The 2019 WCSG Team has been selected. The ARA wants to congratulate everyone who tried out for the team. Regardless of whether or not you were one of the 17 athletes selected to the team, you should be extremely pleased with yourself.
WCSG TEAM
The erg scores needed to simply attend the selection camp were aggressive with athletes needing to achieve a 2K erg standard of 7:05 (Men) and 8:05 (Women). In the selection camp itself we could see the technical improvements athletes have made over the past few months making our job of selecting a team of 17 a difficult one. Congratulations to everyone who was a part of the selection process. It is on account of your efforts that has bettered the team as a whole.
The 17 athletes and 4 coaches that will represent Team Alberta at the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current, Saskatchewan are as follows:
Coaches
Alex Marchuk (Calgary), Camil Teodorescu (Edmonton), Hillary Bakker (Edmonton) , Aaron Harrower (Edmonton)
Athletes
Kiara Berezowska (Edmonton), Bob Bryden (Calgary), Karissa Riley (Edmonton), Jarvis Chantler (Calgary), Miki Chantler (Calgary), Michael Claassen (Calgary), Axel Ewashko (Ft McMurray), Liz Ford (Calgary), Max Garvey (Edmonton), Andrew Hubbard (Calgary), Tate Mazurkewich (Calgary), Beth Miller (Calgary), Ben Ravenscroft (Calgary), Deanna Salmon (Calgary), Menno Ulrich (Calgary), Gaby Worobec (Edmonton), Gaby Yarema (Calgary)
International Racing Circuit
In June of 2019 it was announced that eight Alberta based athletes will be representing Canada at an international rowing event this coming year. They are:
Nicole Hare – Gold Medallist at the 2011 WCSG and 2013 CSG, a two time Canadian Henley Medallist (for Calgary), 2016 Olympian, U23 World Champion and most recently a silver medallist at the 2017 World Championships, Nicole will be competing in the women’s 4- at the 2019 World Cup in Rotterdam Netherlands
Jessie Loutit – A 6 time Canadian Henley medallist, Jessie will be representing Canada for the third time (She raced in the 2015 FISU 4-, and at the 2018 World Championships in the Women’s 4-) as she competes in the women’s 2- at the 2019 Pan-Games in Lima Peru
Kasia Gruchella Wesierski – Kasia first stepped into a boat in 2014. Five years since she took her first stroke she has won Canadian Henley four times and will now represent Canada for the second time in the women’s 8+ at the 2019 World Cup in Rotterdam Netherlands.
Colleen Nesbitt: A swimmer with UBC, Colleen moved to Alberta in 2015 and took up rowing full time while pursuing her Masters Degree. A four time Canadian Henley Medallist, Colleen will represent Canada in the women’s 4- at the 2019 World Cup in Rotterdam Netherlands
Karen Lefsrud: Karen first started rowing in 2012. Since then she has represented Alberta at the 2013 CSG, narrowly missed out on Henley Gold on two separate occasions, won a gold medal at the 2017 U23 World Championships and will now be making second appearance on the senior circuit representing Canada in the women’s 4- in Rotterdam Netherlands.
Curtis Ames– Despite being cut from the 2015 WCSG Team, Curtis went on to win three medals at the 2017 Canada Summer Games, and silver medals at the Canadian University Rowing Championships in the men’s pair in both 2017 & 2018. Curtis will now represent Canada for the first time at the 2019 U23 World Championships in the men’s 8+.
Jessica Sevick- Jessica first started rowing in 2015, and in four short years she has won Canadian Henley on two separate occasions. In 2019 Jessica will represent Canada for the first time in the W1x at the 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima Peru.
Jeremy Hall Jeremy started rowing two years ago and is already a world medallist. Jeremy represented Canada in Poznan Poland and took home a silver medal at World Cup II in the PR2 Men’s 1x a few weeks ago.
Each of these Alberta based athletes demonstrate that regardless of when you were introduced to the sport (Junior, U23 or Senior) Alberta has the resources to develop international talent in our own backyard. All of these athletes have competed at the National Rowing Championships/ Canada Cup; each of them has represented an Alberta based club at Henley (five of them doing so in 2017) and like most of us here in Alberta have competed at the various regattas on the Prairie Rowing Circuit. Congratulations to each of you and best of luck!
National Rowing Championships:
The 2019 National Rowing Championships are scheduled from September 26th to September 29th in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Small boat racing will commence the morning of September 26th and will continue through to the morning of September 28th. The Canada Cup portion of the regatta will take place on Sunday September 29th.
Registration for the event is done through the ARA and once again we will support qualified athletes in attending this event. A selection document outlining how athletes can qualify to race for team Alberta at this event will be distributed no later than July 20th. Athletes who do not qualify to race for their Provincial Rowing Association (PRA) are able to register and race the NRC Regatta for their RCA-Member Club (Club).
Lakeland Development Camp
The Lakeland development camp is now only three days away. Registration has closed but if you are thinking you would like to be a last-minute registrant I am sure we can find a spot for you. Details for the camp can be found by following the link http://albertarowing.ca/news/development-camp-save-the-date/
As an aside check out this great story on the Lakeland Rowing Club https://www.zenseekers.com/story/vermilion-water
Upcoming Events
- B.C Championships – Victoria British Columbia July 11-14, 2019
- Cascadia Regatta – Delta, British Columbia – July 20, 21 2019
- Royal Canadian Henley Regatta – St. Catharines August 4-11, 2019