Australian Rowing Championships


The Australian Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event that determines Australia's national rowing champions and facilitates selection of Australian representative crews for World Championships and the Olympic Games. It is Australia's premier regatta, with states, clubs and schools sending their best crews. The Championships commence with the National Regatta - men's, women's and lightweight events in open, under 23, under 19, under 17 and school age categories. Rowers at the National Regatta race in their local club colours with composite crews permitted. The Championships conclude with the Interstate Regatta - currently eight events competed by state representative crews or scullers selected by the state rowing associations. The states compete for an overall points tally which decides the Zurich Cup.

Competition history

Inter-colonial racing began in Australia in 1833 when a Sydney crew raced a Hobart crew in whalers. Schools, varsity and club events were the top-class races throughout the mid 19th century although New South Wales and Victoria raced regularly in men's IVs from 1863. In 1878 Victoria and New South Wales commenced inter-colonial racing in eight-oared boats and the other colonies and joined them such that by 1906 all six Australian states were sending a men's VIII and perhaps a sculler, to the annual Interstate Regatta.
A national open rowing championship was discussed at Australian Rowing Council meetings from 1946 but it wasn't until the 1960s that support for the concept was unanimous outside of New South Wales and Victoria. The first National Open Championship Regatta was held in 1962 and then was held every two years. Since 1969 the National Regatta has been annual and since 1976 has been held within the same single programme as the Interstate Regatta creating the combined Australian Rowing Championships.

Interstate Regatta

The Interstate Regatta is held at the conclusion of the National Regatta and currently includes the following races for state representative crews:

The King's Cup - interstate men's (coxed) eight

Australia's blue-ribbon annual rowing race for men. Contested by state representative senior heavyweight men's coxed eights.

President's Cup - interstate men's single scull

An intercolonial sculling race between New South Wales and Victoria was first held in 1868 and then annually from 1895 with Queensland also racing. Tasmania has consistently been represented since 1903. South Australia and West Australia have entered scullers with some regularity but not consistently until the 1960s.
The first President of the Australian Amateur Rowing Council, Mr E.C. Watchorn, donated the President's Cup in 1925 as the perpetual trophy for the annual Australian Interstate Single Sculling Championship. It was first competed for in 1926 and won by A A Baynes of Queensland.
The premier interstate event for women was the ULVA trophy which from 1920 till 1998 was a fours event. The trophy had first been presented by the United Licensed Victuallers Association of Queensland. In 1999 the women's interstate race was changed to an event for VIIIs with the Queen's Cup as the prize.
Of the seventy-eight occasions between 1920 and 1999 that the race was held in IVs, New South Wales won thirty-one times with eleven of those victories consecutive between 1955 and 1965. Victoria managed twenty-four victories in that period also with eleven of them consecutive and then enjoying another eleven year consecutive run from 2005 to 2015. Of the twenty-five events up until 2015, Victoria were the victors on eighteen occasions.
The Penrith Cup for a lightweight men's IV was introduced in 1958.
Since 1963 the interstate women's scull competition has been for the Nell Slatter Cup.

The Victoria Cup - interstate women's lightweight coxless quad scull

From 1968 until 1998 the premier women's lightweight interstate event was the Victoria Cup competed for by coxless IVs. Since 1999, lightweight quad sculls have raced for the Cup.
Since 1974 men's youth crews have competed at the state representative level for the Noel Wilkinson Cup. Noel Wilkinson OAM was a long serving treasurer of the Australian Rowing Council who had worked tirelessly in fund-raising over many years for Australian national and Olympic squads. He had managed Victorian and national representative crews and was a club stalwart at the Banks Rowing Club in Melbourne from 1930 till his death. The event has been raced over 2000 metres since 1983. In the first thirty-seven years of competition for the title up till 2011, Victoria were the most consistent winners with seventeen wins, followed by New South Wales with ten victories.

Bicentennial Cup - women's interstate youth eight

A women's youth event commenced in 1988 in coxed IVs and converted to VIIIs in 1994.

