St Kilda Life Saving Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Beach

St Kilda Life Saving Club

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 9534 4465

Address: 34 Jacka Boulevard 3812 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://stklsc.com.au/

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• Non-profit organisation
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06.05.2022 Two up this morning. Just waiting, poised for the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’s’ 3 bow waves to come in for our daily ‘Surf’ practice!!! With moody sky’s for the Masters / Ressies and young women! Plus... #kateDurrant logging more hours on the long oar, after rowing in the earlier session! Photo credit (and thanks) to the local gentleman who took this, then came up after the session to Airdrop us a copy! #stkildaboaties #thebigwaveclub

23.04.2022 Victorian State Titles V2.0 5 St Kilda crews took to the water to contest the Previously postponed state titles. With 5 crews, St Kilda had the equal most crews (with Port Campbell) The Crews have been toiling away all year, training hard and this is a good step on our way to Aussies. ... Before we go into the individual crews, we wouldn’t be here without the support of the committee and our training sweeps, who help out guiding our crews, filling in as sweeps and rowers. So thank you to Kate Durrant, Simon Gurr and Marcus Stacey. Now the teams.... I’ll start with the most seasoned crew the Angry Dogs in Reserve grade. The Dogs are a 220 years masters crew who are still very competitive in Ressies.... great rowing and speed in the rounds saw the crew make the final. And despite a good row, we were unable to match it with the true Ressies crews in their mid 20’s and a couple of 160 and 180 masters crews. But we kept them all honest and were right on their tails in a flat hard drag race for a 5th placing. Open women - we’ve been improving well and slowly chipping away at the leaders all year. In a strong field the ladies put in some good rows, and were never more than a few lengths from the leaders in each race, earning a 5th place finish. Open Men - 3 2nds to the Lorne crew and a win saw the men take home the silver. Good, hard, close racing all day saw both St Kilda and Lorne well ahead, but in the end we were a little off, but happy with where we are in the build up to Aussies. Ressies women - with 3 x under 23 girls and a 24 year old, we were the youngest crew in the field. However 3 good rounds saw the crew make the final. After a terrible start(er?) the crew were last out of the break, however regrouped and powered through the field to turn in 1st. On the run home the girls rose to another level, and managed to pull over the final wave to finish clear and are our newest state champions. This was our first State title Gold in Reserve women. Under 23 women- in a 3 round, round robin , the girls had a clean sweep, however kept their best til last powering away from the competition to win well and truly clear. This was our under 19 crew form last year, so in their first year in under 23’s the future looks bright. Thank you to all the rowers, parents and cheerleaders on the beach and especially to life member Leigh Reither for doing duty boat for the club..... with winter IRB racing fast approaching, if you’d like to learn some new skills and continue on St Kilda’s winning ways... let Leigh know!

07.04.2022 We were joined for sunrise today by a very friendly little penguin!

29.03.2022 Well done to the 4 St Kilda crews who made the trip to Portland for the VSRL open. 2 gold (& earning state team selection) -Under 23 Women -Reserve Grade Male... 1 silver - Open Women 1 Bronze - Reserve Women Great work crews!

09.03.2022 Good Morning Melbourne... (photo credit K-Dog) Open women and under 23 women head to sea!

24.01.2022 Sorry for the delay.... but here’s a ‘Mad Monday’ pic. This was the St Kilda Open Women at Ocean Thunder Surf Boat Series in NSW. The crew- Shea Grant, Pip Tesselar, Megan McLeod, Jay Lambert and Matt Culka... The race before I’d asked the girls to try harder to catch the wave.... in this race, I didn’t want to catch the wave, but it was too late. The boat was a trial modification boat and the result of all that was that it weighed 230kg as opposed to the 197kg of our competitors. And that extra 33kg was all in the nose! In order to keep my dignity for at least another week.... I’ll save the rest of the shots in this sequence for next weeks ‘Mad Monday’

24.01.2022 A quick wrap up while I sit at Yass servo..... The open boys finished a credible 6th in the open mens final.... but we want more, so are returning to St Kilda to put in more training and effort for the states and Aussies to come. Weve already covered the results of the Young ladies and masters men......... But...... Let me say a huge thank you to all the st Kilda rowers.... you all competed incredibly well and St Kilda LSC is so proud of you all.... There were 5 life Members is St Kilda Who came and witnessed the result of your work and effort... and we are all so proud of you. On behalf of the committee.... congratulations and we look forward to seeing you having another crack at States and Aussies. Finally to the parents and supporters.... none of this would happen without you.... THANK YOU for making the trip and carrying boats, cheering loudest and supplying the food, drinks and coffee! Signing off.... Team St Kilda driver.

