NICK DILLON
WHEN former Loxton rower Alex Hill and his National Training Centre (NTC) teammates came to the Riverland last week, it may have set the tone for future visits to the region.
While part of the visit was to honour Hill with a street named in the Olympic silver medallist’s honour in Loxton, the NTC was also in the region to work hard on our very own stretch of Murray River as part of a training camp.
Berri Rowing Club’s Paul Othams is hopeful the visit may lead to future trips to the Riverland.
“Hopefully they’ll come back because they loved it,” he said.
“They think it’s magic because they can row up and down the river rather than around in circles like Lake Burley-Griffen and Adelaide too.”
Mr Othams said the river’s close proximity to the Berri Riverside Holiday Park was also a major factor.
The NTC is not the only group to visit the region, with several Adelaide colleges such as Scotch College and Prince Alfred College frequent visitors to the Riverland.
Many of these schools will be here again for the annual Riverland regatta, which will be held at Berri this year on December 5-6.
Mr Othams said having such talented rowers in the region was “amazing”.
“Part of the crew that were here were the two-time world champions and to have athletes of that standard is amazing,” he said.
“It’s one of the four highlights I’ve had in my time in rowing, if not number one.”
Hill trained at the Berri Rowing Club and was a member for two years and Mr Othams hopes that other locals might take up the sport and follow in his footsteps.
“There’s three reasons to row: competition, fitness and fun,” he said.
“If it’s just for fun and fitness, it’s very good for your physique. It tones up everything if you do it regularly.”
The club is encouraging new rowers to get in contact via its facebook page.