The National Club Omnium is an exciting new multi-race format designed to encourage the formation of senior club combinations that can be maintained throughout the season. The race covers three distances: a 350m sprint, a 2,500 m side-by-side, and a 7,000 m head race. Apart from granting clubs invaluable insight into new combinations, the variety of distances should allow athletes to test and discover their strengths as they emerge from the off-season.
Fielding only two entries, the women’s coxless four will be a battle between two powerhouse clubs from rowing’s two biggest states. Undoubtedly, this rivalry will help pave the way for the event’s success in future.
Mercantile
This crew has the advantage of recent race experience, having competed at the 2025 Head of the Barwon regatta last weekend, where they finished with a solid time. Despite this, all four are new to Mercantile’s self-proclaimed “middies” squad, with Mia Harrison and Zoe Korr moving up to the senior club level from junior rowing this season. Harrison and Korr are coming off some solid performances at last year’s nationals, placing fifth in the under-21 quad and sixth in the under-21 eight. The girls will likely learn a great deal from Isabella Combes, a well-experienced clubbie at Mercantile, who began her rowing journey in 2016. She has competed for the red and white in a variety of head races and regattas around Victoria. Overall, the crew will be aiming to put in a solid, consistent performance.
UTS
The UTS Haberfield crew will be looking to back up some excellent early-season performances from the club. Sarah Fahd will head the boat, bringing a wealth of experience, having recently returned from her second World U23 championship, where she competed in the quad. Her name is consistent in high-performance rowing, having also been selected for the U21 team in previous years. Wolstencroft will back up Fahd, finding her feet in Australian rowing after spending the past three seasons at Thames Rowing Club. Draney brings six years of experience to the table, narrowly missing out on medals at last year’s national championships in the U23 pair, four, and eight. The crew is rounded off with Tisdall, whose lengthy rowing career will surely send this boat with power. Originally hailing from Queensland, Tisdall rowed for Harvard, winning a bronze for Australia in the U23 coxed four during her time abroad. She isn’t a stranger to long race formats, competing at the Head of the Charles regatta and later winning The Boat Race for Cambridge in 2021. Overall, this crew will be looking for a decisive win.
Prediction
The wealth of experience in the UTS boat will surely give them the edge over all formats, making them my crew to beat. Mercantile will show a solid performance, although are unlikely to challenge the UTS crew.
