 |
WRC October Newsletter
Contents Health And Safety Welcome to the Season from the Club President Pink Wheels Fundraiser Registration Reminder Volunteer Opportunities
Save the Date
Special Merchandise Masters Nationals Results
Health and Safety At the WRC, ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of all of our members is a priority. Whether you're an experienced rower or just starting out, it's important that we all work together to create a safe and supportive environment for everyone. One way we can do this is by ensuring that any incidents or near misses are reported promptly. Every incident or near miss—whether it seems minor or not—provides valuable information that helps us identify potential hazards and make improvements to ensure they don’t happen again. Your report could prevent someone else from getting hurt or help us fix an issue before it becomes serious. Filling out an incident report is quick and easy. You can find the forms at the coaches room, or online on our website https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/234202. Incident reports are handled confidentially, and our focus is always on learning and improving. It is also important to remember that we all have a responsibility to look out for each other. Anyone can and is encouraged to intervene if they observe something that may be unsafe.
Welcome to the new season! As I begin to build my understanding of my new role, our Masters have returned from their Nationals at Karapiro, our schools are ramping up their programmes and the club men and women continue to build toward the racing season. An enthusiastic group of novices is also developing nicely. We have the opportunity for fun, participation and success. It may even stop raining for a day or two. To make the best of that opportunity, I hope every one of us can take ownership of the club, looking after each other, looking after our equipment and taking responsibility for our own development and results. Following the AGM, we have a new Board and Committee: I should like to welcome the new members to those bodies but also to thank those who are departing from them. Brad Carter and Lynda Jelbert have been important and influential Board members and we’ll miss their wisdom and energy. Jo-Ann Stokes has been an excellent Vice Captain and I should like to thank her for all the work she has done over the years. As I mentioned at the AGM, my own focus will be on three very closely connected areas: Firstly must come Safety, continuing to work to avoid incidents and hazards that may cause harm, but also reinforcing the environment that I believe we already have, whereby people feel supported, valued and respected. I am very happy that Kristy Udy has taken on the role of Health and Safety Officer, but this is, of course, everyone’s job. This leads on to the work that is needed to maintain a great Culture. I should like to repeat my view that we need to choose the right culture and to work consciously to maintain it: if we do nothing, we will still have a culture, but it may not be the one we need. The one we need is the one that best supports our goals. The third area of focus for me is ‘Performance’: whatever the level at which we row and whatever level of commitment we may have, we need to be able to have, at the least, some measure of progress and development. This might be around building our basic fitness and learning how to move a boat well, tracking progress on the erg or at local competition, or measuring ourselves on the national stage in pursuit of medals: in all cases, we should seek to perform. We have very limited resources, which means that we have to prioritise and allocate resources in a clear transparent and fair way. Without measures of performance, we are left with arbitrary, subjective and unsafe decisions. We may not always get what we want, but we can cope with that if we understand why. As the new President, I am aware that I have some tough acts to follow, but I know I am supported by a strong team. The Board, the Committee and others do a lot of important work, much of it invisible to most of our members : I’d ask you simply to be aware that all the things that go well in the club happen because of their work in the background. -Chris Jones WRC President
Pink Wheels! The next time you’re at the club, check out the new set of wheels on Kau Point. These pink seat wheels not only look flash, but 20% of the proceeds will be donated to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ. As a club we know many of our members have been affected by breast cancer and wanted to support this initiative. If anyone is interested in purchasing additional pink wheels, please email secretary@wellingtonrowing.org.nz This fundraiser runs for the month of October, or until supplies last.
 |
 |
Registration Reminder By now, all rowers, coaches, coxwains, and supporters should have now registered with the club. Please rectify this if you have not completed the online form: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/303781
Volunteer Opportunities The WRC board is looking for a dedicated and experienced individual, or individuals, to join our Board of Directors. We are seeking individuals with a strong background in health and safety, finance, and knowledge of school rowing programs. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the growth and success of our club, helping to shape policies, improve safety standards, and support our junior rowing initiatives. If you are passionate about rowing and want to play an active role in ensuring the smooth and safe operation of our club, we’d love to hear from you! Please email president@rowingwellington.org.nz if you are interested.
Are you passionate about supporting our club and have a knack for organization? The WRC Committee is looking for a Volunteer Merchandise Coordinator to join our team! This role involves managing team gear, ensuring merchandise orders are placed and distributed on time, and helping to create a sense of pride and unity with our branded items. It’s a fun and rewarding way to get involved, and no experience is required—just a positive attitude and a little time. If you’re interested in contributing to the team’s success in a new way, we’d love to hear from you, email secretary@wellingtonrowing.org.nz
Upcoming Events Please save the dates for the following upcoming Club events. Additional details will be provided closer to the dates
Friday Dec 6th. This year’s Alumni and life members lunch will be extra special as the WRC and Rowing NZ will be honoring a number of our rowers by awarding their Rowing NZ Foundation Legacy Medals. Saturday Dec 21st WRC Club Xmas party! This date was specifically chosen so that our club rowers won’t miss out by being away at KR1. We are looking forward to celebrating the holiday season as a club.
Special Merchandise
We have the following special merchandise available for purchase, Please contact Richard May 02102410441 and Richard.may@arcblue.co.nz to order or for more information
BLAZERS: Wellington Rowing Club has resurrected our blazers. There is sufficient material for 2 blazers at old price of approximately NZ$361 per blazer. The next bolt of cloth enough for 18 blazers will be NZ447 per blazer, So if you want to join the blazer brigade of WRC, the suggest order one of the 2 blazers at the old price.
TIES: Wellington Rowing Club is excited to offer ties for sale. This is a fund-raiser for the club with funds in excess of production costs going to the Rowing Scholarship Fund. The polyester tie has a special introductory offer of $45 per tie.
|
 |
BADGES: A donation of a note will secure you a very attractive WRC Lapel Badge. Proceeds will go towards the WRC Scholarship Fund.
Masters Nationals Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September saw 29 muscled, maroon-clad rowers, 1 chirpy coxswain and 1 extra chilled out coach in action at the Masters Nationals at Lake Karapiro. Weather conditions were perfect for Wellington rowers - a bit breezy and a bit choppy - so we were in our element! Even better, the thunderstorms and hail that were forecast never eventuated, and instead we basked for (most of the) 2 days in the glorious Waikato sun. Finishing tied in 7th place for the Union Rowing Club Trophy, Wellington Masters achieved outstanding success, winning 2 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 6 bronze medals. Congratulations to all our medal winners - special shout out to Richard May and Andrew Wild for their 2 gold medals. Oarsome rowing! Well done to all competitors (at our age, we are all winners). Special thanks to our coxswain and coach, and of course, to the truck drivers, the food team, the transport wranglers, the loadmasters, the crew setters, the invasive clam slayer, the cheerleaders and everyone who made the weekend a success and so much fun - teamwork really does make the dream work. Looking forward to a week or two off (the ergs anyway!), before we hit the water again in preparation for a new season and next year’s Masters Nationals. See you in Twizel 2025! Results Gold:
Silver:
Bronze:
|