Competition/ May 9

Weekend Wrap: Two Early Season Regattas Take Place on Mother’s Day Weekend

The RCA Small Boat Trials and the Mother’s Day Regatta took place over the weekend and featured outstanding performances from Ontario rowers from high school to the Senior Level.

The RCA Small Boat Trials took place over three days on Quamichan Lake in Duncan, B.C. Seven provinces were represented at the event which was key entry point to RCA’s 2022 National Team programming, including Senior, Under 23, and Junior competitions. In singles action, Marilou Duvernay-Tardif (7:37.85) of Aviron Knowlton Rowing crossed the line first in the women’s open A Final, while Tokyo 2020 Olympian Trevor Jones (6:50.19) won the men’s open A Final by besting fellow National Team member Will Crothers (6:56.24) by just over six seconds. Jill Moffatt joined her Olympic teammate Jones at the top of podium by winning the women’s lightweight single in a time of 7:42.55. Stephen Harris of Brock University took home the men’s lightweight single gold medal with a strong performance, crossing the line in a time of 7:09.94

Other winners over the weekend included Jakub Buczek and Cody Bailey (National Training Centre) in the men’s pair (6:31.06), and Kristina Walker and Avalon Wasteneys (National Training Centre) in the women’s pair (7:13.31). Two Ontario NextGen Performance Centre athletes also competed over the weekend as Michael Ciepiela (St. Catharines Rowing Club) and Payton Gauthier (Niagara Falls Rowing Club) placed first and fourth respectively in the men’s single B Final. All the athletes competed in time trials on Friday, followed by the repechage, semi-finals, and finals on Saturday and Sunday.

RCA Small Boat Trials Winners

Women’s 1x – Marilou Duvernay-Tardif – 7:37.85
Men’s 1x – Trevor Jones – 6:50.19
Lightweight Women’s 1x – Jill Moffatt – 7:42.55
Lightweight Men’s 1x – Stephen Harris – 7:09.94
Women’s 2- – Kristina Walker and Avalon Wastenays – 7:13.31
Men’s 2- – Jakub Buczek and Cody Bailey – 6:31.06
PR3 Mixed 2x – K. Wittenberg – 8:32.35
PR1/PR2 Women’s 1x – C. Akins – 12:21.87
PR1/PR2 Men’s 1x – P. Levis – 10:33.59

Elsewhere in the country, the annual Mother’s Day Regatta took place on Martindale Pond in St. Catharines on Sunday. The regatta was scheduled to have 35 high school programs with over 200 entries from across the province compete in open and lightweight categories ranging from singles to eights. However, Mother Nature had other plans as windy conditions forced the cancellation of the regatta at 1pm. The rowers who competed in the morning braved through challenging conditions, with 18 of the 42 scheduled race categories able to complete their races. See the winners of those categories below.

Mother’s Day Regatta Winners:

Women’s Jr. 1x – Lakeshore Catholic (A. Thornton) – 11:04.28
Women’s Sr. 63kg 1x – Notre Dame College School (M. Scott) – 8:34.12
Women’s Sr. 1x – Lorne Park Secondary (A. Pamenter) – 8:22.79
Men’s Sr. 1x – Eden HS (O. Bartel) – 7:16.46
Women’s Sr. 63kg 2x – AN Myer – 9:14.61
Mixed 2x – Notre Dame College School – 8:38.56
Men’s Jr. 2x – Grimsby SS – 10:49.03
Men’s Sr. 72kg 2x – EL Crossley – 8:13.03
Men’s Sr. 2x – Eden High School
Women’s Sr. 2x – Notre Dame College School – 8:28.37
Women’s Jr. 59kg 4x – EL Crossley – 9:17.71
Women’s Jr. 4+ – Branksome Hall – 8:44.63
Men’s Sr. 4x – Ridley College – 7:19.96
Women’s Sr. 4x – Notre Dame College School – 8:38.09
Women’s Sr. 4+ – EL Crossley – 7:55.98
Men’s Novice 4x+ – Ridley College – 7:53.56
Women’s Novice 8+ – Branksome Hall – 8:17.36
Men’s Novice 8 – Ridley College – 7: 53.15