Boat Race
Rowing is one of the world’s oldest sports and the races that have come to define it are some of the most storied traditions the world over. In England there is the “Boat Race”, a 165 year-old competition between Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club
In the United States the Harvard Yale regatta has over 150 years of tradition and is America’s oldest collegiate athletic competition. Here in Canada there is the McGill – Queen’s Challenge Boat Race, and on the west coast there is the Brown Cup – a boat race between the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia. Interestingly, up to a few years ago Alberta had a boat race of its own.
The boat race was the vision of the Edmonton Rowing Club who in 2013 formally challenged the Calgary Rowing Club to an 8+’s race on the North Saskatchewan River. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp4SpiTlNOs. For the next few years the “unofficial” race was a staple of the rowing calendar with Edmonton and Calgary athletes training over the winter months for the opportunity to race their Alberta counterparts. Unfortunately, in 2018 for reasons unknown the event stopped and was almost all but forgotten – until now.
Thanks to the efforts of a 2004 Olympian – Andrew Hoskins (a participant in the 2013 race and now ERC President), the ERC Executive and Rob Swartz – past president of the ERC and long-time executive with the ARA – the Boat Race will once again be held on Saturday May 13th on the North Saskatchewan River with Junior, Novice and Master races planned throughout the day. Here is hoping for a great day and the ongoing return of this event for years to come
Pan-American Trials
Four Alberta athletes represented Canada at the 2023 Pan-American Games qualifier in Santiago Chile last month. Olivia McMurray returned home from the event with gold in the Women’s pair and then later teamed up with Kendra Hartley to finish fourth in the Women’s four. Meanwhile Andrew Hubbard placed sixth in the Men’s 1x A final and Shaye De Paiva earned bronze in the Women’s 2x. More important than the individual performances was the fact that all four athletes qualified their respective boats for the 2023 Pan-American Games to be held later this year in Santiago Chili. For a great article on the event (from the perspective of one of our Alberta athletes) please follow the link https://www.discoverairdrie.com/articles/airdronian-returns-home-from-international-event-with-rowing-gold
Congratulations to all four athletes.
Save the Date
For the first time in over four years the Lakeland Rowing Camp will be an open event with opportunities for athletes of all ages and skill levels to participate. We hope that everyone will mark the dates of July 21 to 23, 2023 in their calendars and come out to Vermilion to participate in this year’s event. Details to follow shortly.
Rowing Tidbits
- Adonis, Jordan and Jennifer Pederson from Barhead Alberta were featured in an article that highlighted their performance at the World Indoor Rowing Championships. The article can be found via the link. https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/barrhead-news/rowing-their-way-to-success-6690295
- 7 ARA athletes competed in the 2023 Brown Cup featuring crews from UBC and UVIC. For an article on this year’s event please go to https://gothunderbirds.ca/news/2023/4/1/t-birds-men-and-vikes-women-win-30th-running-of-rowings-historic-brown-cup.aspx
- While not typically a fan of US Rowing. the following video provides an interesting look at selection for the 2000 US Men’s Olympic 8+. It provides an interesting perspective on our sport https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gba4D9fVY&t=2410s
Upcoming Events
ERC Boat Race – May 13 – Edmonton Alberta