WA AMRC Interstate Race Go Pro Friday 31st May 2026

The Black Swans put themselves in to represent our State at the 2026 Australian Masters Rowing Championships as they were being held in WA for the first time in a while, meaning we didn't have to fly to the Eastern Seaboard and trailer our boat over the Nullarbor Desert. We are wearing Black and Gold - the State colours for Western Australia. It was a pretty challenging campaign. We only get certain windows where we can row, and having trials in pairs meant that took training away from the VIII. We were concerned that would mean ultimately we'd end up with a similar crew that had done less training. However, it turned out the pairs made for some good technical training and the small boat work was valuable. A few weeks out we thought the Black Swans crew had been selected, but some last minute seat racing saw a strong heavyweight rower replace one of the Black Swans lightweight rowers, which was a pretty hard outcome. It wasn't why we all returned to rowing - to face trials and the politics and rules of racing. We came to row together, keep fit and have some fun. By putting ourselves into the campaign, we had to accept the chance it wasn't going to be straightforward. However, with so little time left, we simply had to get on with it, and just train hard. Therefore this race meant a lot. By some amazing coincidence, we ended up being allocated a boat called the Nick Garratt. Nick was an incredible coach who had seen so many of us through years of rowing, and with my stern pair in particular, had seen them into the National Team. As a result, I felt in the pre-race chat I had to note that we were in that boat, back rowing after 25 years, for a reason. Nick passed away a few years ago and we all miss him. I asked the question what would we want Nick to say to us as we come off the water? What would the smile be like on his face if he won? How would he feel seeing us all back together so many years later? I planned to ensure we had a Nick call at the moment we needed it. We knew South Australia, the reigning champions, would come at as very very hard. We had beaten them by a length the day before in the Masters A VIIIs, so we knew they'd step up. Stuart, my stroke, said on the start line "make sure you do a call for Nick" - he must be telepathic. At 500m we hadn't pulled away from SA, although we were a canvas ahead. It was critical we made a move and made a decisive sign we were not to be beaten. You can hear the call, and within 20 strokes we were a length. Western Australia has never won the masters interstate regatta. We received the trophy covered in other State's names. Now Western Australia will be there too! We rowed over in 2'58" and rated 47 off the start. We got back up to 40 across the line. If you watch the live stream race, also on this channel, you can see the difference the "Nick" call made. Every crew member knows what it would have meant to Nick to see us achieve that outcome. We made it happen for him. Cox - Me! Stroke - Stuart Reside 7 - Jono Fievez 6 - Ron Snook 5 - Dave Porzig (Swan River Rowing Club) 4 - Greg Kerr 3 - Glen Loftus 2 - Damien Kelly (UWA Boat Club) 1 - Mike Evelegh