24.01.2022 St Kilda Lifesaving Club is heart broken for our friends from Port Campbell Surf Lifesaving Club who have lost two members today attempting to save the life of a tourist washed off rocks. A third member is in Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition, and we wish them a speedy recovery. Our condolences to the family, the club and the community of Port Campbell!

23.01.2022 elimination draws... the dreaded lane 6.... none have made it through from there yet.. we plan to be the First ones!!!

22.01.2022 Well folks.... Day 2 update! Luck certainly wasnt on our side today.... and while we dont row hoping for luck, we hope for no bad luck.... and that was today! But we always say if the piggy keeps going to the trough, eventually they get a feed!!!! And today was no better example of that....... All ..... yes ALL.... our crews rowed fantastically and managed to overcome and have ALL progressed to tomorrows finals. The Under 19 Salamanders managed some great results from horrid lanes and capitalised when they could - qualified 4th out of 6 only to progress. (Too 12) and more to come! The under 23 Storm showed great surf skills in overcoming some big big steep waves! They handled these so incredibly well (I tear up with pride just writing this) - qualified 5th out of only 7 to go through - (top 14) - and more to come! The open mens Angry Otter Spotters rowed fast fast & despite all that could have derailed their campaign being thrown at them, the men did just enough to get through - Qualified 10th out of only 11 to go through (top 21) - and more to come! All crews kept sticking their noses in the trough and while our appetites havent been satisfied, we all now join the Reserve Grade men (who qualified 3rd) in tomorrows finals! To put this into perspective.... 10 Victorian crews made it through to tomorrow.... St Kilda have 4!

22.01.2022 Friday Flash Back #4 - IRBs part 2 A bit of a long one today... but a great read and a few great shots of the racing, the old club and the fun times ST Kilda LSC members had travelling in NZ. After a successful first year of racing in 95. 3rd overall and winning 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at state championships. The 96 IRB season brought a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around the club. Was this a chance for club success , which the club had been looking for after so...Continue reading

22.01.2022 ASRL Open 2020 The carnival is only 2/3 of the way through, but to say ST Kilda has shon would be an understatement. First in massive surf, the Angry Dogs showed incredible surf skill in the 220 male division. The boys did get the rough end of the surf gods on this occasion, but theyve been around long enough to have also been on the good end in the past. But despite that the crew were all very proud to finish 5th.... Also on day 1, the ST Kilda sweep jumped into a well drilled and credentialed crew from Fairhaven to help out, and managed to enjoy the ride to a gold with the 200 womens division. On day 2 the open men and women and under 19 & 23 females headed to Long beach, near Batemans bay. The predicted flat surf came with a nasty shore break that saw a number of back shoots, candle sticks and broken oars. Despite this all crews showed incredible competitiveness. The Under 19 and under 23 women both, not only handles the conditions, but were at the front of most races. And after 3 rounds of the round robin, harsh cuts, quarters and semis BOTH crew made their finals. The crews didnt put a foot wrong all day, until I drew out lane 6. But despite this, both crews gave their all and were right in it to the end. The under 19s led the field out, but were unable to keep pace as the inner lanes had better runners. And the under 23s shot across the line on the same wave as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th..... but we were given 6th due to the wave angle to the finish line. The open women, who have trouble getting in the boat to train together, with one member ( Sky Jensen) rowing in the under 23s and another (Kate Durrant) co-coaching and sweeping both the under 19s and 23s, were fantastic and took it to the Open women. The girls surprised themselves, and were right in all races, never finishing last, but not able to progress. The open men turned many heads. With 2 x 1sts in race 1 & 2 the boys took a he 3rd, but from 2 lengths down, rowed down the field to turn almost on terms and then finishing on the lead wave were given 3rd. Tomorrow the Open men head back to Mollymook to the large surf, so itll be a test of speed, skill and a tad of luck. Following this the Open men, under 19 women and under 23 women will all pull on the BIG V and represent Victoria! Hopefully we have more great news to report tomorrow, but for now, good night. And for reference... this is the shore dump at the flat VACU beach that all our crews handled superbly....

