Verna Westwood (born 30 August 1955) is an Australian former representative rower. She was seven times an Australian national champion, represented at two

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

and was a member of Australia's first Olympic representative women's rowing crew, competing in the women's coxed four event at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Club and state rowing

A West Australian, Westwood commenced her senior rowing aged 17 at the University of Western Australia. Westwood Profile at Austn Rowing History
/ref> She won the Australian University Championship title in a Uni of WA coxed four in 1976. During her representative years at the elite level she raced at national regattas in Melbourne University Boat Club colours. Her first state selection for Western Australia came in 1977 as a reserve for the coxed four contesting the ULVA Trophy at the annual Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships. She did not race. In 1978 she stroked the West Australian women's coxed four to a silver medal in the ULVA Trophy contest. By 1979 Westwood had relocated to Melbourne and the MUBC to pursue her national selection goals. She was selected in the Victorian representative senior coxed fours at stroke in 1979 and in the two seat in 1980, both of which were victors at those year's Interstate Regattas. At Australian Rowing Championships in the late 1970s Westwood won a number of Australian titles. In Uni of WA colours she won the women's senior four championship in 1978. Racing for the MUBC she won gold in the women's elite coxed four and women's open eight in 1979 and 1980.Austn C'ships 1980 at Austn Rowing History
/ref>

International representative rowing

Westwood made her Australian representative debut in the women's heavyweight eight whuch rowed to an eighth place at the

1978 World Rowing Championships Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand.Westwood at World Rowing
/ref> In 1979 the Australian champion Victorian women's four including Westwood was selected intact to contest the

1979 World Rowing Championships The 1979 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August – 9 September 1979 at Bled in Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table This table does not include th ...

in Bled. They rowed to a fifth place. That same crew stayed together into the 1980 Olympic year and coached by David Palfreyman, Westwood, Anne Chirnside,

Pam Westendorf Pamela Westendorf (born 28 September 1959) is an Australian former representative rower. She won twenty-three Australian national championships, was an Olympian, represented at five World Championships over a twelve-year period and won a silver ...

, Sally Harding and Susie Palfreyman were picked as the first Australian women's Olympian crew, to race as a coxed four at the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. They again finished in fifth place.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westwood, Verna 1955 births Living people Australian female rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Australian women