ANA Rowing Club

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Location:                        Milne St, Bayswater.  Perth, Western Australia.  

Established:                    1921

Racing Colours:              Black and White vertical stripes   

Oar Blade:                       Black and White     

ANA rowing shed and clubrooms from Garratt Rd bridge.	The club is located at the A.P. Hinds Reserve, on the banks of the Swan River just upstream from the Garratt Rd bridge, in Bayswater.   The rowing shed was constructed in 1992, after the club relocated from the ARAWA complex at Canning Bridge.  It is a significant improvement on the cramped conditions we previously endured and has allowed ANA to substantially increase its fleet of boats.
ANA's fleet has undergone a massive improvement program in the last few years, with around $120,000 being spent on new equipment.  The highlight of the recent acquisitions is the winning Penrith Cup coxless four from the 2002 Nationals, along with an ex' WAIS pair/double and the Australian men's silver medal winning Vespoli 8+ from the Sydney Olympics. The club now has an expanding fleet of minimum weight kevlar boats which includes:  three doubles and two pairs convertible to doubles, two coxed fours, two coxless four/quads and an eight.  This is backed by over 50 other club boats (including 16 sculls) for racing, training and recreational purposes.	Inside ANA's boat shed.
ANA's clubroom and gym facilities.	As well as the rowing shed, ANA also has a large clubroom facility which houses our gym, changerooms and entertainmant area.   The clubrooms have been renovated from their original existence as a council toilet block and thanks to the assistance of the Bayswater Council and a lot of hard work from club members, provide a comfortable area to get together after a row or sit down for a cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, Bayswater council have just recently (Feb' 06) submitted a development proposal to the Swan River Trust which if successful, would involve the demolition of these clubrooms.  Click here for more info.
Even though this is Perth and that means wind, wind and more wind, ANA is lucky enough to have one of the best stretches of water around to train on. The water upstream from Garratt rd bridge provides an excellent stretch for a long distance row without the usual inconviences of  whitecaps and speedboat wash to deal with. If you're lucky, you'll even get the occasional dolphin to keep you company !	Swan river from Garratt Rd bridge.

Club History

Click here to find out a bit about the club's history.

Club Equipment

The Club owns boats, oars and coaching equipment for the use of its members.  Use of most of the more delicate racing boats is restricted to members involved in racing who have developed their technique and boat handling skills at a level to properly look after this equipment and who are competing at a level which warrants its use.

If you are in any doubt as to what equipment you should be using, then ask a senior club member who will be able to assist you before you take the boat off the rack.  Racing equipment should only be used with the permission of the Captain or in their absence one of the vice captains.

Rowing craft are both expensive and very delicate.  The boats and oars should be handled with care at all times.  Members using club equipment are responsible for  its safe return and may be held accountable for any damage incurred through reckless or careless use.  Any accidental damage to boats or oars should be promptly reported to your coach (if you have one), the Captain or senior committee member.

Please read the club's Boat Handling Guidelines to make sure you know your responsibilities when dealing with club equipment. 

Club Management

ANA Rowing Club does not have any paid employees.  The Club is a not for profit organisation totally dependent upon volunteers who contribute their time outside of working hours to run the club free of charge.  Because of this the management of the club and the communication process with members is often not as it would be if the club were run by full time employees on a commercial basis.  If you think you could help make the club run better then please do not hesitate to volunteer.

In addition the club depends upon the support of members to help run fixtures and fundraising events, repair boats, help coach beginners, recruit new members and generally assist in the conduct its operations.  However membership fees are a fraction of the cost of those that would be necessary to employ administrators and coaches.

Each year, usually in February, office bearers (Captain, Vice Captains, President Secretary, Treasurer, etc) and other Committee members are elected by club members at an Annual General Meeting.  The office bearers have specific duties under the club constitution.  Day to day operations are generally under the control of the Captain.

The Committee meets once a month and reviews the activities of the office bearers and considers club policies and activities.  The Committee also acts as an appeals body for members who feel aggrieved by decisions of individual office bearers.

If you have a query about the running of the club, feel you have some skills that could be useful or would like to become involved in management of the club don’t be afraid to ask or make constructive suggestions .  Contribution by actions rather than words is most appreciated, but please check first in case there is a reason why something is being done a certain way or not done at all!

River Safety

To promote a safe environment on the river for both racing and social crews it is important that crews obey traffic rules.  Diagrams of the river, with obstacles marked, upstream and downstream of the boatshed are displayed around the shed with obstacles marked.  Crews and coxes should familiarise themselves with these and obey the river traffic rules at all times.

Novice scullers and coxes should study the rules of the river and navigation rules carefully before taking to the water.  The Club requires that scullers have reached a degree of competency before taking sculls out on their own.  Generally this will involve participation on the sculling course or demonstrable ability to handle a scull from rowing experience.  Scullers who have successfully completed the sculling course are encouraged not to scull alone until sufficiently experienced and confident to handle a range of water conditions.  Novice coxes are encouraged to begin by coxing more experienced crews and should only take out beginner crews under the supervision of a coach.

