Board

The Board:

Rowing ACT is governed by a board of directors as laid out in the Rowing ACT Constitution. The Rowing ACT board comprises of 9 members, who each serve three year terms, with directors able to serve a maximum of three consecutive terms or nine years. The board is comprised of:

President who is elected by Member clubs under the Constitution
5 Elected Directors
3 Appointed Directors

From the board directors, a Director of Finance and Secretary are elected by the board. Board members may serve a maximum of 9 years on the board. The terms of the board are staggered to ensure retention of corporate knowledge and understanding of the community.

The Rowing ACT Board operates under a Board Charter, with all board directors agreeing to a Code of Conduct as laid out in the Charter. Under the Rowing ACT Constitution, any individual member may seek election to the board at an Annual General Meeting. The secretary of the board will call for nominations in the month preceding the Annual General Meeting and circulate all nominations to Member clubs. Only Member clubs may vote at the Annual General Meeting for the election of board directors and any other matters arising.

Director election nomination form

Board Meetings:

The Rowing ACT board meets monthly on the Third Tuesday of each month. In addition to the board members, the Executive Officer is in attendance at board meetings but does not vote on board matters. Minutes are published following the next meeting of the board where the minutes are approved. Some matters may be decided upon via circular resolution if they are time critical and are noted in the next months minutes.

If there is a matter you wish to raise with the Rowing ACT Board, please raise this with the Executive Officer who will pass the matter onto the secretary for consideration.

Sub-Committees

The Board may establish appropriate Sub-Committees to assist the Board by focussing on specific responsibilities in greater detail than is possible for the Board as a whole, reporting to the Board and making any necessary recommendations.

Each formally constituted Sub-Committee, has a written charter, approved by the Board. Ad-hoc Sub-Committees and Working Groups will have direction from the Board recorded in the minutes.

The membership, role and responsibilities, charter and performance of each sub-committee are reviewed annually by the Board.

The current Board Sub-Committees are:

Regatta Sub-Committee
Finance, Audit and Risk Sub-Committee
Performance Pathway Sub-Committee
Safety Sub-Committee.

Kent Peters
President
Kent Peters joined the Board of Rowing ACT in September 2019 as the Director of Finance. He became President of Rowing ACT in May 2022. Kent has extensive experience as a Board Director and Secretary having served on numerous Boards in his role as Director of Business at Canberra Grammar School and prior to this in Perth as Bursar at Guildford Grammar School. Kent is a Chartered Accountant and also holds an MBA specialising in Human Resource Management. Whilst never having rowed himself, he is passionate about Rowing as a sport and in particular the discipline and balance that it provided to his two sons as they have rowed. His involvement in Rowing began at Guildford Grammar School (2007) and initially involved watching his sons row from the banks of Champion Lakes till he decided that being a Boat Race Official provided him a better perspective and opportunity to support rowing. Kent is a regular Boat Race Official and is dedicated to seeing Rowing ACT develop into the sport of choice for those in the ACT and in particular seeing strong pathways established for school rowers to transition into a lifelong commitment to the sport through active involvement in local clubs.
Virginia Hayward
Vice-President
Virginia Hayward started her love of rowing as a school girl at Rockhampton Girls Grammar School in Queensland. Moving to the University of Queensland in 1985 allowed her to continue rowing both at College and at the UQBC, where her passion for rowing in VIII’s was ignited. Virginia joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1989 and her rowing opportunities were limited due to her time serving at sea. In 1999 she moved to Canberra and joined Black Mountain Rowing Club where she was a competitive Master’s rower and served on the Committee in several roles. In 2019 Virginia re-joined the Navy full time, after a decade working in Government, and became President of the Australian Defence Force Rowing Club – a position she still holds. She was also actively involved in the Canberra Grammar School rowing committee and community from 2018 – 2023, where her son was a keen rower. Virginia joined the RACT Board in 2021 as a Director and is the current Chair of the Governance sub-committee. Virginia is still competing and rowing with Defence and is looking forward to competing in another Head of the Yarra in 2024.
Hugo Ellwood
Director of Finance
Hugo first became involved with rowing in 2017 when his two eldest boys began rowing in Year 8 at Marist. Frustrated by the limited opportunities to watch their races, he noticed boats following events down the course, which inspired him to become an officiating BRO.

