Weekend Wrap: Canada Celebrated on Both Sides of the Atlantic Ocean

The Canada Day Long Weekend saw some exciting rowing action both at home and abroad. The annual Dominion Day Regatta took place on Centre Island in Toronto, while the Henley Royal Regatta ran from its home on the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, England.

On the domestic front, eight Ontario-based rowing clubs took part in the Dominion Day Regatta which was held on the Allan A. Lamport Regatta Course on Saturday, July 1. The hometown Argonaut Rowing Club were the big winners, bringing home the most medals with 45 (19 gold, 16 silver, 10 bronze). The St. Catharines Rowing Club were next on the list with 25 (10 gold, 8 silver, 7 bronze), followed by the Peterborough Rowing Club with 17 (4 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze) and the Notre Dame Rowing Club with 15 (4 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze). Other clubs earning medals on Saturday were the Guelph Rowing Club (12), Hanlan Boat Club (5), Cambridge Rowing Club (4) and the Don Rowing Club (4).

The Dominion Day Regatta is Canada’s oldest and largest combined rowing and paddling regatta, and features rowing, along with canoe, kayak and dragon-boat racing. This year’s event featured 262 total entries, an increase of almost 100 from 2022, and saw the competitors race in U17, U19, Senior, and Masters events across a wide variety of boat classes.

Meanwhile in England, members of the RCA National Team did their home country proud as the women’s lightweight double and women’s eight each won their respective categories on Sunday on the final day of the 2023 Henley Royal Regatta.

Jenny Casson and Jill Moffatt, competing in an open weight elite category rather than their usual lightweight category, earned an impressive victory by crossing the line two lengths ahead of the Twickenham Rowing Club and Leander Club. The duo, who got their start in rowing in Ontario before moving onto the National Team program, were representing the Shawnigan Lake School at the event. Their victory earned them the prestigious Stonor Challenge Trophy and sets them up nicely to challenge for the gold medal at World Rowing Cup III, the next event on the international rowing calendar next weekend in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The women’s eight, racing under the colours of the Maple Bay Rowing Club, were dominant in winning the Remenham Challenge Cup. The crew got off to a blistering start in the race and finished 1.25 boat lengths ahead of the second-place Leander Club. The vcitorious crew was comprised of Morgan Rosts, Kirsten Edwards, Alexis Cronk, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Sydney Payne, Jessica Sevick, Kristina Walker, Avalon Wasteneys and Kristen Kit (cox).

The National Team sent a total of 10 boats to the line at Henley, which included three boats reaching the finals, three reaching the semifinals and two reaching the quarter finals. (See here for the full story from RCA). Overall, the Henley Royal Regatta featured 732 entries from 17 nations from around the world.

For full results on the Dominion Day Regatta visit RegattaCentral.
For full results from the Henley Royal Regatta visit Henley Royal Regatta.