Crews should keep to the Ascot Racecourse side of the river when proceeding upstream (including when passing Ron Courtney Island) and the opposite (Clubhouse) side when proceeding downstream.  Crews moving downstream should pass Ron Courtney Island on the opposite of the island side to crews going upstream.  Crews proceeding downstream will also need to move to the centre of the river to pass the red marker post 750 metres upstream of the boatshed to avoid a sandbar before returning to the clubhouse side of the river

The only exception to this rule is when the barefoot water skiers are in operation .  In these circumstances, crews proceeding upstream should keep to the centre of the river for as far as the Ascot Inn Jetty to allow the barefoot water skiers unrestricted use of the far third of the river up to that point.  Once crews have passed the Ascot Inn Jetty then they should move all the way over to the far side and proceed upstream in the normal manner

Crews are encouraged not to move more than a third of the way from the bank unless overtaking or avoiding other obstacles.  This ensures that the central one third of the river acts as a safety buffer between crews moving in the opposite direction.  We have been very fortunate at ANA not to have had any major accidents on what is a relatively narrow stretch of river by Perth standards.  A rowing boat traveling at speed has considerable momentum which can cause serious injury and damage in the event of a collision.  Crews not keeping to the rules of the river who damage equipment are held responsible for that damage.  Please obey the river rules even when practicing racing.  If there is the possibility of a collision with another rowing boat stop your boat or take evasive action and warn the other boat of your presence by shouting “Look Ahead Sculler!” (Eight /Four /Pair as appropriate) or abbreviated to “ ‘Head Scull!”.  If another crew call this to you immediately look ahead and react accordingly.  It is safer to stop and quickly check the boat even if this interferes with your training than risk injury and/or boat damage

During the Winter months when there are less hours of daylight, crews often train at dawn and dusk when visibility is limited.  In these circumstances it is a marine regulation that boats carry lights.  Marine regulations require that a continuous white light be carried that is visible from 360 degrees.  No crew is allowed on the water in the dark without lights.  In addition it is club policy that for coxless boats to be on the water in the dark (even with a light) they must be accompanied at all times either by a dinghy or coxed boat (also equipped with lights) which is then responsible for directing the coxless crew.

Code of Conduct

No smoking is allowed in the boatshed and clubrooms.  Generally it is expected that members show each other the respect that they would expect themselves.

Under current club policy, adult financial members are provided with the combination to the boatshed.  This effectively allows members 24 hour unsupervised access to the boatshed and equipment stored inside the shed.  Such freedom of access is not to be treated lightly.  Adult members are responsible for assessing weather and water conditions and deciding, based on their level of boat handing skills, whether it is appropriate for them to safely undertake a training session.  Access also brings responsibility for ensuring security of the Club’s equipment (refer policies specifies below).  Unsupervised access also places on members responsibility for ensuring compliance with boat usage policy.  Privately owned boats should only be used with the express permission of the owner.  Racing craft should not be used by members without appropriate prior permission.

Security

Security at the Club has been relatively good.  However, cars have occasionally been broken into and there has been some minor opportunistic theft from the Club.  It is advisable not to leave valuables on display in your vehicles.  If you regularly come to, or go to work from the Club then use one of the lockers available in the change rooms to store your valuables.  These are available for hire from the Treasurer.

Car keys and other minor personal items are generally reasonably secure in the boatshed but it is advisable that these be left out of sight.  Items left in the boatshed or clubhouse including private boats are at the owners risk.  It is Club policy that the boatshed, gym, change rooms and social areas are locked at all times when unoccupied (ie when boats are on the water).  Access to the boatshed, gym and change room is through use of keypad combinations which are only released to adult members who have paid their fees.  The combinations are usually changed in April or May each year and in the event of unauthorised access by non-members.  Access to the social area is controlled by a security key held by Committee Members and certain designated coaches.  It is the responsibility of the last crew on the water to secure the buildings and of the last individual to leave to ensure that both the clubhouse and the boatshed are left secure.

Due to the relatively isolated location, the clubrooms and boatshed are occasionally subject to graffiti attack.  When this happens members should remove the graffiti as soon as practicable after discovery, even if this eats into an intended training session.  Prompt removal in the past has proved to be an effective deterrent to further attacks and because of this such occurrences are now rare.

Both the boatshed and the Clubrooms are coated with an anti graffiti sealant.  The solvent for removal of graffiti together with brushes, gloves and water are kept in the boatshed.  The solvent is most effective when the graffiti is fresh.  Directions for use of the solvent are on the spray container.

  SunSmart Healthy Lifestyle Policy

ANA Rowing Club actively supports SunSmart's Healthy LifeStyle Policy.  Click here to view the policy.