Jeff Sykes

Jeff Sykes (born 1943 in Victoria, Australian) is an Australian national champion lightweight rower and a builder of world class rowing racing shells.

Club and state rowing Sykes commenced rowing in 1955 aged 12 as a coxswain at the Corio Bay Rowing Club. He's had a lifelong association with the club and has been club captain, committee man and Vice President.

Sykes' elite competitive rowing career spanned the period from 1960 to 1978. He was then national lightweight men's single scull champion in 1964, 1968, and 1974 and placed second in 1975, 1976, and 1978.

Sykes' first state selection came in 1961 as Victoria's representative to contest the President's Cup - the Men's Interstate Sculling Championship - at the annual Interstate Regatta.

Coaching Before he had retired from competitive rowing, Sykes was coaching Leisa Patterson a Corio Bay Rowing Club sculler. She competed at the 1976 Australian Rowing Championships and won the Australian junior single sculls title. Then she contested the women's open single sculls title in 1977 (2nd place) and then won the lightweight single sculls title that same year. In 1978 she won both the lightweight and the open championship title. She continued to contest lightweight Australian sculls championships under Sykes' coaching for a number of year winning the lightweight single sculls title in 1979 and the lightweight double sculls title in 1991. Sykes Racing initially focussed on smaller boats and had success as rowers of their sculls and pairs won Australian national championships. In 1973 the Western Australian senior men's eight had King's Cup success in a Sykes boat and from 1974 Sykes boats were being used in all boat classes for Australian representative crews.