Australian sporting tradition continues as Olympic rowing team given ‘pretty cool’ name

Australia’s rowing team has been in the market for a nickname, but the country’s sporting nomenclature is crowded.

The rowers glide across the water, but the Gliders are the women’s wheelchair basketball side. The surface shimmers as the sun rises over training, but the Diamonds are for netball. The Sharks might have been apt, as they hunt their prey towards the finish line. But the men’s lacrosse team got there first.

Instead, the national rowing team has formally adopted the nickname of “Rowsellas” ahead of the Paris Olympics. The decision follows a call-out for suggestions earlier this year, during which “the Yabbies” appeared to be the early favourite. However, Rowing Australia chief executive Officer Sarah Cook said ultimately the enthusiasm for the Rowsellas was overwhelming.

“Rowing has a long and distinguished history in Australia, so creating a name, identity and logo from scratch took an enormous amount of input and buy-in from people right across the sport, from administrators, coaches, the athletes and of course the fans, who submitted hundreds of ideas for the team name,” she said.

Rowing Australia’s social media accounts posted on Tuesday explaining the concept: “Just as rowing embodies endurance, grace and strength, the Rosella’s characteristics of agility, beauty and resilience mirror the qualities inherent in the sport.”

Kendall Brodie, who coxes the Australian men’s eight, said taking on the new name was “pretty cool”. Sarah Hawe, from the women’s eight, said she hopes the Australian public will embrace it. “A lot of big sporting teams have mascots… the Dolphins, the Matildas… so for rowing to now come into that space is really exciting.”

The Paris Games will see the Olympic debut of another Australian sporting nickname, the Gangurrus. The Australian women’s basketball 3x3 team – which qualified for the Olympics for the first time this year – adopted the moniker alongside their male counterparts during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Unlike the gender-based identities of the Boomers and Opals in the five-on-five form of basketball, the Gangurrus represent both the men’s and women’s teams. Anneli Maley said her team’s name – taken from the Guugu Yimithirr word for the eastern grey kangaroo – was developed by the coaches and players themselves. “It’s important that we all stick under the same banner and also have that support from our male counterparts,” she said last week.

Paralympic rower and world champion in the PR3 mixed double scull, Nikki Ayers, said she was proud to wear the “Rowsella” insignia and be part of the cohort of athletes “who can set the standard and culture for the name and build that genuine meaning and history”.

Some sporting nicknames names – like the Wallabies, Matildas and Hockeyroos – have been widely embraced and established. Others – like surfing’s Irukandjis or men’s netball team the Kelpies – have only recently been adopted and are still finding traction. Not all will stick.

The Australian athletics team launched its nickname “the Flame” for the Berlin World Championships in 2009. “We firmly believe the Australian Flame is a strong cultural and commercial platform that will benefit the sport for many years to come,” the Athletics Australia annual report said at the time. The Flame is no longer formally in use.