Weekend Wrap: Busy Weekend in Ontario Rowing
The first weekend of the Fall was a busy one in Ontario rowing circles as three regattas took place in the province. The Head of the Welland Five Bridges Fall Classic, Guelph Invite, and Head of the Rideau were all hosted over the weekend and saw a total of over 500 rowers competing at the three events. Across the Atlantic Ocean, three Canadian rowers also competed at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Oeiras, Portugal.
Brienne Miller of the North Star Rowing Club in Nova Scotia was the big winner for the Canadian athletes in Portugal bringing home the gold medal in the women’s solo event. The gold was the first medal in history for Canada at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, which debuted in 2019 before taking a hiatus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miller was dominant through the event, winning all her races and besting France’s Maya Cornut in the final. Two Ontario athletes also competed at the event as Aubrey Oldham (Leander Boat Club) and Sarah Pidgen (Don Rowing Club) had a strong showing in the mixed double event. The duo finished with the fifth best time in the time trials and won their repechage to progress to the quarterfinals, where Greece edged them out of a shot at a medal by 0.25 seconds. Oldham also raced in the men’s solo event, progressing through the first three rounds to qualify for the quarterfinals, which he lost to eventual silver medallist Kjetil Borch of Norway.
The Head of the Welland and Guelph Invite were both held on Saturday while the Head of the Rideau ran on Sunday. Fifteen clubs competed at the Head of the Welland, which was being hosted by the South Niagara Rowing Club for the 39th time in history. The St. Catharines Rowing Club finished with the most total medals, winning 15 (7 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze), followed by the Don Rowing Club with 14 (5 silver, 9 bronze) and the Argonaut Rowing Club (6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) and the Niagara Falls Rowing Club (4 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze) with 12 apiece. The Notre Dame Rowing Club and host South Niagara Rowing Club also had strong regattas, finishing with ten and nine medals respectively. The Leander Boat Club, Hanlan Boat Club, London Western Rowing Club, Ridley College, Ridley Graduate Boat Club, Barrie Rowing Club, Georgian Bay Rowing Club, and Tillsonburg Rowing Club all also brought home medals.
The Guelph Invite was the first regatta to be hosted in Ontario in almost two years to exclusively feature university rowing. Eight university programs took to the waters of the Guelph Lake Conservation Area with singles, pairs, doubles, fours and eights all racing. The event was a time trial followed by a finals format, although some of the later final’s races were called off and medals were awarded for the time trials. Brock University finished with the most medals claiming 19 total, including 11 gold medals. The Western Mustangs also had a strong regatta, winning a total of 16 medals, followed by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues with 10. The next university regatta will take place on Oct. 16 at the Brock Invitational in St. Catharines.
The Head of the Rideau was the largest regatta of the weekend with 230 entries from 19 clubs. Hosted by the Ottawa Rowing Club, the annual regatta was the 47th in history and was a head race that featured both clubs and university programs from Ontario, Quebec and even a few from Alberta, competing in either 3km or 5km races depending on the race category. The host club had a solid regatta winning the most gold medals with 13. They were followed closely by the Montreal Rowing Club, who claimed 12 gold medals and the most total medals overall with 28. Other Ontario clubs who earned medals were the Kingston Rowing Club, Peterborough Rowing Club and Burnstown Rowing Club. Trent University earned the most medals of any university program with 14 (5 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze) followed by the University of Ottawa (3 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze) and Carleton University (5 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).
For full results on the Ontario Regattas, visit RegattaCentral.
For full results on the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, visit World Rowing.
