Boy what a weekend, nothing but tough decisions that affected the Wollongong City club, officials & competitors with beach location change. I believe we made the correct calls, not everyone will agree but every decision was made with the thought of all involved considered. What a weekend like this does is open the door to a full discussion about setting in place standard for running events like this much better into the future.

The Wollongong Surf Club were disappointed that we didn't run on their beach for the Sunday finals but that was still a line ball decision at 6am and we weren't prepared to take the risk of making that call to return only to have trouble with 71 races still to complete. The surf was still throwing up 5 to 6 foot hollow waves but the key was that the southerly was still blowing right up the beach so it would have been pretty unpleasant based on the 6 am sighting. A different call may have been made at 8 or 9 am but we had to go with what we had at 6 O’clock.

For future discussion I do believe that we need to turn the whole process of how we conduct major events with time constraints around. It is apparent that travelling and staying at the Aussies are treated differently by crews in that we mostly are happy to stay on location for more bed days and this is perfectly understandable. Events like the various State Titles and the ASRL Open are seen as a weekend event where we arrive, race and leave. Crews in each division need and like to be able to get in and race with quick turn around times and not have to sit around for hours. Addressing the program is something we have firmly in our sights to discuss and in due course to receive feed back from our members on.

Finally the Wollongong City Surf Club did a fantastic job under very tough and trying conditions. The efficiency with which they were able to completely move the arena was better than I have ever witnesses in the past. I know and understand the disappointment they feel at not having the event run on location but hopefully they can take the positives out of the way their club conducted itself. It was a great Wollongong City Open even if it was run off location.

Finalists and Results in all divisions follow. 

We are heading toward the heart of the season with Navy Sponsorship money being finalized, of which we have already committed 130% of this money back to the States for their roles in putting together State based series, and State by State sponsorship for teams and travel. The ASRL committee would like to acknowledge and thank the enormous time and effort put in by the State bodies and their Navy representatives.

We as a committee knew going into this season that the money committed in budget would be greater than that received from the Navy, due to the deal structure which depreciates each year as the infrastructure for the series is covered, as a result once again Peter Hickey has worked his magic and brought in a number of small sponsorships to bridge the gap. Including Banana Boat and Staminade.

What we are now chasing is memberships and entries for the Open, time is ticking and we must have all entries in to finalize insurance for the event. Wollongong SLSC have completed the bulk of the planning and are waiting for the numbers from the ASRL for the final considerations for parking, boat areas, tent areas, food vans, catering, etc…

Navy involvement in Surf Boats in Australia, and the ASRL has given us the ability to significantly lift the profile of rowing, we would love to continue this deal for years to come for the benefit of all rowers, so having the membership up to scratch is critical to their future with us.

Once again we are going down to the line with budgets, if the States want the Navy deal and their support to continue, we must ensure that memberships are in and completed on time. Alan Gibbon, Bert Hunt and myself can be contacted if you have any queries as entries close this Friday.