21.01.2022 Friday Flash Back #4 - IRB’s part 2 A bit of a long one today... but a great read and a few great shots of the racing, the old club and the fun times ST Kilda LSC members had travelling in NZ. After a successful first year of racing in 95. 3rd overall and winning 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at state championships. The 96 IRB season brought a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around the club. Was this a chance for club success , which the club had been looking for after so...Continue reading

19.01.2022 A bit of a COVID Iso "Flashback Friday" blast from the past. Did you ever wonder how St Kilda LSC started in Surfboats? Well here's a couple of pictures. ... #1 Fixed seats on the Yarra (in June) shows the dedication of these first rowers (June 2001). #2 The split gunwhale shot was done in the warm up of St Kilda's first State Titles (Fairhaven 2002), and with no spares that was the end of our first Vics. #3 The fisrt crew photo. Without theses members, we wouldn't be where we are today. Thank you!

19.01.2022 Millions of people traditionally descend on Australian beaches at this time of year, but the simple message from surf lifesavers for Easter is stay safe, stay ...home. Ahead of the Easter holidays and with predicted warm weather across multiple states, Surf Life Saving Australia is pleading with the public to stay away from the beach, in support of the Federal Governments advice to stay home and slow the rate of COVID-19 transmission. Read more here - https://bit.ly/2UVIYqJ #Staysafe #Stayhome #Stayconnected

17.01.2022 Aussies finals day 2019. Sorry for the lack of posting... Quarters took us from the final 16 to final 12 - St Kilda through.... 1st semis took us from 12 to 8 - St Kilda through Next is the major semis which will take the field from 8 to 6 for the final. The st Kilda Open boys are moving well and the surf gods have smiled on us thus far.

16.01.2022 Mad Monday #2 or 3... On our mad Mondays well try and post some of the more mad pictures from lifesaving. If it can be of St Kilda members, great... but when I compare the total number of available spectacular photos of St Kilda LSC vs some other clubs.... well we just havent spent as much time swimming as others. ... Is this a good thing or bad?.... whos to say. In the end I choose to believe that being unspectacular results in less shots.... for many photographers going in and out straight is just plain boring. Sure weve had a few swims... sure we try and extend our boundaries.... either way... enjoy! This week the pic is of our Open Women around 2009/2010.... making this wave gave them the win! Helene, Victoria Lally, Rachael Wills & Jeanette if I recall correctly.

16.01.2022 What a day of racing for St Kilda today at the Australian Surfboat Rowers League - Australian Open... The Angry Dogs went undefeated to take out all rounds and then the final of the 220 masters! (Pictured) The boys then popped in Matthew Jeffrey for Reserve Grade, qualifying in 3rd place after the 3 round robin start. The boys now progress to the finals day on Sunday.... And we Just wrapped up the SLSA/ASRL Interstate Surfboat Championships. Outstanding performance by The Big V in particulate our three crews. The Salamanders (Under 19 women), Storm (Under 23 women) and Angry Otter Spotters (Open Men) helping Victoria to a very close overall Second place. All st Kilda State team crews (pictured) did an amazing job, handling testing surf and turning a few heads. But were not here just to turn heads.... were here to row fast and aim high! The #ExnerGroup boat was always at the pointy end of the field, is highly visible ......and is a lovely boat to race. So a huge thank you to Exner Group for all your support. Thank you to Life Members Stuart Cassin and Victoria Lally for making the day trip up to support the crews! Lastly a massive thank you and Congratulations to all the St Kilda rowers.... you all did our club proud beyond belief. Another update tomorrow!

