Weekend Wrap: Another Busy Weekend in Ontario Rowing Community
Three regattas featuring Ontario rowers of all ages took place over the weekend as the summer regatta season continued to pick up steam.
Two of the regattas took place in the Niagara area, as the 2026 RowOn Masters Championships, the first provincial rowing championship of 2026, were held on Sunday on the North Course of the Welland International Flatwater Centre. The day before, the Central Ontario Rowing Association (CORA) Championships were hosted at Martindale in St. Catharines. Combined, the two regattas had a total of 589 entries, 201 for the RowOn Masters Championships and 388 for the CORA Championships, with several masters rowers pulling double duty by competing in both regattas. Meanwhile in Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor, MI some of the top U19 rowers in the country competed at the International Regatta Challenge.
The RowOn Masters Championships featured 23 clubs, including 17 from Ontario and six from the United States. The regatta was contested under warm temperatures that reached the high 20’s in the afternoon with mostly calm waters throughout the day. Of the 23 competing clubs, 20 earned medals showcasing the depth of masters rowing throughout the province.
For the second year in a row, the Hanlan Boat earned the most medals at the regatta, taking home a total of 15 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze). They were followed closely by the London Western Rowing Club with 14, including an event-high 11 gold along with one silver and two bronze. The Ridley Graduate Boat Club also had a strong day on the water, claiming a total of 13 medals (5 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze), followed by the Thunder Bay Rowing Club (2 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze) and the St. Catharines Rowing Club (6 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) with nine apiece. The Thunder Bay Rowing Club was making their first ever appearance at the RowOn Masters Championships and had a strong showing with nine of their 13 entries earning medals.
Other Ontario clubs reaching the podium included the Don Rowing Club and Argonaut Rowing Club with eight medals apiece, followed by the Georgian Bay Rowing Club (7), South Niagara Rowing Club (7), Peterborough Rowing Club (5), Leander Boat Club (4), Kingston Rowing Club (1), Island Lake Rowing Club (1), Barrie Rowing Club (1), and Cambridge Rowing Club (1). Several of the clubs also had athletes earn medals in composite boats comprised of at least two members from different clubs.
In St. Catharines, 20 clubs competed at the CORA Championships, which saw an increase of 21 entries from last year’s event. The annual regatta featured U17, U19, Senior, and Masters age categories in a full day of rowing that featured 16 of the 19 Ontario clubs earning a first-place finish. The top club on the gold medal standings was Niagara Community Rowing, which brought home a total of 14 golds, followed closely by the Argonaut Rowing Club with 13 and the St. Catharines Rowing Club with ten. Other Ontario clubs reaching the top of the podium included the Niagara Falls Rowing Club (9), Ridley College (7), Ridley Graduate Boat Club (6), Hanlan Boat Club (5), Orillia Rowing Club (5), Peterborough Rowing Club (4), Guelph Rowing Club (4), Leander Boat Club (3), Georgian Bay Rowing Club (2), Notre Dame Rowing Club (2), Kingston Rowing Club (1), and London Western Rowing Club (1).
Many of the rowers who competed at CORA will be back on the same course this weekend for the 2026 RowOn Championships which take place July 18-19 at Martindale Pond.
The International Rowing Challenge was held over three days at Ford Lake Park and saw the Team Canada athletes compete against rowers from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and the United States. The nine-member Team Canada included two Argonaut Rowing Club members in Benjamin Schindler and Natalie McClure. Each member of the team competed in multiple boats throughout the three-day event, with Schindler and McClure each participating in the men’s and women’s four, quad and double respectively as well as the mixed eight.
Team Canada had a solid regatta, earning six medals out of nine events, including one gold, two silver and three bronze. They finished tied for third in the overall medal standings with New Zealand, behind Australia with eight and the United States with seven. The Team was coached by Ontario NextGen Performance Centre coach Sandra Farwell.
Team Canada Results – International Rowing Challenge
- Men’s 2x – 4th place
- Women’s 2x – 3rd place
- Men’s 2- – 3rd place
- Women’s 2- – 1st place
- Men’s 4x – 4th place
- Women’s 4x – 2nd place
- Men’s 4+ – 3rd place
- Women’s 4+ – 2nd place
- Mixed 8+ – 4th place
For full results from the RowOn Masters Championships, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from the CORA Championships, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from International Regatta Challenge, visit US Rowing.
For the full regatta schedule in Ontario, visit the Row Ontario website.
