Sue Donoghue ASM, OAM
Canberra Rowing Club (ACT)
The following citation appears on the Rowing ACT website Life Members page and was extracted on 30th December 2022.
Sue was awarded The Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for “Commitment and service to the sport, particularly with juniors”. She was awarded an OAM in 2004 for “service to sport, particularly rowing as an administrator, coach and competitor, and to physical education.
Volunteer Rowing Coach, ACT Academy of Sport 1994-1997, 1999–2000
Personally coached 19 junior and senior women in the Academy’s girls rowing “Talent Search” program. Under Sue’s coaching four of these women were selected to represent Australia.
International coaching results include a Silver Medal at the 1998 World Junior Rowing Championships in the women’s double sculls. The two athletes in that crew had been coached by Sue since the day they began in the sport. Sue had taken them from beginners to international medallists within two years.
Sue was one of the only coaches within the Academy’s program to consistently take the extra time away from her paid work to drive athletes and equipment to interstate camps and regattas.
Volunteer Rowing Coach, Canberra Girls Grammar School, 1991-1994
Sue was the founding coach in 1991 of the Canberra Girls Grammar School Rowing Club.
Sue coached girls from beginner to national junior schoolgirls standard, taking the first squad of Canberra Girls Grammar School rowers to the National Championships in 1994.
Volunteer Rowing Coach, ACT Rowing Association, 1996-2000
Sue coached the ACT Women’s Youth Eight at the National Championships every year from 1996 to 2000. She also coached the eight in 2001 when working as a professional coach.