He won world and national championships in both sculls and in sweep-oared boat classes during an eighteen-year elite level career.

[1] He rowed in the Tasmania representative men's lightweight four who contested the Penrith Cup at the Interstate Regatta on ten occasions between 1993 and 2005.

[3] The following year at Vienna 1991 that same crew (with Gary Lynagh and Bruce Hick at two and three) won gold and a World Championship title.

[4] In 1992 Stephen Hawkins was selected in the Olympic heavyweight double scull and so the champion lightweight quad was broken up.

[6][7] Burgess did not make Australian representative sculling crews in 1995 or 1996 due to illness, but by 1997 he was performing and selected at the elite level in lightweight sweep oared boats.

For Aiguebelette 1997 he was picked in the six seat of the Australian lightweight eight who won gold, earning Burgess his second World Championship title.

Burgess was selected with his longstanding sculling partner Gary Lynagh in the lightweight coxless four along with Haimish Karrasch and David Belcher.