Liam Fitzpatrick would have loved to see two fierce rivals coming together as one.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last weekend, Ballarat Clarendon College and Ballarat Grammar put aside their fierce school rivalry to help raise awareness of mental health and honour the memory of Liam, a former Clarendon student.
Liam, 22, was captain of boats for the Ballarat Clarendon College rowing team in 2014, but in January took his own life after battling depression.
To honour his memory, raise awareness of mental health and raise funds for SANE Australia, the schools joined forces to build a team to row in the under 19 coxed eight event at the National Rowing Championships in Sydney.
The top crews of four from each school, in both the women’s and men’s divisions, came together to row as a united team of eight.
“In memory of Liam, and as an opportunity to increase awareness of this insidious disease that affects far too many people within our society, we would like to dedicate this eight to Liam,” said Ballarat Clarendon College rowing director Ross Henderson.
“Fitzy or Gunter, as he was known, would have loved the opportunity to race in this boat at the highest level.”
Among the crew was Ballarat Grammar rower Henry Armstrong, who grew up near Liam in Tatyoon. Their families remain close friends.
“Once we saw the timetable for the regatta I rang my counterpart at Ballarat Grammar, Sam Pullin, to ask if he was interested to row the eights together.
“We both thought it was a good idea so we put the eights together and I had spoken to Henry’s parents at the Wimmera Field Days and decided we could do something using the eight as a context to spreading the word about mental health.”
“It was great to see the two schools come together and important to emphasise that your mental health is every bit as important as your physical health, and it was great to see them combine to raise awareness.”
- Kevin Fitzpatrick
Liam’s parents Bernadette and Kevin drove to Sydney to watch the race, with Bernadette wearing her son’s rowing cap during the race. The couple spoke to the teams after the race.
“It would be nice if they could do something like that as an annual thing,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“It was great to see the two schools come together and important to emphasise that your mental health is every bit as important as your physical health, and it was great to see them combine to raise awareness,” he said.
Ballarat Grammar rowing director Sam Pullin said Ross and he had spoken about how good it would be to have a Ballarat eight, with Ballarat’s best rowers to take it to Melbourne schools.
“When he called and said how about we put our two fours together and row an eight, we were fully on board with that,” he said.
“It’s a pretty intense environment, a school rowing program, and we probably spend more time focussing on the water and physical things and quite often mental stuff can be secondary so it’s really nice to bring the mental side of things to the fore,” he said.
Anyone needing support can contact SANE Australia on 1800 187 263 or www.sane.org, Lifeline 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au