14.01.2022 Mad Monday #2 or 3... On our mad Mondays we’ll try and post some of the more ‘mad’ pictures from lifesaving. If it can be of St Kilda members, great... but when I compare the total number of available ‘spectacular’ photos of St Kilda LSC vs some other clubs.... well we just haven’t spent as much time swimming as others. ... Is this a good thing or bad?.... who’s to say. In the end I choose to believe that being ‘unspectacular’ results in less shots.... for many photographers going in and out straight is just plain boring. Sure we’ve had a few swims... sure we try and extend our boundaries.... either way... enjoy! This week the pic is of our Open Women around 2009/2010.... making this wave gave them the win! Helene, Victoria Lally, Rachael Wills & Jeanette if I recall correctly.

14.01.2022 Heres some drone footage of the St Kilda Salamanders leading home all the other states in the first leg of the all crews (8) interstate relay. It was the perfect start for Victoria and set us up beautifully! #teamnavy #stkildalsc #exnergroup ... Corey James Lovell Tanya Croker

13.01.2022 Mad Monday (Wacky Wednesday).... No words needed. (Photo credit Scarlett Blewett) Tune in for This weeks Friday Flashback where we will delve into the dominant ST Kilda IRB team of the 1990s.

13.01.2022 Good Morning Melbourne... (photo credit K-Dog) Open women and under 23 women head to sea!

12.01.2022 We are having a break from Surf Boats for a few weeks to look back even further. We will be back in a couple of weeks with some more surf boats and our focus on our early female crews. But for now, to keep things vaguely chronological, we really need to look back at our IRB team of the 1990s In the 1980s St Kilda LSC was small. Really small..... the club had come as close to folding as anyone could imagine. (More on that in coming weeks)... As a result and only having a small patroling group and only having instructors in bronze, Leigh and Kristin Reither sought help from Royal life saving society (Mark Scott-RLSS boat squad) to attain their IRB drivers. (At that time Royal Life Saving, had all the bay clubs and Surf Life Saving all the coastal clubs. These two joined to form what we all now know as Lifesaving Victoria) They were subsequently invited to join the RLSS boat squad to help at summer carnivals and their skills and love for IRBs grew. In the early 90s the club had a insurgence of young members and started attending RLSS IRB camps. As the members grew, the club started competing in summer carnivals, with good individual results but no club awards as we were going up against bigger and much more experienced and better equipped teams. In 1995, the club looking to keep the momentum going , started IRB racing, as it is held in winter, thus allowing our limited membership to maintain patrolling duties at St Kilda over the summer patrol season. In its first year of racing , stkilda came third overall and even hosted its first IRB carnival on St Kilda beach. It was a good start and began (again) a period of great competitiveness for St Kilda LSC, which we will look into next week. If you have been following our posts and pictures from the start of the surf boats at St Kilda LSC and these photos below, you will start to recognise some familiar faces. Sure the hair was redder, longer and the rigs a little tidier, but the passion for ST Kilda LSC unquestionable. And, in reality, two of the major factors in St Kilda LSCs continued existence are Leigh and Kristen Reither. Both are Life Members and Leigh is still our resident IRB guru, captain, instructor and coach. If you see either about the club, dont be afraid to say hello (and possibly thank you) and Im sure youll hear about some great times (antics) of St Kilda LSC.

12.01.2022 Great day today! First hit out of the season and first carnival of the State Team Selection series. (3 events - best 2 results count) In relatively flat conditions and with good Rowing all the crews performed very well.... Open Men (Angry Otters) - 1st Open Women (Stkilda A)- 2nd reserve Men (Angry Dogs)- semis Under 23 women (Fun Size)- 1st Under 19 women (Salamanders)- 1st Well done

11.01.2022 Minor semis....

11.01.2022 Finish Open Men race #1

11.01.2022 ASRL 2020 final wrap. After 3 days and a couple of beaches our open men qualified for the final! Unfortunately we didnt put together our best race, but were certainly still moving with the pack, but finished a close but disappointing 6th and with renewed vigour for the coming months of training and the state and national titles.... So in the end St Kilda fielded 5 crews in 5 events... we were in 4 finals with a 5th and 3 x 6ths. And while not in the medals on this occasion, all 4 crews in finals were on the pace and showed just how competitive ST Kilda rowers are! The State team racing was cancelled, and with 3 st kilda crews of the 8 and 1 each from 5 other clubs, I feel this year was going to be Victorias year. But to those St Kilda crews - congratulations again of your selections. On behalf of the club and the committee can I say how proud we are of not just the competitive side of our rowers, but how you all conduct yourselves. And on behalf of the rowers can I thank the club and committee for all your support.

