Weekend Wrap: Busy Week at Home and Abroad
The biggest event on the Canadian domestic rowing calendar took place from Aug. 5-10 as the 141st Royal Canadian Henley Regatta ran from Martindale Pond in St. Catharines. While Henley was in full swing, so to were two international regattas, with the U19 World Rowing Championships taking place from Trakai, Lithuania, and the Junior Pan Am Games Regatta kicking off in Asuncion, Paraguay.
On the domestic front, this year’s edition of Henley 129 clubs and almost 2060 entries from across Canada, the United States as well as crews from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, New Zealand, and Ukraine. A total of 23 Ontario clubs participated in the regatta, and five of Canada’s provinces were represented at the event with clubs from BC, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Quebec also competing.
The St. Catharines Rowing Club had the most entries (98) of any club at the regatta and was also atop the leaderboard winning nine gold medals on their home course. Other Ontario clubs winning gold medals were Kingston Rowing Club (2), Argonaut Rowing Club (2), Notre Dame Rowing Club (2), Ridley Graduate Boat Club (1), Brock Rowing (1), and the Peterborough Rowing Club (1). Several other composite crews with Ontario rowers also claimed Henley gold over the course of the six-day regatta.
Meanwhile in Trakai, the U19 World Rowing Championships were held from Aug. 6-10 on Galve Lake. Team Canada sent six boats to compete in the event, which included 12 medal categories. A total of 15 nations won medals at the regatta, including Canada, as the women’s pair of BC’s Ciana Della Siega and Novella Rusman were the highest placing Canadian boat earning a bronze medal in a time of 8:10.72.
Team Canada included six athletes from Ontario as well as Ridley College’s Siobhan McLaughlin who served as one of the coaches for the event. The other boats to compete at the Worlds were the men’s pair (11th), women’s single (12th), women’s quad (13th), men’s four (14th) and men’s single (18th).
In Asuncion, the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games regatta began on Saturday, Aug. 9 and will run until Aug. 13. Team Canada got off to a good start at the regatta, by claiming a bronze medal in the women’s four. Members of the medal-winning boat include Riley Richardson (Ottawa Rowing Club), Ella McKinley (ONGPC), Firinne Rolfe (BC) and Alessandra Tuttle (BC). The action will continue until Wednesday with more Canadian boats hitting the water over the next three days.
For full results from the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from the U19 World Rowing Championships, visit World Rowing
For the full regatta schedule in Ontario, visit the Row Ontario website.
Picture is property of Royal Canadian Henley Regatta
