Weekend Preview: Domestic and International Events Highlight Busy Weekend
Three regattas on the Ontario rowing calendar and one World Rowing championship event highlight a busy weekend in the rowing world that will see many Ontario rowers competing.
On the domestic front, the Head of the Welland Five Bridges Fall Classic and the Guelph Invite both take place on Saturday, Sept. 25, while the Head of the Rideau takes place on Sunday, Sept. 26. This year’s edition of the Head of the Welland will be the 39th in the history of the annual event, which is hosted by the South Niagara Rowing Club. Traditionally one of the largest single-day head races in Canada, the Head of the Welland will take place on the North Course of the Welland International Flatwater Centre and will begin just across from the Welland Community Boathouse where the Ontario NextGen Performance Centre’s on-water facility is located. The 200+ competitors from 16 clubs will row 5km and under five bridges before they reach the finish line. The action begins at 9am on Saturday with the men’s open 1x category and will close with a special exhibition 8+ mixed category at 3:55pm.
The Guelph Invite takes place at the Guelph Conservation Area and will kick off the university rowing season as the first regatta in 2021 exclusively for university rowing programs. Hosted by the Guelph Rowing Club, eight university programs (Brock University, Laurentian University, McMaster University, Ontario Tech University, University of Guelph, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo and Western University) will compete in the regatta which begins at 8am on Saturday. Singles, pairs, doubles, fours and eights race will all be contested across open, lightweight and adaptive categories over 2000m.
The Head of the Rideau will be hosted again by the Ottawa Rowing Club and this year will feature 230 competitors from 19 clubs from Ontario, Quebec, and even a few entries from Alberta. The regatta will feature a jam packed day of action that kicks off at 8:35am with the competitors racing over a distance of either 3km or 5km depending on the race category. Both clubs and university programs will be competing in the race in what will be the 47th edition of the Head of the Rideau.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, three Canadian athletes will compete 2021 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals which will take place in Oeiras, Portugal from Sept. 24-26. The is only the second ever edition of the event, after it debuted in Shenzen, China in 2019. Aubrey Oldham of the Leander Boat Club will pull double duty at the regatta, competing in the CM1x and teaming with the Don Rowing Club’s Sarah Pidgen in the CMix2x category. Both Oldham and Pidgen are veterans of the event having competed in the inaugural edition in 2019. Brienne Miller of the Halifax Rowing Club rounds out the Canadian competitors and will race in the CW1x category.
For more information on the Head of the Welland Five Bridges Fall Classic, visit RegattaCentral.
For more information on the Guelph Invite, visit RegattaCentral.
For more information on the Head of the Rideau, visit RegattaCentral.
For more information on the 2021 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, visit World Rowing.
For the full regatta schedule in Ontario, visit the Row Ontario website.
