Summer to Remember
Fans of Alberta Rowing should remember the months of July and August 2016 for the foreseeable future as they have been arguably the most successful two months in some time in Alberta. July and August saw Alberta athletes compete at the Olympic Games, U23 World Championships, Junior World Championships and World University Championships. In July and August of 2016, Alberta clubs returned home with a record 5 Henley Gold Medals, a record 43 medals at the Canadian Masters Championships, and had an athlete win a gold medal at the U23 World Championships; a pretty incredible two-month run indeed. A summary of the summer’s activities is as follows;
- Nicole Hare of Calgary Alberta and her partner Jennifer Martins finished in 14th place in the Women’s Pair Event at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
- Nicole Hare of Calgary Alberta and her partner Hillary Janssens were crowned world champions in the U23 Women’s pair.
- Karen Lefsrud of Calgary, Alberta and her crew of Sierra Bronkhorst, Morgan Cathrea, and Jessica Stewart finished in 7th place in the Women’s Four at the U23 World Championships.
- Aline Belzil of Edmonton, Alberta and her crew of Kendell Messier, Sarah Craven and Antonia Frappell finished in 16th place in the Women’s quad at the Junior World Championships.
- Helena Hlas of Calgary, Alberta and her partner Shannon Kennedy finished in 6th place in the Women’s Double at the World University Games.
- Monica Tos, Jessie Loutit, Amelie Schumacher, Kasia Gruchalla Wesierski, Brianna Walsh, Jessica Sevick, Colleen Nesbitt, Olivia McMurray and Elana Taub representing the Calgary Rowing Club repeated as Henley Champions in the Women’s 8+.
- Miranda Kirker and Gill Cattet representing the Calgary Rowing Club won Henley Gold in the U23 Women’s Pair.
- Jessie Loutit, Amelie Schumacher, Kasia Gruchalla Wesierski and Colleen Nesbitt repeated as Henley Champions in the Women’s 4-.
- Karl Hare representing the Calgary Rowing Club won Henley Gold (the closest race this writer has seen winning by1 one-hundredth of a second) in the Junior Men’s Single.
- Miranda Kirker, Gill Cattet, Kiersten Mort and Sofia McGurk representing the Calgary Rowing Club won Henley Gold in the U23 Women’s Four.
- The Calgary Rowing Club won 26 medals (12 gold) at the Canadian Masters Rowing Championships. Not to be outdone the Edmonton Rowing Club returned home with12 medals (3 gold) from Regina while Lakeland went on to win 5 medals.
Congratulations to everyone for a successful summer.
NRC REGATTA
It is hard to believe that the National Rowing Championships is now only three weeks away. This year’s NRC Regatta will take place from September 22-24 in Burnaby, British-Columbia and will serve as the first step in identifying athletes in the upcoming quadrennial. Following the NRC event there will be an inter-provincial big boat regatta on September 25, 2016. For those interested in attending either event the selection document has been distributed to your club coaches and has been posted on the ARA’s webpage. Do note that athletes must notify the ARA no later than September 8, 2016 if they intend on competing in Burnaby.
OFFICIALS
After a busy regatta season it would only be appropriate to once again recognize all of Alberta’s officials who have made the 2016 Summer Regatta Season a success here in the Prairies. After attending numerous regattas over the past decade this writer can say first-hand that Alberta’s officials are amongst Canada’s best and deserve all of our thanks. Thank-you!
CANADA SUMMER GAMES
In June of 2016 the ARA introduced its erg standards necessary to garner an invite to the 2017 Selection Camp. The standards were as follows.
Heavyweight Men 6:30
Lightweight Men 6:50
Heavyweight Women 7:30
Lightweight Women 7:50
When the standards were first introduced, the ARA had initially thought that they might be overly aggressive and that athletes would have a difficult time meeting these times. Looks like the ARA need not worry. To date the ARA knows of 11 men and 8 women whose erg times put them within 10 seconds of the respective standard. With the games still 10 months away and a new set of athletes being introduced to the sport all across the province this ARA is confident that the erg standards will be achievable for our CSG group.
Welcome
The ARA welcomes Amanda Cinnamon who was recently named as the Head Coach of the Edmonton Rowing Club and University of Alberta Rowing Team. Welcome Amanda.
Happy Anniversary
The Calgary Rowing Club is turning 50 and you are all invited to join the big celebration. Come celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Calgary Rowing Club on Saturday September 17, 2016. There is a full day of activities planned starting with a alumni row and pancake breakfast at 10am. For further details please go to Calgaryrowing.com/50for50
Upcoming Events
National Rowing Championships – September 22-24, Burnaby British-Columbia.
Head of the Vermillion – September 24, 2016, Vermillion, Alberta
Head of the Weasel / Dino Sprints – October 1, 2016 – Calgary. Alberta