Image Credit: Rowing New South Wales
The Ann Tamigi Championship Women’s Eight is the headline women’s event at the WA Rowing State Championships, showcasing the strongest and most technically skilled female rowers from across the state. Over the last three years, the title has been shared amongst the Fremantle Rowing Club, Swan River Rowing Club, and the West Australian Rowing Club. It will no doubt be as competitive and thrilling this year as athletes take to Champion Lakes brimming with club pride, with the title, the trophy, and bragging rights all to play for.
Fremantle Rowing Club
The defending champions, the crew from Fremantle Rowing Club, will be desperate to reclaim the Women’s Eight title after a convincing five-second win last year over local rivals, and claiming gold in this event for the first ever time in the club’s history. If the local Pennant regattas are anything to go by, this crew is the crew to beat this domestic season, claiming the top prize in two out of the three Pennant regattas they have contested. Juliet Kelly and Sina Metzger will provide this crew with much strength and depth of experience, having just returned from the U19 World Rowing Championships as A-finalists in the Women’s Quad. This crew looks to be the youngest in the field but appears to be in form, full of confidence and determination, and will be excited by the prospect of going back-to-back in the most highly anticipated event of the championships. This crew is one to watch, both over the weekend and into the future.
Swan River Rowing Club
The Swan River Rowing Club, coached by Australian Junior Team coaches Mark Beer and Olivia Jones, will be hot contenders in this year’s event, featuring two top-tier crews in the field of five. On paper, the top Swan River crew will go in as favourites, boasting the names of high-calibre athletes like Jacqueline Swick, who competed for Australia at the Paris Olympic Games earlier in the year, claiming a historic fourth-place finish as a member of the Women’s 8+. Fresh off the international racing scene will also be Rebecca Pretorius, who won her second bronze medal in the Women’s Four at the U23 World Rowing Championships in Canada earlier this year. Swick and Pretorius will be joined by Australian U19 representatives Greta Spencer and Lyla Fievez, as well as a host of strong athletes, all of who are no strangers to the Champion Lakes course. It is also worth noting that this crew has recorded the fastest time in the state in this event so far this year, doing so recently during their convincing win in the final Pennant Regatta of the season. With a plethora of national team representatives on board, this crew will only strengthen as they aim to repeat their 2022 glory.
West Australian Rowing Club
The West Australian Rowing Club are seasoned contenders in the Women’s 8+ event but have failed to match their 2021 success in more recent years. This year’s crew, however, looks full of promise. The crew will be bolstered by the exceptional skill and experience of two-time Olympian Giorgia Patten, who, alongside Jacqueline Swick (listed above as a member of the Swan River Crew), achieved Australia’s best-ever result in the Women’s 8+ at the most recent Paris Olympic Games. The keys to the crew will be held by Sinead Reading, who represented Australia in the U21 Trans-Tasman Regatta against New Zealand earlier in the year. Adding to the physical strength and power in this crew will be Joely Patterson, who took out the State Indoor Rowing Championships in July with a rapid 2k ergo time of 7:10.8. Patten and Patterson will also be two of four returners from the 2021 crew, providing a wealth of racing experience and confidence to their fellow crewmates. Although not the favourites, this crew is certainly not to be counted out and could pose a significant threat to other contenders in this event. There is much to be said for flying under the radar, and it could be used to this talented local crew’s advantage.
Predictions
The incredibly high standard and depth of athletes contesting the Ann Tamigi Championship at this year’s WA Rowing State Championships is unrivalled compared to previous years and is an exciting indication for the future of women’s rowing in the State. The field of 45 athletes contesting this event will include eight Australian Rowing Team representatives, spread across three promising crews. Adding to the fiercely competitive nature of this event is the fact that each of the three crews mentioned above has claimed the top prize in at least one of four Pennant regattas this season. I believe the strength of athlete experience and talent in the Swan River Rowing Club crew will have too much for the rest of the field, but I have no doubt the complements from Fremantle Rowing Club and West Australian Rowing Club will not make it easy for them. In what will no doubt have spectators on the edge of their seats, I believe it will be the crew from Swan River over first, closely followed by West Australian Rowing Club and then Fremantle in third.
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