Rupert GuinnessMar 12, 2025 10:29:55 AM2 min read

#ARC24 DAY Seven Preview: It Takes ‘Mongrel’ to Win at Interstate Championships

By Rupert Guinness at the Sydney International Regatta Centre

Olympian Georgie Rowe will tap into “the mongrel” within her when she switches her focus from Australian Rowing Team objectives to that of her home State, NSW, on Sunday.

For this one day – Sunday - Rowe, a member of the ART who represented Australia in the Bronze medal winning Australian Women’s Coxed Eight at last year’s World Championships, will cast aside her ambitions for the Olympic Games in Paris for those of the Queen’s Cup.

The Queen’s Cup is for the winner of the Women’s Coxed Eight race at the annual Interstate Championships. With the King’s Cup for the Men’s Coxed Eights, it is a blue riband event.

The men’s coxed Eights race has been held since 1878, but the King’s Cup was first raced for in 1921, the same year that the first interstate women’s race was held, but then for Fours.

The women’s race did not become an Eight oared event until 1999 when the Queen’s Cup – the Queen Elizabeth II Trophy – was also introduced.

Victoria currently hold the Queen’s Cup. NSW are the defending King’s Cup champions.

For every rower who competes for their State, no matter the boat class, it is the THE day of the year when they will shun crewmates from other states they have raced with during the Australian Rowing Championships in the previous week and think only of beating them on water – this year, that water being at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith.

The Interstate Championship regatta this year will start on Sunday afternoon, as soon as the last finals of the Australian Rowing Championships have been won and lost for another year.

Rowe, whose sporting background before she committed to rowing was in Surf Boat Rowing, loves the State versus State atmosphere that sweeps the regatta banks on this day.

“It's a very emotional kind of race. There's a lot of State pride in it,” said Rowe.

“I love putting on the ‘Sky Blue,’ any opportunity to represent your State and do it proud.

“It's awesome to be able to be in a boat with such passionate girls, and then just go down the course and give it your all.

“That mongrel is what sets you apart from being a good athlete and a great athlete. It’s little bit of X-Factor. With my background in surf boats it about how hard can you hurt yourself.”

Races this weekend include:

Sunday:

Morning: Australian Rowing Championships Finals

Club Women’s Coxless Four

Club Women’s Double Scull

Club Women’s Coxed Eight

Club Men’s Coxless Four

Club Men’s Double Scull

Club Men’s Coxed Eight

Schoolgirls Coxed Eight

Schoolboy’s Coxed Eight

Schools and Under age: various boats