found here. The processes for the 2025 School Pathways Squad can be found here
Nominations for the School Pathways Squads are now open and will close on Wednesday 15 January 2025 at 5pm. Nominations may be made here.
The Annual General Meeting will be held at 6:30pm, Tuesday 29th October 2024, at the Canberra Grammar School Rowing Centre. Please see the agenda and biographies of the nominees for the two elected director positions.
Rowing ACT is searching for an enthusiastic person to join our small team as an events and participation officer. The successful candidate would support the Executive Officer in the delivery of major events and stakeholder engagements, as well as the administration of the ACT Interstate Teams and other events.
For more information, interested individuals should head to the Job Description or email eo@rowingact.org.au