29/03/2026
🔴 This one’s for the rowers.
Surf boat rowing is brutal. Nine to ten months of pre-dawn starts and late afternoon sessions, five to seven days a week in the gym, grinding through every weather condition the ocean wants to throw at you — all while holding down a job, a family, and some kind of life outside the water.
And after all that? You’re still at the mercy of the surf gods. A rogue wave doesn’t care how hard you trained. It’ll check a boat — or flip one — without a second thought.
Some athletes spend their entire rowing career chasing just one final. Some never stand on a podium.
This year, Collaroy sent three crews to Australian finals. 🔴⚫
Our Under 23 Men — the Longnecks — rowed their hearts out and claimed a proud 5th place.
Then came the premier event — the Open Women’s final.
And Collaroy? We didn’t have one crew in it. We had two. Let that sink in. Out of every surf life saving club in the country, Collaroy put not one but two crews on that start line. That alone is something to be enormously proud of. 🔴⚫🔴
The Collaroy Crusaders ran a brilliant campaign and finished a fighting 5th.
And then there were the Collaroy Giants.
Already named Australian representatives this year, they drew what many called the worst alley in the arena. Didn’t matter.
They put their heads down and won.
🏆 Australian Champions.
The first open women’s crew in our club’s history to win a national title.
The first open team — men or women — to win an Australian Championship since 1946.
Eighty years.
Congratulations, Collaroy Giants. And to every single rower who wore the red and black this year — we see you. The whole club is bursting with pride. 🔴⚫🔴
