Weekend Wrap: Busy Weekend in Ontario Rowing
A busy weekend in Ontario rowing circles saw a total of 27 Ontario clubs participate in four different regattas in Ontario, Quebec and Minnesota. The Tony Biernacki Sr. Memorial Regatta (Welland) and CORA Championships (St. Catharines) took place in Ontario, while the Eastern Regatta Association Championships were run in Montreal, and the Thunder Bay Rowing Club competed at the Duluth International Regatta south of the border.
In Welland, the masters-focused ‘Tony B’ featured 195 entries from 24 clubs from Ontario and the USA. Traditionally hosted by Brock University Rowing, the Tony B has been run by Row Ontario on the North Course in Welland for the past three years. The event took place on Sunday, July 14 under a sunny sky and warm temperatures throughout the morning, which shifted to an overcast sky in the afternoon. A head wind was prevalent throughout the day, particularly near the starting gates, but really picked up in the last hour of the event, which forced crews off the water and the cancellation of the last four races of the day.
Before the action was halted, the Argonaut Rowing Club enjoyed the most successful day on the water with a total of 22 medals (9 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze). They were followed by the Hanlan Boat Club (5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze) and St. Catharines Rowing Club (5 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) with 12 medals, the Don Rowing Club with ten – including an impressive eight golds to go along with a silver and a bronze – and the London Western Rowing Club with eight (2 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze).
Other Ontario clubs walking away with medals included the Leander Boat Club, Ridley Graduate Boat Club and South Niagara Rowing Club with six, Peterborough Rowing Club with four, LaSalle Rowing Club with three, Barrie Rowing Club, Niagara Falls Rowing Club, and Tillsonburg Rowing Club with two, and the Cambridge Rowing Club, Notre Dame Rowing Club, and Orillia Rowing Club with one.
In Montreal, seven Ontario clubs competed alongside 17 other clubs from Quebec and the United States on the Olympic Basin for the ERA Championships. Hosted by the Montreal Rowing Club, the regatta saw 347 entries and featured events across junior, open, and masters categories. The strong contingent of Ontario rowers from the seven clubs comprised a total of 161 entries, with 81 alone coming from the Ottawa Rowing Club. The ORC also earned the most medals of Ontario clubs, bringing home a total of 16 (2 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze) to the nation’s capital. The Niagara Falls Rowing Club also enjoyed a successful day on the water earning seven gold medals to go along with two silvers and a bronze. Western University also made the trip to Montreal and earned a total of 11 medals (3 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze). Also earning medals were Brock Rowing (2), Kingston Rowing Club (2), and the St. Catharines Rowing Club (1).
The CORA Championships took place on Martindale Pond on Saturday and was the largest regatta of the weekend with 403 entries from 18 clubs. The event also featured junior, senior and masters categories across a full range of boat classes. Several masters athletes competed on back-to-back days on the weekend as the boat trailers made the short drive to Welland from St. Catharines for the Tony B. In Duluth, members of the Thunder Bay Rowing Club performed well against their American counterparts bringing home a total of seven medals (3 gold, 4 silver) at the Duluth International Regatta. The regatta featured 205 entries from a total of seven clubs.
For full results from the Tony Biernacki Sr. Memorial Regatta, visit RegattaCentral
For more information on the CORA Championships, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from the ERA Championships, visit RegattaCentral
For full results from the Duluth International Regatta, visit Regatta Master