10.01.2022 Waiting for the draws.... North area results after 3 rounds...

10.01.2022 1st Elimination - St Kilda in lane 6 (far right)

09.01.2022 Congratulations Shayan and all the St Kilda patrolling members for a great result in the state patrol efficiency competition. 11th in the state is an awesome result!

08.01.2022 Aussies update days #2, #3 & #4.... Day 2 saw more masters racing, bit no St Kilda crews racing. But former St Kilda rowers ( Cindy Plowman) & Shea Grant both won terrific gold medals in the 140 and 160 years womens masters divisions rowing for Torquay and Lorne respectively. ... Congratulations Cindy & Shea. Day 3 saw the StKilda Open Men taking on the Open Male short Course event. In its first year and in very tricky conditions the St Kilda men made the Semi Finals (top 8 ). However while leading the semi a poor call (or a tricky wave if you ask the sweep) popped up and the boat nose dived losing 4 or the 5 crew. While that was disappointing, the crew did really well, were near the front in every race, (which was needed to progress with 4 in a race and only 2 progressing each round), abut came out of it with no injuries and no damage.... a rarity for many in the conditions. Day 4 - again St Kilda has no crews rowing as the planned Under 23 women was postponed. So now - Day 5 (tomorrow) will see our under 23 ladies and our under 19 ladies racing at north Kirra beach. Good luck ladies!

08.01.2022 Well folks thats it..... Out in the semis... (final 8 ) Made it across the line but got DQd for missing them gate can.... Thanks to all our supporters.... well all be back stronger and faster next year...... with new oars (right Mr President?)

07.01.2022 State titles 2019 Wrap! The states have been run and won, and to say St Kilda LSC did well would be an understatement! Below is a crew by crew break down, but to open the wrap I wanted to say just how in awe I am of all our rowers. Today they wore the St Kilda two blues with pride and added to our proud history. ...Continue reading

07.01.2022 #stkildalsc #exnergroup #teamnavy #asrl Exner Group and St Kilda right in the mix! Both Under 23 girls and Under 19 girls through to the finals..... open men half way through the rounds! Full update later tonight.

06.01.2022 Aussies 2019 Update Day 1 Masters day today and only 1 St Kilda Crew on the line. (Angry Dogs in the Male 220 years division) In a rising, choppy, windy surf that saw a number of roll overs, back shoots and broken oars the St Kilda crew had the usual.... youre a bay club arent you from our northers neighbours. They usually follow this up with a ....you dont get many waves like this at St Kilda do you?.... its about this time they saunter away chuckling at their own h...ilarity. I usually try to rebuff this ignorance with my own extremely hilarious quip about getting 3 perfect waves at 0615 every morning when the Spirit Of Tasmania comes in! But I digress..... So today in testing conditions the St Kilda Boys showed that we are equally as capable in a surf as any. The boys made it through the rounds to qualify for the semis.... a win in the semis saw them in the final. In a great race, (and a good lane), the boys led all the way to win back to back Aussie titles. Congratulations St Kilda Angry Dogs - Simon Gurr, Peter Walkington, Ken Lark and Paul Younis)

06.01.2022 Rd 3 Open Men.... Holy heck!!!! Good start, wave after wave... got out (or so we thought) and started to row down the field when something from a subterranean earth quake popped up..... just after our second orbit of the sun, we came down minus a 2 seat, who thought he saw some sunken treasures! ... Once back in the boat and considerably last..... we again took off after the field, whod All now turned.... A bit of luck and a good chase saw us snag a 4th (Of 6).... Awaiting draws now for elimination round 1!

