Coolum Boaties ASRL Success

Published: February 23, 2022 Last Updated: February 23, 2022

Whoa - what a weekend! From Friday Feb 18 until Sunday Feb 20, Coolum Beach boaties competed at the biggest standalone surf boat event in Australia. Clubs and crews from around the country battled it out on Elouera Beach in Sydney for the Australian Surf Rowers League Open (ASRL Open). This weekend was all about survival with challenging surf conditions that saw a high number of crews not make it through the break, let alone finish their races. 

Although we had a delayed start due to the shark encounter, our reserve women took to the beach on Friday to represent Queensland as part of the state team. They raced well, placing first in their reserve women state race, second in the senior relay, and then a close second in the nail-biting all-age relay. This secured QLD second place overall. The reserves then had their heats for Coolum, earning them a spot in the quarter finals. 

Saturday morning saw thrills and spills from our open men, who competed in the toughest conditions of the weekend. They certainly put on a show and despite the surf, finished every race (which many crews did not manage). Big Aaron snapped his oar in the surf two strokes into their last race, which unfortunately caused the men to miss out on quarter finals by just one point. 
 
The open women then kick-started their campaign with two convincing wins during their first two heats before the reserve women entered their finals. The reserve women got through the quarter final in some challenging conditions (with more backwards rowing than is ideal in an elimination round). They then had a win in their minor semi before being knocked out in the major semi. That puts them within the top 8 crews of Australia.
 
Sunday saw our youth crews finally take to the water. The under 23 women breezed through their heats with a first, third and second. Similarly, the under 19 women secured their spot in the finals with a first and two seconds. Although a boat collision on the shoreline, during the heats, ended with some minor injuries for one of our 19’s, the girls persevered and unfortunately, were eliminated in the quarter finals. With three quarters of the crew being first-time rowers, they put in a phenomenal effort. 
 
Ageing gear caused the under 23 women a devastating loss in their quarter final, with the stroke seat’s foot straps breaking out at the 100m mark. Not ideal in the conditions we were facing. Regardless, the girls persisted and narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals. 
 
To round the weekend out, the open women placed second in the last of their heats, and both the quarter and semi-finals. This was all just a warmup, allowing for improvement for the big dance. Some anxious minutes were had with 3 seat stepping on a syringe just before their semi-final but luckily it only slowed her walking down a little.
 
Heading into the final saw the ladies in alley 5. A little concerning with the best placing prior being 4th in that alley. With a deep trough in front they were forced to start three quarters, to a full boat length behind the other crews (shown in the drone shot, Coolum Beach boat is second to the left). "It's going to need every ounce of you, but be within a length of the leader going into the turn, and you'll win!’’ - David Tomba.

After a convincing start, they clawed their way into the leading 3 crews before the turn. The women were in the lead on the way home as other crews started to catch waves around them. This is where they showed what they are made of, and refused to settle. In a photo-finish, our open women came out with the win, making them the number one female crew in Australia. The excitement from all Coolum Boaties was palpable and we could not be prouder! True to form, the women helped numerous other crews load their boats before collecting their medal - doing the club proud in more ways than one. 

‘’As always, a massive thank you goes to David, for making us all feel comfortable in the challenging conditions’’ - Rachel Paterson, reserve female rower and QLD state team representative. David displayed some incredible sweeping all weekend, David’s talent reading the surf, and coaching was recognised throughout the weekend by commentators. 

Big thank-you's also go to our support teams at home. We were all very appreciative of the messages we received throughout the weekend from other clubbies who were watching along on the live stream. Many of us also had the support of friends and family at home looking after children and holding the fort while we were away. Special mention to Linc, our go-to man this weekend. Without you, our rowing and our celebrations would not have been the same.

And finally, as always, Kate Tomba has been our ultimate supporter. Unfortunately Kate was unable to row this year, Kate was on the beach every day, providing mentorship, guidance and encouragement. Kate worked extremely hard behind the scenes to make this weekend run smoothly for us all, and we are so grateful for Kate’s organisational skills and endless love and support.

As usual, keep an eye on @CoolumBoaties Instagram for updates.