History of Rowing in the ACT

Celebrating 60 years

4. AIS/Rowing Australia – Celebrating the legacy of AIS Rowing and Rowing Australian National Training Centre on Lake Burley Griffin

For four decades, Lake Burley Griffin has been at the heart of Australia’s high-performance rowing story. From the first oar strokes of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Rowing Program in 1985, to today’s world-class Rowing Australia National Training Centres, Canberra has been both a home and a proving ground for our nation’s finest athletes.

The AIS Rowing Program was born out of a vision to put Australian crews on the podium at the highest levels of international competition. Under the guidance of pioneering coaches and with access to purpose-built facilities and centralised program athletes trained year-round on Lake Burley Griffin’s demanding yet inspiring waters.

Over the years, AIS Rowing produced Olympic champions, world champions, and an enduring culture of excellence. Its legacy is more than medals: it is the development of systems, coaching expertise, and athlete pathways that have strengthened rowing across the country.

Today, that tradition continues through Rowing Australia’s National Training Centres. These programs draw the nation’s top male and female athletes together. In Canberra, The Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre homes the men’s squad and from October 2025 the PR3 Paralympic program where they access integrated sports science, elite coaching, and a collaborative environment designed to unlock peak performance. The location remains a key asset — Canberra and its accessibility, a vibrant local ACT rowing community and Lake Burley Griffin offer a variety of training conditions and opportunities to develop athletically but also holistically off the water.

A defining strength of the AIS and now the NTCs has been their close relationship with the ACT rowing community. From shared waters and a common goal to build and develop our sport, the connection has been genuine and enduring.

The presence of the NTCs in Canberra reinforces the city’s role as a national hub for rowing talent. It brings together athletes, coaches, and support staff from around the nation, all united by the pursuit of excellence in green and gold. The daily rhythm of crews boating at Yarralumla is not just training — it is the continuation of a proud legacy and a promise to future generations.

As we celebrate the history and achievements of AIS Rowing, we also look ahead. The waters of Lake Burley Griffin will continue to shape champions and inspire the next wave of Australian rowers, ensuring that Canberra remains a beating heart of our sport.

Reinhold Batschi OAM at the naming of the Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre

< Back to Chapter 3 - National Capital Authority

> Next to Chapter 5 - ADF Rowing

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, errors may exist. Please send advice of any errors or inaccuracies by email to:

Also your comments, suggestions and photos are sought to enhance this site.

The idea for this history originated from the Olympic Rowing and World Senior Rowing Championship histories written by Andrew Guerin and Margot Foster in 1991, 1992 & 1993 for the Australian team handbooks. Andrew Guerin developed and extended these histories to the current format in 2004 for publication in 2004 and then expanded the site.

Steve Roll has been an invaluable contributor to the website in locating errors and finding Christian names of rowers. His superb work is acknowledged.

© Andrew Guerin – 2004
These contents of this history are copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. However given that the purpose of the history is to assist rowers and rowing clubs, written permission is not required for non-commercial usage by rowers and rowing clubs provided acknowledgement is made.

Disclaimer: Whilst extensive efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied, the editors take no responsibility for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from inaccuracies contained in this work.