06.01.2022 A few days late for last weeks "Friday Fashback" and as promised. A focus on the early Female crews. In 2003 St Kilda embarked on an expansion. We had 2 male crews and 1 female crew. Swept here by Wayne Lee these ladies paved the way and all took to the oar for the first time. During this time LSV held a few more "bay" carnivals where clubs new to surf boat / surf sport, new rowers, new crews and new sweeps could hone their skills and find competitive racing at the more no...vice level. The ladies of St Kilda's early crews showed what could be achieved through their dedication to learning and attitude to improvement. And in a very short period, the St Kilda females won their first pennant, at Mordialloc in 2004. A picture of the clubs first pennants and crews can be seen in the club, in the stairs up to the patrol tower. Have a look next time you are at the club. A few years after this (2008) the St Kilda Open women were starting to travel interstate and improve their competitiveness through series like "Ocean Thunder - Pro surfboat series", and by 2012 were finding form winning the clubs first Open Women State medal (Bronze). Throughout this time there was one common trait amongst the St Kilda women. A dedicated and very importantly for the club and our new sweeps loyality to St Kilda LSC. Without this, the club, the crews and the sweeps would not have progressed.

06.01.2022 This is in a pool..... imagine a natural water environment like the one we patrol folks...... Lifesavers and PARENTS alike....if you arent watching properly and recognise the signs of drowning when theyre on the surface.... you wont see the body on the bottom until its too late... Drowning can happen quickly, silently and in seconds. People struggling to swim are often using their arms to try and pull their body to water level, not splashing. Take this Disappearing Dummies example from Dr. Tom Griffiths of Penn State University. Now you see it, now you don't. Even when looking directly at the water, a drowning person can disappear quickly due to wind, water disturbances and other swimmers. Learn how we use computer-aided vision technology to alert lifeguards to emergencies like this: www.drowningprevention.com.au

03.01.2022 We may patrol a relatively safe beach. But its the relatively safe beach where weak and non swimmers tend to go. So have a read of this article and think of the many non swimmers who attend St Kilda Beach and hire a SUP, go for a wade or rely on a floatation aid! It doesnt take long for them to drown..... would you recognise it?... https://www.soundingsonline.com//drowning-doesnt-look-like

03.01.2022 Aussies 2019 Day #5 Today the Under 19 and Under 23 St Kilda Ladies took on Australias best in a unpredictable surf and a steep back bank in the surf at Nth Kirra. While many crews slewed and rolled, the St Kilda Ladies showed their skill to conquer the surf.... The under 23s - The St Kilda Storm (Kerrie OJames, Sky Jensen, Stephanie Hibburt & Emma Croker) finished in 13th position after the round robin. However with officials trying to get through the program the cut was made at 10 crews only progressing. After only forming as a crew in early April and with only 3 carnivals Under our belts, this was a most impressive performance. The under 19s - The St Kilda Salamanders (Cal Segafredo, Tess Miller, Emily Alberico & Lana Croker) also tackled and conquered the surf. With a win and good results in the rounds the ladies progressed to the elimination rounds and then into the Semi finals. Turning in Second the girls were looking good, when lanes 4,5 & 6 sailed past on a wave as we rowed all the way home. Both crews performed tremendously and added to St Kildas reputation as a competitive boat club. I am most proud of the ladies. Their effort and improvement has been outstanding and we were all most competitive. Thank you to firstly the rowers but also a very special mention to all the mums and dads. Thank you for trusting us with your daughters, for your support, enthusiasm and all the work you do to assist.