Zurich Cup - overall regatta points tally

Since 1999 the overall cumulative points winner in the interstate championships is awarded the Zurich Cup. States are awarded points in each interstate event on the following basis: first place, eight points; second place, six points; third place, five points; fourth place, four points; fifth place, three points; sixth place, two points; seventh place, one point.
In the sixteen regattas at which it was presented up till 2014, the Zurich Cup was won on eleven occasions by Victoria, thrice by New South Wales and by Queensland in 2003 and 2014.
The National Regatta currently includes a diverse program of club and school events.

Sydney Cup (for schoolgirl eights)

The Sydney Cup was first presented in 2005. The current title holders are Methodist Ladies' College.
YearWinner2nd3rdTimeMargin
2019Methodist Ladies' CollegePymble Ladies' CollegeGeelong Grammar6:53.383.14
2018Pymble Ladies' CollegeSt Catherine'sMethodist Ladies' College6:55.201.77
2017Walford AnglicanQueenwoodPymble Ladies' College6:45.022.72
2016St Catherine'sLoreto ToorakQueenwood6:43.761.89
2015Geelong GrammarLoreto ToorakMethodist Ladies' College6:46.467.87
2014Loreto ToorakGeelong GrammarGenazzano6:46.024.48
2013Melbourne Girls' GrammarWalford AnglicanMethodist Ladies' College6:43.870.26
2012Melbourne Girls' GrammarMethodist Ladies' CollegeWalford Anglican6:45.875.50
2011Melbourne Girls' GrammarPymble Ladies' CollegeGenazzano6:44.131.58
2010Loreto KirribilliMethodist Ladies' CollegeLoreto Normanhurst6:50.772.61
2009CollegiateGeelong GrammarSt Catherine's6:46.561.51
2008PLC SydneySt Catherine'sPymble Ladies' College6:51.322.19
2007Methodist Ladies' CollegePymble Ladies' CollegePLC Sydney7:17.913.36
2006Methodist Ladies' CollegePymble Ladies' CollegeGeelong College6:34.974.47
2005Pymble Ladies' CollegeMethodist Ladies' CollegeLoreto Kirribilli6:45.772.58

Barrington Cup (for schoolboy eights)

The Barrington Cup was first presented in 1984. The current title holders are Scotch College VIC.
YearWinner2nd3rdTimeMargin
2019ScotchBrighton GrammarNudgee6:08.814.39
2018ShoreScotchNudgee6:02.892.93
2017ScotchShoreGeelong College & Melbourne Grammar 5:51.622.97
2016ShoreSt Joseph's SydneyScotch5:58.562.11
2015NudgeeSt Joseph's SydneyMelbourne Grammar5:50.972.42
2014ShoreScotchSt Joseph's Sydney5:52.673.26
2013ScotchShoreGavirate5:52.871.68
2012ScotchMelbourne GrammarChrist Church Grammar6:07.083.18
2011ShoreHutchinsScots5:51.891.40
2010ScotchShoreScots5:52.992.66
2009Melbourne GrammarShoreScots5:49.710.82
2008ScotchMelbourne GrammarShore6:00.042.60
2007ShoreThe Kings SchoolNewington6:22.810.06
2006The King's SchoolScotchGeelong College5:40.813.66
2005St Joseph's SydneyThe Kings SchoolScotch5:58.041.03

Locations and events

Interstate Men's Championships for VIIIs and single sculls were held in the following locations after Federation:
The Penrith Cup for lightweight fours was added to the Kings Cup and Presidents Cup at Interstate Men's Championships for VIIIs as follows:
An Interstate Women's Race for the ULVA Trophy was held in the following locations:
With the Nell Slatter Trophy for women's single sculls added to the Women's Interstate Regatta from 1963 and the Victoria Cup added from 1968:
Interstate Championships with both Men's and Women's events were held in the following locations:
A separate National Regatta was held with distinct dates and venue from the Interstate Championships as follows:
Australian Rowing Championships have been held in the following locations