The Lane Cove River will play host to the 2025 Riverview Regatta this weekend. 255 boats have received their lane draw, and 1338 seats are accounted for. Following an extremely close finish in the women’s open eights at the 2024 NSW State Championships, this race is one of the most anticipated of the regatta, with NSW’s top female sweepers readying to compete across the 1400m course. It’s an intense lineup, with Sydney Rowing Club, Sydney University Boat Club, and UTS racing two eights a-piece and three school crews throwing their hats in the ring, completing the set of nine. As there is such intense competition amongst these clubs as state selection draws nearer, the question is – who will reign victorious over the Lane Cove River dog-legged turn at the finish line?
Sydney Rowing Club
Last year’s winning crew, Sydney RC have stuck to their winning formula as three of their athletes – McManus-Barrett, Scammell, and Furrer – return from this regatta last year. No stranger to winning medals, though, are the remaining athletes of McKay, Sypher, Neville, Vance, and Knoke-Driver – this exact boat combination took the gold medal from Sydney University by more than 1.8 seconds at the NSW State Championships last weekend. It’s a crew that is highly familiar with intense racing – McKay, Furrer, and Keating represented Sydney Rowing Club at Henley Royal Regatta, racing for The Wargrave Challenge Cup this time last year, valiantly rowing their way into the semifinals. With a select number of international representatives, following McManus-Barrett and Scammell’s bronze in the four at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships, this crew is surely one to watch. One caveat of interest is that their nominated cox, Cowap, is also the coach of one of the contesting schoolgirl crews – perhaps Loreto Normanhurst will have learnt a thing or two about their coaches’ potential game plan.
Sydney University Boat Club
Following an extremely tight finish at the NSW State Championships, there should be no doubt that the competitive first crew from Sydney University BC will be out to claim victory over their Sydney Rowing Club rivals. Price and Caudle both bring international racing experience to this eight, with Price returning to the 2025 season following representation in the 2024 fours and eights at World Rowing Cup I in Varese last year, and Caudle returning to Australia after her time with the Wisconsin Badgers and Oxford Brookes. Ford, having represented the Australian U23 team several years ago, follows with her wealth of knowledge, and Hobbs, Collison, Hayes, Sheppard, and McKellar all back up their places in this ferocious crew. Needless to say, this boat will not be taking it easy on their Sydney RC counterparts.
UTS Haberfield
Under the watchful eye of coach Samuel Fennessy, the two crews from UTS are constructing themselves as forces in the NSW sweep scene. The crew combination of Ma-Conis, Ollivier, Berechree, Stigter, Griebel, Fallon, Morgan, and Rupnik Williams closely resembles the crew who took the bronze medal in the U21 eight at the NSW State Championships last weekend and should provide an exceptional race. The crew comprised of Manins, Swain, Draney, Garner, Fahd, Gourley, Gaston, and Meany are sure to show up to the start line primed, off the back of Fahd’s exceptional silver medal performance in both the U23 single and elite double last weekend, as well as Gaston’s bronze in the U21 single. It would be remiss not to mention Gourley’s stellar international performance as one part of the double scull at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, where she qualified the boat class for Paris 2024.
Predictions
With a large contingency of athletes from NSW for 2024 sweep rowing internationally, the competition in these boats only continues to increase, and so does the quality of racing. Whilst all crews are undoubtedly prepared for a straight course with 2000m racing, the shorter course and turn towards the end of the contest may throw a few of these athletes off course.
I predict that with the strong front half of their race that we are so used to seeing from the first crew from Sydney Rowing Club, we might be watching them take the gold again this weekend ahead of their competition from Sydney University Boat Club. The race will be extremely tight, and it wouldn’t be any surprise if there were no more than 1.5 seconds between these two front-running crews. With the experience of senior crew member Gourley, chances are high that her crew from UTS will take third place – however, the battle will be a close one between the other UTS crew, and a strong push from Pymble Ladies College will provide some intense competition for these athletes. Needless to say, it will be 1400m full of intensity.
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