{{Short description|Australian rower (1953–2024)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Dennis Hatcher | headercolor = red | image = | birth_name = | fullname = | nickname = | nationality = Australian | residence = | birth_date = {{birth date|1953|4|2|df=y}} | birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia, Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|6|9|1953|4|2|df=y}} | death_place = Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia | height = | weight = | country = Australia | sport = Rowing | event = | collegeteam = | club = Adelaide University Boat Club <br> Melbourne University Boat Club | team = | turnedpro = | coach = | retired = | education = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = | highestranking = | pb = | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{AUS}}}} {{MedalCompetition | World Rowing Championships }} {{MedalBronze| 1978 Copenhagen | LM8+ }} }}

'''Dennis Hatcher''' (2 April 1953 – 9 June 2024) was an Australian rower and sports administrator. He was an Australian national champion rower and won a bronze medal at the 1978 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight division. He held major leadership positions at the Northern Territory Institute of Sport, Australian Institute of Sport, Aspire Academy and Aspire Hospital.

Hatcher was born in Adelaide and obtained Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education at the University of Adelaide and Adelaide College of Advanced Education respectively. In 1984, he completed a PhD in physiology at Monash University.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Frickert |first=Peter |date=12 June 2024 |title=Vale Dennis Hatcher PhD |url=https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1150967/Vale-Dennis-Hatcher-PhD.pdf |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Clearinghouse for Sport}}</ref> He died after a long battle with cancer at Canberra Hospital, on 9 June 2024, at the age of 71.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://tributes.canberratimes.com.au/obituaries/512508/dennis-hatcher/?r=https://tributes.canberratimes.com.au/obituaries/canberratimes-au/ Dennis Hatcher obituary]</ref>

==Rowing== ===Club and state rowing=== Hatcher's senior rowing was from the Adelaide University Boat Club and later the Mercantile Rowing Club in Melbourne.

State representation first came for Hatcher in 1973 in the South Australian men's heavyweight eight contesting the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1973.php#ML4 |title=1973 Interstate Regatta |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804200839/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1973.php#ML4 |archive-date=4 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He rowed in two further South Australian King's Cup eights in 1976 and 1977 and stroked both those crews.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1977.php#M8 |title=1977 Interstate Regatta |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723122820/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1977.php#M8 |archive-date=23 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1974 and 1976 Hatcher rowed in Adelaide University eights at the Australian Intervarsity Championships. The 1974 crew won the championship title.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/university-championships/1974.php#M8 |title=Australian University Championships - Australian Rowing History |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804200930/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/university-championships/1974.php#M8 |archive-date=4 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1979 Hatcher was rowing from the Mercantile Rowing Club as a lightweight and was selected to the Victorian lightweight four who contested and won the Penrith Cup at the 1979 Interstate Regatta.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1979.php#ML4 |title=1979 Interstate Regatta |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826080725/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/1979.php#ML4 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In an MUBC crew he won the lightweight eight national title in 1979.<ref>[http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/national-championships/1978.html#ml8 1978 Australian Championships]</ref>

===International representative rowing=== Hatcher made his Australian representative debut at the 1978 World Rowing Championships in Copenhagen in the Australian men's lightweight eight. That crew won a bronze medal.<ref name="Career">[https://worldrowing.com/athlete/dennis-hatcher?id=37735 Hatcher at World Rowing]</ref> For the 1979 in Bled, Hatcher was again in the Australian lightweight eight which finished in overall sixth place.<ref name="Career" />

===Rowing selector=== Hatcher was a selector for Australian representative squads for six World Rowing Championships from 1989 to 1994 and for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Most notably, his involvement in the selection of the Oarsome Foursome rowing team for the 1990 World Rowing Championships along with coach Noel Donaldson and other national selectors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.australianrowinghistory.com.au/world-championships/1991-Vienna.php |title=1991 World Championships, Vienna Austria|access-date=4 July 2019}}</ref>

==Sports administration== Hatcher was appointed the inaugural Director of the Northern Territory Institute of Sport.<ref name=":0" /> He departed the Institute in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=9 August 2016 |title=nested_content |url=https://parliament.nt.gov.au/business/hansard/questions/questions_listing/nest_content?target_id=343649&parent_id=364376 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=parliament.nt.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> From 2002 to 2009, he was the Assistant Director, Sports Science and Sports Medicine at the Australian Institute of Sport.<ref name=":0" /> He held major sports science and medicine in Qatar from 2009 to 2015 - Head of Sport Science at the Aspire Academy and then Head of Sports Science at the Aspetar Hospital.<ref name=":0" /> After returning to Australia, he established the consultancy Performance Matters that advised national sports organisations on high performance sport issues.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{FISA|37735|Dennis Hatcher}} * [https://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/rower-profiles/hatcher-dennis#gsc.tab=0 Dennis Hatcher - Australian Rowing History]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatcher, Dennis}} Category:1953 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Australian male rowers Category:World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen Category:Rowers from Adelaide Category:Sportsmen from South Australia Category:Australian sports executives and administrators Category:Australian Institute of Sport administrators Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:Monash University alumni