Telethon superstar Fat Cat among those to witness this year’s Corporate Cup Regatta

Hundreds of people — including Telethon superstar Fat Cat — descended on the Swan River Rowing Club on Saturday to witness this year’s Corporate Cup Regatta.

Crews made up of staff from Hancock Prospecting-owned businesses, including Roy Hill, wore Fat Cat on the sleeves of their custom Telethon-themed rowing rashies as they took to the water in Mt Pleasant.

Fat Cat, who will be one of the star attractions when Telethon starts next weekend, made a guest appearance at the rowing club as he and hundreds more cheered on dozens of competitors across several rowing races from 9am.

The Roy Hill, Atlas and HanRoy teams were among 13 crews participating in Saturday’s annual corporate regatta.

Teams representing WesTrac and the Department of Defence also took part on Saturday in slightly overcast conditions.

Nick Flavel, a Swan River Rowing Club member who helped coach some of the participating crews, said seeing the teams’ progress during their intense training had been a thrill.

“Most of them started out as complete rowing novices, but it has been brilliant to watch them start out as beginners to being able to compete,” he said.

A passionate supporter of Telethon, Roy Hill has been a Million Dollar Partner of Telethon since 2021.

Last year, the company donated a generous $1 million to the cause, plus a further $2 million from executive chair Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

Mrs Rinehart is also the patron of Rowing Australia, which saw her donate a world-class Empacher Racing-Eight to the Swan River Rowing Club’s female youth program in May.

Prior to the event, Hancock Operations chief executive Gerhard Veldsman explained how many staff members support Telethon every year.

“Our teams are really excited to participate in this year’s Corporate Rowing Regatta, and they’ll be wearing our Telethon branded rash vests,” he said.

“Inspired by the leadership of our Executive Chairman, Mrs Gina Rinehart, our employees are keen to contribute, and each month, we have a large number of our staff donate from their pre-tax salaries towards our annual Telethon donation.”

WesTrac team member Chris Sullivan said he had enjoyed the experience for various reasons.

“We’ve been going pretty hard, but it has been a lot of fun,” he said.

“I thought the 4am starts were going to be a bit tough, but the club has been great, and the coaches have been brilliant.”