Image Credit: Rowing Australia
In an Australian Rowing Championships that breaks records for entry numbers, the U23 women’s eights don’t follow this trend, with lower entry numbers than in 2023 or 2024. Despite this, the intensity of competition in this event is higher than ever, as several competitive athletes look to take out the national title in their last year of this division. With half of the field made up of composite crews, the question is – will it be pure club pride that takes the win, or will one of the mixed crews reign victorious?
Melbourne University Boat Club/Mercantile Rowing Club Composite
In a combination of half Melbourne University and half Mercantile, the top clubs from the banks of the Yarra combine to form a powerful crew. One of several international representatives in the eight, Cantwell had an extremely successful 2024 with a sixth-place finish in the double at the U23 World Rowing Championships, not to mention her win this year in the U23 single at the NSW State Championships. Also lining up in this combination crew are Lavery and Morrison, who were both selected to compete in the World University Games in the four in 2024, topping the B-final. With several other VIC and NSW State championship medals from other athletes – including Nation, Nairn, Hawker, Dumbrell and Nevins – this will surely be a competitive composite to watch out for on race day.
Sydney Rowing Club
For the first time in several years, Sydney RC will be lining up with an U23 eight of athletes that prevail from their home club. Unsurprisingly, this formidable crew has been leading the charge this season – they’re virtually undefeated in their home state and hold the 2025 women’s eight state title following the NSW State Championships earlier this year. This crew has some exceptional international exposure, with 2024 Henley Royal Regatta-selected athletes of McKay, Sypher, and Spaulding leading the charge. It would also be remiss to look at this crew and not reminisce on Scammell’s exceptional gold-winning performance at the 2022 U23 World Rowing Championships in the coxed four, where this crew also set a World Best Time. Following on from that, Scammell raced to a bronze at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships in the four. with such an intense reputation for success, we can only expect that the performances of McLean, Knoke-Driver, Anderton, and Barr will rise to match the standard set.
Sydney University Boat Club
Another crew composed entirely of home club members, this U23 eight from SUBC will be lining up on race day ready to bring the national title home. This crew configuration took fourth behind their open-age counterparts at the NSW State Championships this year in the open women’s eight and finished with several exceptional individual performances. Named in the 2024 U21 Trans Tasman team in the quad, Bond brings international experience to the boat alongside selected reserve O’Brien. In high-quality state championship racing, Preller rowed to a competitive bronze in the U23 pair, Wightman took the gold in the elite quad, and Teale led the U23 lightweight women’s single to win by an impressive 14 seconds. The remaining crewmates of Roles, Nattey, and Botha will add tenacity, technical prowess and steel to this formidable grouping.
Prediction
In a race of highly competitive athletes looking to make their mark on the U23 scene, I don’t doubt this will be one of the most exhilarating contests on display. We should expect all crews to attack hard and early in this race. However, I think that the national title will make its way to Sydney Rowing Club this year – there doesn’t seem to be any thwarting of this crew, and this race will prove no exception. Melbourne University Boat Club and Mercantile Rowing Club’s composite will take silver, followed closely by the SUBC crew for bronze. I expect more club pride will be felt with the University of Queensland Boat Club crew pulling in a strong fourth-place finish ahead of the Swan River Rowing Club and UTS Haberfield Rowing Club Composites.
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