Currently, Hugo’s youngest son is rowing at Marist College, with his two eldest coaching his year group, and where Hugo has been an assistant coach since 2020. He has also held various roles on the Marist Rowing Club committee, including Vice-President and Treasurer. As the Director of Finance on the Rowing ACT board, Hugo has focused on enhancing the financial reporting for monthly meetings and the annual report. Hugo is eagerly anticipating the next 12 months as Rowing ACT implements the ACT Government’s Industry Partnership Program to enhance the digitalisation of regattas for all rowers to enjoy.
Peter Wright
Secretary
Peter is a long time member of the Rowing ACT community. He is a passionate Masters Rower, and has brought his expertise in construction and management to the Rowing ACT board, taking the lead on the newly formed Commercial Working Group.
Tobias Wehr-Candler
Tobias serves as an independent board member and Vice-President of Rowing ACT, where he plays a key role in advancing the sport across the territory. He leverages his background as a former athlete, coach, sports administrator, and in governance and strategy to further the Performance Pathway Monitoring Group, Commercial and High-Performance Working Groups, and the Remuneration & Awards Sub-Committee. Tobias brings a deep passion for the sport and strategic insight, focusing on initiatives that promote participation, strengthen athlete pathways, and enhance the overall rowing experience in the ACT. His goal is to foster a vibrant and sustainable rowing community, supporting the sport’s growth and success at all levels
Vacant
Jaime Fernandez OLY
Jaime has volunteered his time over many years as a coach, boat race official, athlete mentor, selector and Board Member. He has a strong focus on athlete well-being and was an Athletes’ Commission member, both at the AIS and Rowing Australia, ultimately appointed as Chair of the RA Athletes’ Commission in 2011.

Jaime is currently a member of the FISA Youth Rowing Commission, Australian Olympic Committee NSW Olympic Advisory Committee and the AIS’ Performance Pathway Advisory Group and High Performance Planning Working Group.

Jaime is a three-time Olympian (Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney) and winner of a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games as stroke of the Men’s Eight. He has won many international rowing events including at Henley Royal Regatta, Commonwealth Rowing Championships and World Cups, and represented Australia at five World Championship regattas. He was a member of the 1997 ACT Interstate Men’s Eight crew that won the King’s Cup – the first and only time the ACT has ever won the event. Jaime has won numerous national championship events and was an AIS and ACT Academy of Sport Scholarship holder for many years.

Jaime holds a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) from the University of Canberra and has taught at a number of schools, in addition to Head Coach and Rowing Master roles within school rowing programs.
Catherine Garrington
Catherine has been involved in rowing as an athlete, coach and umpire over many years. Starting a school girl athlete, Catherine is now an ACT, Australian and World Rowing Official, and can be commonly found on a start platform manning the BBQ and reminding rowers of the correct traffic patterns during racing. Catherine is also chair of the safety-sub committee as well as a passionate supporter of the ACT Indoor Rowing Programs.
Kathryn Ross
Kathryn Ross is the newest Elected Director of Rowing ACT. Kathryn brings a wealth of experience to the Rowing ACT Board, as a current high performance athlete, 4x Paralympic athlete and first Australian Paralympic rowing Medallist. Kathryn was also recently appointed to the Para Rowing Foundation Board.

Kathryn began her rowing career in 2006 where she was identified through a talent search program. She acquired her disability through an accident at the age of two where she was run over by a lawn mower on her family farm affecting her right leg. Kathryn has had a stellar career in Rowing spanning over nearly two decades. She is the first Australian to compete at all Paralympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021) since Rowing was introduced in 2008 and won the first medial for Australia taking home a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing games.

Outside of rowing, Kathryn is a Registered Nurse, working in multiple sectors of emergency, metal health and suicide prevention. She is a passionate advocate for athlete wellbeing, serving on Rowing Australia’s Athlete Commission and Paralympics Australia’s Broader Community Engagement Subcommittee. Currently, she is a prominent member of the Disability Sports Australia Advisory Committee and actively supports the subcommittees for Boccia Australia.

Position	Name	First appointed
President	Kent Peters	Elected 2019
Vice-President	Virginia Hayward	Appointed as a casual vacancy 2022, re-elected 2024
Director of Finance	Hugo Ellwood	Appointed 2023
Secretary	Peter Wright	Appointed as a casual vacancy 2023, re-elected in 2025
Director	Tobias Wehr-Candler	Appointed 2021
Director	Jaime Fernandez OLY	Elected 2023
Director	Kathryn Ross	Elected 2024
Director	Vacant
Director	Catherine Garrington	Appointed 2019

The Board:

Board Meetings:

Sub-Committees

Partners