- The team’s new name comes after a national competition
- It doesn’t sound as easy to pronounce as ‘Oarsome Foursome’
Australia’s rowing team has revamped its brand ahead of this month’s Olympic Games in Paris, and the name they’ve chosen doesn’t look like a winner.
Following a nationwide competition to name the team and consultation with stakeholders, athlete leaders and sports design experts, the name they chose is Rowsellas.
The new title combines the name of the iconic Australian parrot with a play on words, a bit like Australia’s most famous rowing team, the Oarsome Foursome.
“It’s great that the team is finally called Rowsellas. It’s very special to have our men, women and Paralympians under one name and one brand. It’s something that really brings us together,” rower Kendall Brodie said in a Rowing Australia press release.
“Rosella’s speed and agility are quite similar to what I feel in the men’s eight when we’re at top speed. I have to hold on tight because I feel like I’m flying, so it’s a really fitting name for the team.”
Rowsellas’ teammate Sarah Hawe said she hopes the new nickname will catch on.
“I think it’s great that the public has something to be happy about,” Hawe said.
‘A lot of big sports teams have mascots… the Dolphins, the Matildas… so for rowing to now enter that space is really exciting.’
Australia’s rowing team (pictured at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics) has changed its name to Rowsellas, but the new name doesn’t catch the imagination of sports fans.
It is the first time the successful team has had one name for all competitors (pictured, the Australian women’s eight team at this year’s World Cup).
However, announcements of the new name on social media failed to resonate on Tuesday.
Despite several posts on the Rowing Australia and Australian Olympic Team X accounts, none of them had generated a single comment from Australian sports fans at the time of writing.
This contrasts with the famous name Oarsome Foursome, which was given to the country’s men’s coxless four from 1990 to 2012, during which time they won two Olympic golds and two world championships.
Australian national teams have a tradition of drawing on local fauna for their nicknames, with names such as the Hockeyroos (women’s hockey), the Boomers (men’s basketball) and the Kookaburras (men’s hockey).
Matildas (women’s football) is inspired by the nation’s cultural heritage, originating from the popular song Waltzing Matilda.
The Australian rowing team, one of the most successful nations in the sport, has never had a team name to compete under until now.
Rowing Australia chief executive Sarah Cook said the creation of the Rowsellas identity was a great moment for the sport.
“Rowing has a long and distinguished history in Australia, so creating a name, identity and logo from scratch required a huge amount of input and buy-in from people across the sport, from administrators, coaches, athletes and of course the fans, who submitted hundreds of ideas for the team name,” Cook said.
“The enthusiasm was overwhelming, which shows how much the Australian Rowing Team, the Rowsellas, means to our community. We hope we have rewarded them with a name and an icon that they can stand behind and that our athletes can represent with pride and distinction.”
