Rowing in Australia

Australia is one of the world’s leading nations for rowing with the men’s rowing team finishing number one in the world at the Athens Olympics in 2004. They have produced several world class rowers including Nick Green who was part of the ‘Awesome Foursome’ that won consecutive gold medals at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games.

Sport Lived offers you the amazing opportunity to row with a club in Australia for the duration of a southern hemisphere season.  We organise for people to row with clubs in all of Australia’s main cities from September – March.  We also run an 8 week programme to Brisbane during July and August.  As well as having excellent rowing clubs Brisbane also has warm weather throughout the year so you’re guaranteed loads of sunshine whenever you choose to go.

We have affiliations with some fantastic rowing clubs all of whom have been carefully selected for their top facilities, coaching and social scenes. Clubs usually have 2-3 streams.  There is usually an ‘elite stream’ geared towards producing world class rowers.  This stream is made up of promising young rowers, state and Australian representatives.  Rowers part of this stream train once or twice a day, most days during the week.  There is also a ‘club stream’ which is made up of rowers of all abilities. Rowers in this stream usually train 3 – 4 times during the week and participate in regattas at weekends. As clubs have lots of members and different streams they are able to accommodate oarsmen and women of all abilities and you will be assigned to an appropriate stream upon your arrival.

During your rowing programme you will live in 4 star city centre apartments with other Sport Lived participants.  Most people stay in 2 bedroom apartments and everyone stays in the same complex.  In Australia, a number of the top clubs have boatsheds in the heart of the city.  You can therefore live in a beautiful city centre apartment and be able to walk or cycle to the world’s best rowing clubs.  How good is that!  You get to experience living in the heart of a fantastic city and experience all that’s great about city centre living whilst being able to get club training and regattas with ease.   

The clubs participate in regattas throughout the season.  Most crews are formed in September/October and train towards state and national championships which are usually held in February and March.  If you’re selected for national championships you’ll get to race against Australia’s best rowers and there’s a very good chance you’ll get to visit another city.  The 2008 National Championships for example were held in Penrith, Sydney, where Steve Redgrave won his 5th Olympic Gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. 

Sport Lived has an excellent relationship with the top rowing schools and we can help people to organise paid coaching jobs during the week where you’ll coach school crews and prepare them for regattas.  If you are interested in coaching rowing during your gap year in Australia we recommend that you get as much coaching experience as you can prior to your departure.  Coaching is lots of fun and a great way to develop key skills such as leadership, communication and organisational skills.

The clubs that we arrange for people to join have fantastic social scenes and organise regular social events throughout the season including new members nights, fancy dress parties and BBQs by the river.  In addition to this, Sport Lived employs staff in each city who are available 24/7 throughout your programme.  They will introduce you to your club, provide you with assistance in finding work and generally help you to get settled in your new home city.  They also organise regular social events.  If you go on our September – March programme we usually organise introductory drinks, beach BBQs, a fancy dress Christmas party and days out at top sporting events such as the Melbourne Cup and Australian Open Tennis.

Back to Rowing

Read our Rowing News from Australia

Rowing in Australia
The price of all play sport programmes include:	Locations	Prices	Dates
- 4 star city centre accommodation (including rent, furnishings and most bills) - Club membership subscription - Overseas programme co-ordinator available 24/7 - Assistance in organising flights, visas & travel insurance - Pre-departure briefing - Handbook with useful information - Airport Pickup	Melbourne	£5,495	15/09/08 - 22/3/09
	Melbourne	£2,495	19/01/09 - 29/3/09
	Brisbane	£5,495	15/09/08 - 22/3/09
	Brisbane	£2,495	06/7/09 - 30/8/09

 

Bond of £300 payable in addition to the programme fee