THE BOAT RACE
In rowing circles, there are few annual traditions bigger than what is known by many as “The Boat Race”. Founded in 1829, “The Boat Race” has become an annual race between Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club rowed between competing 8+‘s on the Thames River in London, England.
Looking to start a similar type of tradition here in Alberta, Edmonton Rowing Club Vice President Glen Rollans threw down the gauntlet and challenged the Calgary Rowing Club to an 8+’s race on the North Saskatchewan River http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp4SpiTlNOs .
Both the Calgary and Edmonton Rowing Clubs have a storied history here in Alberta. Celebrating their 40th and 45th anniversaries, the Edmonton and Calgary Rowing Clubs respectively are volunteer driven organizations who have become fixtures in their local communities. Athletes from each club have gone on to win world and Olympic medals in the sport of rowing; while the membership within each club works tirelessly to support the sport of rowing here in Alberta, Canada and internationally as well. Interestingly enough, John Bell one of the founding members of the Edmonton Rowing Club is the Senior Member for the Oxford University Boat Club, responsible for the annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge.
With a proud sporting history, and a intense rivalry that exists between the two cities it is surprising that it has taken 40+ years for a boat race to be finally take place between these two clubs. On Saturday May 11th that will change as Calgary’s best take on Edmonton’s best on the North Saskatchewan River. The Crews for the 2013 Edmonton / Boat Race are as follows:
CALGARY
Men: Pascal Ferraro, Ilya Makhotkin, John Reid, Stephen Holloway, Jack Dundas, Sam Garber, Andrew Guran, Ben Millen – Spare Doug Doyle-Baker, Travis Braddell, Shaun Gair – Cox: Kim Krahn
Women: Olivia McMurray, Olivia Fisher, Morgan Crilly, McKenzie Lukacs, Jessie Loutit, Karen Guran, Shawn Eccleston, Heather Bryden – Spare: Karen Lefsrud, Veronique Ulrich – Cox: Kim Krahn
EDMONTON
Men: Terry McKall, Julien Lamoureux, Quinn Brandly, Burak Ozguluk, Andrew Douglas, Steve Payne, Steve Wong, Marcus Briske – Cox: Alex Martin
Women: Mallory Turner, Leanne Leder, Andrea Labreque, Isabelle Belzil, Marisa Maiorana, Jess Phillips, Becky Smith, Nicole Barbeau – Cox: Deb Johnson
In addition to the boat race between Calgary and Edmonton the event will also feature a Novice 8+’s race involving Lakeland Boat Club. Lakeland Boat Club is a member club within Alberta Rowing located in Vermillion, Alberta. Crews for the Novice Race are as follows:
Lakeland: Emily Birchfield, Sarah Birchfield, Jacqueline McAuley, Rachelle Simard, Arvel Lawson, Joe Butcher, Derek Collins, Brian Tischler – Cox: TBD
Edmonton: Josh Belke, Haadi Shuab, Duncan Chan, Josefine Natterqvist, Amanda Santarossa, Cody Anderson, Shannon Hill, Andre Driedg – Cox: Roland Dennet
Calgary: Brandon Mooney, Rawdon de Pavia, Jonas Ordman, Cameron Fowler, Renee Kots-Porietis, Veronique Ulrich, Chelsea Daku – Eighth individual and Cox: TBD.
CSG SELECTION CAMP UPDATE
A reminder to all athletes that 2,000m Erg Submissions up to May 15, 2013 will be used by the ARA to determine invitees to the 2013 CSG Selection Camp on June 1-2, 2013 in Calgary, Alberta. As has been reported in previous ARA Submissions, attendance at the June 1-2 Selection Camp will be by invite only and will be automatically granted to those athletes who have met an aggressive erg standard The new erg standards are as follows
Heavyweight Men 6:40
Lightweight Men 6:55
Heavyweight Women 7:40
Lightweight Women 7:55
To those athletes who hit the previously reported standard we commend you. Keep up the good work! The ARA will be distributing an outline of the Selection camp in the next few weeks.
DEVELOPMENT REGATTA
A total of three Alberta athletes competed at the most recent 2013 RCA Development Regatta in Burnaby, B.C. (West) and Welland, Ontario (East). The regatta served as an opportunity for National Team hopefuls to showcase their talent. All three athletes should be commended on a job well done; this is especially so, when you factor that all four athletes hadn’t been in a boat for nearly 6 months.
Henley Funding
The 2013 Henley Funding document is nearly finalized and should be distributed soon. Please note that there are changes from previous years.
Upcoming Events
- Edmonton Boat Race – May 11, 2013
- 2,000m Erg Submissions Due for CSG Athletes – May 15, 2013
- CSG Selection Camp June 1-2- Calgary, Alberta
- Regina Sprints – June 8, 2013 – Regina, Saskatchewan