Weekend Wrap: RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series Picks Up Steam in Kingston

On a full beach and with an enthusiastic crowd cheering them on, coastal rowers competed in the second event in the RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series on Saturday at Grass Creek Park in Kingston, ON.

A mix of rookie and veteran beach sprint racers participated in the regatta, which had strong representation in the U19 categories. A total of 22 junior-aged athletes participated in the men’s and women’s solo categories, the most ever at a RowOn Beach Series event. One of those junior athletes was Ridley College’s Naomi Cousins, who was competing in her second beach regatta after making her debut at RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #1 in St. Catharines in June. Cousins had a strong regatta, placing first in both the U19 women’s solo and U19 mixed double with partner Merik Sommer (St. Catharines Rowing Club).

“Definitely for my second beach event I felt more comfortable, having already done it once I had an idea of how everything worked and a lay of the land,” said Cousins on how she felt coming into the event. “I had a great time at the first regatta and this one was just as good. I’m excited to get some more experience and some more racing in.”

Cousins was ranked second in the U19 women’s solo after the time trials and won her quarter- and semi-final races to advance to the gold medal matchup where she battled the Elizabeth City Rowing Club’s (North Carolina) Kiran Rodgers in the final. Rodgers was in the lead at the halfway point but got hung up on buoy on the way back to the beach. Cousins capitalized on the opportunity and rowed a clean race en route to crossing the finish line in a winning time of 2:55.74. Cousins and Sommer earned the number one seed in the U19 Mixed Double, and the new partners got better as the day went on, eventually winning the final in a time of 2:35.57. They topped Rose LaFrance and Benjamin Dewal (Brockville Rowing Club) in the final, who came in ten seconds behind in a time of 2:45.66.

Dewal also had a successful day on the water, placing first in the U19 men’s division after topping Brockville teammate James St. Pierre in the final in a time of 2:48.86. Other junior category winners included Rodgers and Ella McFaedden (Elizabeth City Rowing Club) in the U19 Women’s Double.

Thanks to their impressive performances on Saturday, Cousins and Sommer now lead the RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series point standings after two events. Cousins (210 pts) pulled ahead of the Don Rowing Club’s Natalie Bellerby (125) and holds an 85-point lead, while Sommer (150) is just ten points ahead of Dewal (140) heading into the third event in the series next week in Ottawa.

(See full point standings on our website at RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series.)

The day started off with flat water and calm conditions that later gave way to a few waves and a tail wind for the rowers rowing back to the beach on the second half of the course. Open men’s gold medalist Aubrey Oldham (Leander Boat Club) started the day out strong with the top time (2:28.03) in the time trial, setting the tone for the rest of his day on the water.

“The time trial in my opinion, and I think this is shared by a lot of experienced athletes, is very important,” said Oldham. “I’d argue that until you get to those medal finals, it’s probably the most important race of the regatta, so you want to lay it down as fast as you can and as hard as you can, so you can have some time after to recover. You want to have a good result in the time trial and set the tone early and set yourself up for success for the rest of the regatta.”

After advancing to the final, Oldham earned the fastest time of the day against Aviron Lachine’s Xavier Bouchard, winning the race in a time of 2:23.08. In the open women’s division, USRowing National Team member Audrey Boersen (ARION) won the event by outpacing Autumn Prior (Orillia Rowing Club) in the final. Boersen crossed the finish line in a time of 2:36.39, winning her first beach event on Canadian soil.

“I really like the atmosphere here, there’s a bunch of people just staked out on the beach cheering each other on,” said Boersen on her impressions of her first RowOn Beach Series event. “There’s always some pressure to perform, but it’s great atmosphere to compete in. We’re at the beach for the day; you’re going to go out and row a few times and it’s going to hurt but you’re going to have a lot of fun with it. It’s really fun being around a new crowd of people too that I didn’t know until today.”

Oldham and Boersen also teamed up in the Open Mixed Double, earning the number one seed in the time trial and advancing to the finals where they faced off with the Hanlan Boat Club’s Elene Brett-Evans and Benjamin Wiebe. The Hanlan duo pulled off the upset, crossing the line in 2:37.20 to claim first place. Other doubles category winners included Prior and Iris Fiddick (Orillia Rowing Club) in the Open Women’s Double and Wiebe and Zixin Wang (Hanlan Boat Club) in the Open/U19 Men’s Double.

There was a total of 64 entries from 12 clubs at the regatta, falling just shy of the Canadian record 67 entries that was set at RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #1 in St. Catharines in June. Local clubs came out in large numbers to attend the event, with 12 entries from the Kingston Rowing Club, who helped support the organization of the regatta and 22 from the Brockville Rowing Club, which also supplied the boats for the event. Beachgoers could also participate in a Come and Try that ran in conjunction with the regatta, with several people taking advantage of the opportunity to try out a coastal boat during the event’s lunch break.

The RowOn Beach Sprint Series continues next weekend at Petrie Island Beach in Ottawa for the third of four regattas in the series. RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #3 will be the first beach sprint event ever hosted in Ottawa.

Upcoming RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series Events
RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #3 – Ottawa – Aug. 29
RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #4 – Hamilton – Sept. 19

RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #1 Category Winners
Open Men’s Solo – Aubrey Oldham – Leander Boat Club
Open Women’s Solo  – Audrey Boersen – ARION
U19 Men’s Solo – Benjamin Dewal – Brockville Rowing Club
U19 Women’s Solo – Naomi Cousins – Ridley College
Open Women’s Double – Autumn Prior / Iris Fiddick – Orillia Rowing Club
Open Mixed Double – Benjamin Wiebe / Elene Brett-Evans – Hanlan Boat Club
Open / U19 Men’s Double – Benjamin Wiebe / Zixin Wang – Hanlan Boat Club
U19 Women’s Double – Kiran Rodgers / Ella McFaedden – Elizabeth City Rowing Club
U19 Mixed Double – Merik Sommer (St. Catharines Rowing Club) / Naomi Cousins (Ridley College)

Other action from around the Ontario rowing community over the weekend included the Hogtown Heats in Toronto. Hogtown Heats is a 750m race hosted by the Argonaut Rowing Club for primarily novice, recreational, U19 and para competitors. This year’s edition of the event featured ten clubs from throughout Ontario including the host Argos, Barrie Rowing Club, Cambridge Rowing Club, Guelph Rowing Club, Hanlan Boat Club, Island Lake Rowing Club, Leander Boat Club, Muskoka Rowing Club, Orillia Rowing Club and Sudbury Rowing Club. The 65 entries in the event was up from the 40 in 2025 and the ten participating clubs doubled last year’s five.

For full results from the RowOn Beach Sprint Cup Series #2, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from Hogtown Heats, visit RegattaCentral

For the full regatta schedule in Ontario, visit the Row Ontario website.