Countless hours of hard work will be put to the test when 13 Bundaberg rowers contest the Australian Rowing Championships in Tasmania starting on Monday 22 March.
The Bundaberg Rowing Club contingent will contest the week-long championships at the Lake Barrington Rowing Centre which incorporate the Australian Open Rowing Championships, Australian Open Schools Rowing Championships and king’s and Queen’s Cup Interstate Regatta.
Four team members Dayne Mortimer, Sam Klotz, Toby Reynolds (all representing St Luke’s Anglican School) and Jayne Wakes (Bundaberg North State High School) will also contest the schools championships while Rebecca Markwell will represent Queensland in the interstate regatta.
Other members of the team are Joseph Black, Sienna Clark, Asia Heaps, Isabella Kuhn, Kaitlyn Rochford, Christian Lane-Kerbs, Megan O’Connor, and Jorja Mortimer.
Rebecca and Joseph are the only members of the team to have previously contested the Australian championships, with several of their clubmates denied the opportunity to make their debuts last year when COVID-19 restriction prevented the event from going ahead in Sydney.
One of the Bundaberg rowers debutantes Dayne Mortimer who is now focussed on performing strongly at his first national event.
“It will be a good opportunity for us to see where we are at against top competition,” Dayne said.
“I feel that we are up there with some of the best in Australia. It will be good to be rewarded for all the hard training after missing out on Sydney last year.”
Dayne said he and his doubles partner Toby Reynolds were regular top three finishers in state competition and was confident that their strong form at that level would transfer well into the national championships.
He hoped to reach the A finals of the singles scull competition and finish with a podium spot in the fours in which he will row in a composite team featuring Toby and two Maroochydore rowers.
Dayne said the distance between the clubs meant the four rowers had been restricted to just two training sessions together, one in Bundaberg and the other at Maroochydore, but he had been encouraged by what the composite crew had achieved together.
“We just synced together incredibly well, and we’re fast on the water,” he said.
Dayne was pleased to be a member of the Bundaberg Rowing Club’s largest Australian Rowing Championship contingent for many years and attributed the success to the enthusiasm and improved performances generated by club coach Rod Dick.
Rebecca and Christian, who will line up in para-rowing competition, are expected to figure strongly in medal contention.
The Bundaberg rowers' training regime has involved four two-hour sessions on the Burnett River per week, including three 5am starts, in addition to two or three weekly training sessions in the gym.
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