25 August 2026; by Phina Newton
This year, the Jopling Family Scholarship will support three accomplished rowers, Romy Cantwell (Doctor of Medicine), Eliza Gaffney (Juris Doctor), and Fraser Miscamble (Honours). This is the third and fourth time these student-athletes have been awarded the scholarship and have been able to achieve great success in the sport while pursuing their education at the University of Melbourne.
The Jopling Family Rowing Scholarship provides financial support and other in-kind assistance to University of Melbourne student-athletes who have demonstrated excellence in both academics and rowing, with leadership qualities that espouse active citizenship and a commitment to helping others. The scholarship aims to support highly talented young rowers in receiving quality education and to inspire them to give back to the community.
The last time Miscamble held this Scholarship was in 2024,
“The scholarship had a significant impact on both my academic and rowing endeavours, for which I am very grateful. The financial and in-kind support allowed me to maintain a balance between my academic and rowing aspirations.”
During this period, he won a silver medal in the Men’s Four at the 2023 U23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and received an invitation from Rowing Australia to be a part of the Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre (RBNTC) in 2024. All while completing his Bachelor of Biomedicine degree and concurrent Diploma of Languages (German).
More recently, he represented Australia in the Men’s Pair at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai. Based at the Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre (RBNTC), he is also a member of the Melbourne University Boat Club and continues to represent them nationally.
Now in 2026, Miscamble has started his Honours and is grateful to be supported yet again.
Studying and researching at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research with the HEART Lab team, he has a busy year ahead of him, conducting research and writing his thesis, but thanks to the Jopling Family Scholarship, he can remain equally committed to rowing,
“I will be continuing to row with Rowing Australia to work towards further representing Victoria and Australia over the next few years,” he says.
Gaffney and Cantwell have received this scholarship concurrently since 2022 and 2023, respectively. Both student-athletes have had great success so far in their rowing careers and have just finished racing with the Australian National team in Seville, Spain. It was the World Rowing Cup 1 series, where Gaffney’s W8+ crew won gold. While Cantwell’s crew finished 8th, it was her debut in the W4X; last year competing in the Women’s Single Skulls event.
Both Melbourne University Boat Club members, they continue to utilise the scholarship that allows them to fully commit to their rowing and academic goals.