Rowing Down Under
Catch-up on all the action from the Australian Rowing Championships
Image Credit: Rowing Australia
The Queen Elizabeth II trophy is the pinnacle of women’s rowing in Australia. A chance for the top athletes from around the country to don the colours of their home states for just one day a year and put it all on the line in front of the biggest crowds of the week at the Australian Rowing Championships. Since 1920, this event has been dominated by Victoria and New South Wales, but in more recent memory has been the domain of the Victorians. The beauty of Interstate rowing is the lack of a concrete form guide, these crews only get one chance per year, so we often see some spectacular displays of passion and pride as they race into the unknown.
Victoria
Like the sun rising in the east, a big white V at the pointy end of the race for the Queen’s Cup is one of life’s certainties, and this year’s crew from Victoria promises no different. The most successful state in this event, Victoria have held the Queen Elizabeth II trophy aloft 45 times since the first race in 1920. More importantly, though, they’ve been victorious on 21 occasions since the event switched to eights from fours in 1999. The 2025 challengers see the return of Olympic gold medallist Lucy Stephan to the crew after enjoying a break from competition since the Paris games. This year, we also see the addition of three newcomers to the crew: Emmie Frederico, Anna Morrison, and Sophie Reinehr. These newcomers will signal the most change to this dominant lineup in a year that we’ve seen in a decade. Interestingly, the last time Victoria didn’t win this race – 2019 – there were only two changes to that which one the previous year.
I could never predict a Victorian Queen’s Cup contender to let this race go easily, but with some question marks over illness and a reshuffled lineup, could 2025 be just the second time in two decades that Victoria relinquish their grasp on this event?
New South Wales
You have to go back to 2016 to find the last time that a New South Wales crew didn’t feature in the top two places in this event. The only state to beat Victoria since 1996, it’s safe to say that the light blue will always put up an incredible fight for the Queen’s Cup. Like Victoria, NSW sees three new faces in their lineup, welcoming 2024 Paris Olympic sculler Tara Rigney to the bow seat and 2025 NTC athletes Jamie Ford and Eleanor Price. U23 world champion and silver medallist Bella Scammell will lead from the stroke seat, with her 2024 pair partner Caitlin McManus-Barrett in the bow seat. Whilst NSW have placed second every year since they last won in 2019, the crew is almost entirely overhauled, with only dual Olympian, Georgie Rowe, back to share the experience of that win. Across the regatta thus far, the Welshwomen seem to have been in slightly better form than the Victorians. There’s rarely anything concrete to justify an interstate performance, but the feeling around the boat park here in Tasmania has been that this NSW crew are up for the challenge.
South Australia
Fielding a very young combination this year, South Australia will be hunting their first interstate podium since 2015. The crew will feature five youth women who will be fresh off contesting the Bicentennial Cup just 40 minutes prior. The injection of 2025 NTC athlete Ella Bramwell and U23 Harvard athlete Sophie Barr will be sure to add a bit of horsepower to some tired legs, but it may not be enough to see South Australia challenge over the full 2000m race with such a tight turnaround.
Queensland
A regular feature on the podium but so often missing that last few per cent to challenge for the top placings, Queensland has arrived on the shores of Lake Barrington with a revitalised lineup of new and old faces. With only two returners from the 2024 combination that won bronze, this year’s crew sees the return to the maroon of former U23 lightweight Wallis Russell, who last represented Queensland in 2018 as a part of the silver-medallist lightweight quad. The crew is also bolstered by some younger talent, with junior Astrid Thomas jumping into the eight after rowing for the Nell Slatter Trophy, which should be a tight race for the newly-crowned U19 national champion. There’s not much separating this eight from the likes of Western Australia, and I suspect the race for the podium will be as close as it’s ever been to the top two.
Tasmania
It’s been a long time between drinks for the Tasmanians. Their last medal in this event was right here on Lake Barrington in 2006, in blistering conditions, when they saw a record 6:03.48 win the race. This year’s combination features a few new faces when compared to 2024, with Ella Spaulding moving up from last year’s youth eight after spending the last year growing up in Sydney. It may yet be a bit of a stretch for the locals to return to the podium, but their performances in junior categories this week indicate there is much to be hopeful for in the future.
Western Australia
Always a threat but not quite managing a podium in the past two runnings of this event, the 2025 Western Australian crew brings a wealth of international experience to Tasmania. Jacqui Swick and Bronwyn Cox will undoubtedly lead this crew after their 2024 Paris Olympic campaign in the women’s eight. Joining them and returning for this year is 2023 Australian junior representative Greta Spencer, and new to the senior crew is Greta’s teammate from that juniors campaign and fellow 2025 U21 pairs champion Lyla Fievez. The Swannies are always a team that demonstrates an immense amount of state pride. The challenge of fielding such a complete team from the other side of the country should not be underestimated, and kudos should be given to the continued work of Rowing WA in ensuring their team is always well supported away from home. This year’s combination on paper is as good as it’s been in recent years, and I’m sure it will put on a great show as they strive to return to the podium.
Prediction
As has been the case for the past quarter century, this race will be between the powerhouses of Australian rowing, Victoria and New South Wales. It’s always hard to go against the might of the Big White V; their history in this event is unmatched, and there is no doubt they will attack this event with the same fury characteristic of the southern state. This year, though, I can feel a change in the tide brewing. The NSW crew are all in fantastic form in their small boats this week, and I think they’ll be able to do enough in the first 1000m to hold off a late Victorian charge to clinch a 36th Queen’s Cup win for the Waratahs. The battle for third is always fascinating, and it should be closer than ever to the top two. With a very experienced lineup, I expect to see the yellow of Western Australia to just edge out the Queensland maroons, with South Australia fifth and Tasmania in sixth.
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