03.01.2022 FRIDAY FLASHBACK #2 Following from last week it would be remiss not to mention our very first boat. The "Gippslander II" along with trailer and oars was donated to the club by Seaspray SLSC. (Pictures 1 & 2)... The boat is now Orange and still sits outside the Beachcomber Cafe on St Kilda Beach, the trailer we donated on to Apollo Bay, under a different boat and the oars..... Well one sits as a trophy in the club house above the office, in the entrance hall way, as a trophy to recognise all Victorian Open State Title gold medal winners. The remaining three are still in the club house and are only now pulled out for special occasions (Boat christenings). A HUGE shout out and thank you to SEASPRAY SLSC. For without this gift, we would not have been able to start Following this the boat area grew rappidly. Soon we needed a "tanked" boat (all the modern rage in the early 2000's) and purchased an old Fairhaven boat (The shark mouth), which the crew at the time sanded, loved, hugged and repainted under the old club house in 2002/2003. (Pic #3 & 4) This boat we donated to France. I believe it is currently in Portugal or Spain. Finally - Pic 5 is the men around the new boat at Mordialloc in 2003/2004. Also early on (2003) St Kilda LSC was quick to take up female rowing. Only officially beginning in the late 90's (1995), many clubs were anti female crews, and in the early 2000's some of the more traditional surf boat rowing clubs had yet to develop womens crews. Having said that Victoria was blessed with many of the nations top female crews in Point Lonsdale, Portsea, Waratah Beach and Point Leo all making Aussie finals in the early years. So competing in the Open Female division was tough competition. The first couple of 'Friday Flashbacks' have focused on our male crews, because it was these driving forces who started our area and rowed the first couple of years. But Next weeks "Friday Flashback" will focus on St Kildas first female crews to compete, who started very early.

03.01.2022 Open Men race one... lane 3 (second boat from left) Bulli lane 6

02.01.2022 Into the Open Male final.... St Kilda has had lane 1 or 2 all day with all crews and its not the best of ends.... but you have a lane you have a weapon! Here we go!!!

01.01.2022 Day 3 up and running. A beautiful day today... Ressies Men has to make a late change due to illness in the Open Men. So Matt Jeffery got the call up for the As and Shane Lee who rowed with the masters boys at Aussies last year was dragged kicking and screaming from the bar late last night.... The boys (a 220 masters crew) gave great account and missed out by only 2 lengths in a fairly flat row. The Open boys (the St Kilda Angry Otter Spotters) had their first elimination early and with harsh cuts (6 in 3 through) had to be on their game.... and a good early row saw our boys through and into the top 12 to join the St Kilda Salamanders (Under 19 girls) and St Kilda Storm (Under 23 girls) More to come.... the competition is tough and well do our best. #teamnavy #asrl #stkildalsc

01.01.2022 Race #2... Open men Lane 1 St Kilda Lane 2 South Curl Curl lane 3 Currumbin A... Lane 4 Corrimal Lane 5 Avoca Beach .......(Not a bad heat) The starter - South Curl Curl After a shocking start with a wave under the boat, followed by 4 big waves on the nose the boys were 10 lengths down by the back of the break. But some great rowing saw them close the gap and turn 7 lengths down and close enough for a wave to have a sniff. Taking a risk not to trail and be able to row across the gutter the boys held it together to stay straight and take the win! One more round to go in the round robin, then the cut throat eliminations.

01.01.2022 Sorry for the delay.... but heres a Mad Monday pic. This was the St Kilda Open Women at Ocean Thunder Surf Boat Series in NSW. The crew- Shea Grant, Pip Tesselar, Megan McLeod, Jay Lambert and Matt Culka... The race before Id asked the girls to try harder to catch the wave.... in this race, I didnt want to catch the wave, but it was too late. The boat was a trial modification boat and the result of all that was that it weighed 230kg as opposed to the 197kg of our competitors. And that extra 33kg was all in the nose! In order to keep my dignity for at least another week.... Ill save the rest of the shots in this sequence for next weeks Mad Monday

01.01.2022 Congratulations to the St Kilda LSC Under 23 ladies... who again qualified to represent Victoria! Despite some testing waves, these ladies powered through the field and were clearly the best crew. It was a mixed bag for the rest of us in some tricky conditions, but all the crews were moving fast. The open Men finished a close 2nd despite leading 2 or the 3 rounds, only to come unstuck in the shore break. A bit more surf work and we go to Portland VSRL Open still in the hunt... to represent Victoria again. Open Women turned a corner in training this week, but it hasnt transferred into racing yet (as expected) but close enough to give us confidence. The under 19 ladies rowed in the Reserve grade women and were well on pace. And looking forward to The next carnival and our chance to also push for State Team Selection. Ressies men had a win and a 4th, then a broken oar on the start ended our chances. A bit of broken equipment, but no broken people, and all crews looking in good shape for the run into States and Aussies. Thanks to all the parents and supporters who make my day racing so much more enjoyable. And all the rowers for the effort that gives me pride every time we race.