The Victorian State Team Representatives were decided over the three carnivals held in:

• Ocean Grove – December 17 2023
• Warrnambool – January 7 2024
• Jan Juc – January 20 2024

The best of three competitions saw some quality racing with tight results in some age categories.

The formal recognition of this team was held after the VSRL Open carnival with special guest speaker Naantali Marshall, who spoke on her experiences representing Victoria over numerous years. A Professional Uncle Toby’s and Nutrigrain Iron Women, Naantali recently won the Lifesaving Victoria Masters Athlete of the Year award and had a clean sweep at the 2023 Australian Champs.

Naantali spoke on how important it is to be one with your team and really engage with your competition environment.

The VSRL are extremely proud of the epic group representing Victoria this year, and we can’t wait to see them perform at the 2024 Team Navy ASRL Open on February 16th at Lorne SLSC.

2023/24 Victorian State Team Representatives

• U19 Male – Port Campbell Subsonics
• U19 Female – Jan Juc Jets
• U23 Male – Lorne with the Wind
• U23 Female – Williamstown WAP
• Reserve Male – Fairhaven Half Tonne of Meat
• Reserve Female – Angleseayalaters
• Open Male – Fairhaven Angry Otters
• Open Female – Lorne Edge

Wow, wow, wow. The 2024 VSRL Open certainly showed us all the thrills and spills of surfboat rowing. 45 crews took to the water and tackled the large surf, showing tremendous skill and resilience. Congratulations to everyone who participated in this huge event for surf boats in Victoria.

Everyone from far and wide across Victoria attended to ensure this one was special and we sure couldn’t thank everyone enough. A few special mentions below:

• Tamara Brawn, Pete Van Deuran and all of our event officials, coordinators and water safety
• Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club for hosting the event
• Stewart from Team Navy
• Aaron Tannahill, for his behind-the-scenes work communicating from Jan Juc SLSC to the VSRL panel and ensuring everything went to plan.
• Ben Hynes for the live entertainment in the clubrooms post-carnival.
• Concept 2 and Gotcha4Life for their support in providing us with fantastic goods to hand out as prize packs
• Nathan Waddell, for assisting in the planning and gaining the above sponsorships and the drone partnership.
• Aaron Green, LSV aquatic sports director for his presence and help throughout the day.

WINNERS FOR EACH AGE GROUP

• U19 Male – Port Campbell Subsonics
• U19 Female – Jan Juc Jets
• U23 Male – Lorne with the Wind
• U23 Female – Fairhaven Salamanders
• Reserve Male – Fairhaven Half Tonne of Meat
• Reserve Female – Mordialloc MOJO
• Open Male – Fairhaven Angry Otters
• Open Female – Fairhaven Salamanders

All results can be found on the ASRL app under “2024 VSRL #4 Jan Juc”

Throughout the weekend, participants had the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and develop essential skills needed for surf boat rowing. From interactive workshops to thought-provoking discussions on nutrition, this event aimed to build a passion in our youth that would carry them into their senior years.

Our team of experienced mentors and speakers guided attendees through various sessions covering topics from race starts and bouyo turns to ergos and rowing technique. Valuable insights and practical tools were gained to set a strong foundation.

SKILLS LEARNT

• Surf Sessions
• Ergo Tips
• Goal Setting
• Technical Evaluation
• Mentor Discussion