Commercial Rowing Club

At 13 years old, he rowed at Brisbane SHS in the U14 6th 4+ and finished last in most of his races. But he loved every minute of it! 

⭐️ Meet Ralph Cruickshank. 

Ralph joined CRC soon after and learned how to scull. It wasn’t long before he was doing multiple training sessions in his scull after school and on weekends. 

Later that year, he won the U13 1x at the Qld underage sculling champs. 

At 15 years old, Ralph went to his first Qld Rowing Championship in Rockhampton. He won the Junior LW 1x and finished 2nd to Duncan Free in the Junior 1x. 

“I started to think ‘I could actually do this!’” 

Just 3 years later, Ralph won bronze in the 2x at the 1993 World Junior Rowing Championships. 

“I have fond memories of many great training sessions on the Brisbane River on sunny mornings. When the water was good, I used to head downstream towards New Farm, Teneriffe and beyond on a Saturday morning”. 

“I live in South Australia now and table tennis is my new sport. But I would certainly love to head out on the water if I find myself in Brisbane again.”
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It was the 1970s.

It was customary during these times to head to the local pub for a refreshing ale after some hard racing at the regional regattas 😋

In this particular photo, CRC members were Paul Eastman, Norm H***e, Greg Neil, Glen Fitzgerald and Tony Yorkston.

The chosen beverage was always # # - a full endorsement for its advertisement ‘Its quality never varies’. A mighty crew aspiration indeed! 🍻

An aspiration also surely taken to heart by Norm H***e (2nd from left) as he volunteered to audit the books of Commercial Rowing Club and Rowing Qld for the next 50 years!
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# # # # # #

As a young girl, Claire Ross was inspired by rowing stories of her dad and grandfather.

She realised she was too short to do well as a rower, but quickly recognised her strengths lay in bringing a crew together as a coxswain.

Claire started coxing in the summer of 2023–24 in our junior squad, but soon moved to the U17 comp squad. In her first competitive season, she went to the Aus Rowing Championships.

“A lot of the job is about preparation and understanding your crew even before you hop in the boat. You’re watching them, listening to the boat and monitoring the race. So much information comes from the cox seat and it’s so important to communicate that.”

Claire is now focussed on continuing to develop her skills as a coxswain while studying in the US as part of the Study & Play USA program.

While excited at experiencing a new country and rowing environment, she’s also a little nervous about leaving behind everything familiar to build a new life from scratch.

“I’m particularly grateful for my coach Jacinta Edmunds, who I’ve had the privilege to learn from in the last year. She’s supported me through all the decisions I’ve made and pushes me to be the best I can be.”

We wish Claire all the very best and look forward to watching her grow into a highly accomplished young woman.
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It was the 1980s.

Commercial was in the habit of winning both the men’s and women’s 8s at the Qld State Titles.

This photo is of one winning mens’s 8. Where did they go?

⭐️ 3 of them became Olympians.
⭐️ 1 is a coach of Australian rep crews.
⭐️ 1 is currently on the Board of Rowing Australia.
⭐️ 4 of them you can still see regularly around the club.

🔍 Do you know who is who?

It was an action-packed 4 days at the Gold Coast for the 2026 Oceania and Australian Beach Sprint Championships (3-6 Sept) 🔥

The sun shone and the water sparkled as competitors charged into their boats for furious high-rate rowing before sprinting back up the beach to hit the buzzer ☀️

It was great to see some of our young athletes participating in this format for the first time alongside our veteran champions Samantha Blanchard and Jack O'Toole 💪

Thanks to our Head Coach Jacinta Edmunds for all the support throughout the championship! 😅
🥈 U19 Mix 4x
🥉 Open Mix 4x
🥉 Open W 2x

Well done team!
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Meet Maddie – Olympian, World Rowing Champion, mother and older sister to Head Coach Jacinta Edmunds.

While Maddie started rowing in Year 8, it wasn’t until after winning the Head of the River in the First VIII at the end of Year 10 that she knew she wanted to be a rower. Her goal was the Olympics.

At just 16 years old, Maddie represented Australia. She continued to represent Australia until the end of her very impressive rowing career, racing in lots of different crews and applying her learnings from each experience.

“There’s always been this belief in our family, particularly with my sister and me, that if you want to do something and you’re prepared to work for it, then you can give yourself a real chance”.

“Putting on the green and gold is incredibly special. It represents much more than just the result of one race. There were so many highs and lows, injuries, comebacks, disappointments and moments where I had to prove something to myself. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to represent Australia for as long as I did”.

Now mum to twin girls, motherhood has definitely changed the way Maddie thinks about her rowing years and Olympic experience.

“I’d absolutely love for my girls to row one day. But we would never want them to feel like they have to row or that there’s an expectation because of our family history. I want them to find something they love and choose their own path”.

And her advice for the next generation?

“Trust the process and trust your race. You can’t control everything that happens on race day. All you can do is your best, learn from what happens and take that into whatever comes next”.
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