St. Catharines Rowing Odyssey

28 June 2013Joel B, Ellis ’13, Boathouse Captain

Brentwood’s 41st annual trip to St. Catharines, Ontario began on a Tuesday morning in early June with a 4am wake up followed by a seven hour trip to the Toronto airport. After a short bus ride we passed the sign noting St. Catharines’ city limits. After checking into the hotel and getting settled in, we spent the next two days acclimatizing to the new time and warmer environment. On the Friday morning, despite strong winds, racing started without a hitch, with tail winds producing fast times in all events. Friday’s races consisted of heats and only one Brentwood boat was eliminated. Faced with a massive storm system moving straight for the course on Saturday morning, the umpires were forced to delay the regatta and, as a result, races did not start until four in the afternoon. They were originally scheduled to start at 7am. Eventually they decided that the semi-final race distance would be changed to a 1000 m course instead of 2000 m because of time constraints. Several Brentwood crews rushed to the start line on Saturday afternoon and well into the evening as racing did not stop until 8:30. Despite the best efforts to catch up, races meant for Saturday were raced Sunday morning until all semis were complete at around 9 am. Unfortunately, the finals planned for the rest of Sunday had to be cancelled due to the storm returning and wreaking havoc with its 60 km/hr winds. As a result of this, medals were awarded by time, the only option available. Brentwood crews had several excellent results including 6 medals: Gold – National Champions • Sr. Men’s 4X: Joel Crumb, Niko Prawn, Kelly Agnew, Hayden Frisch – • Sr. Sr. Men’s 8+: Joel Barrette, Ian Stothart, Nick Ridenour, Rielly Milne, Jeff Birtwistle, Dane Broere, Luke Bertozzi, John Hill & Tom Griffith – Gold – National Champions Silver • Women’s 8+: Spencer Manton, Caroline Cakebread, Annika Spence, Kirsten McNeill, Mariel Frank, Tara Christensen, Carolyn Barakso & Joanna Lancashire. Bronze • Jr. Men’s 8+: Malcolm Conn, Jackson Hooke , Jason Hunter, Matt Forward, Tyler Pickford, Alex Ridenour, Reid Anderson, Anton Shultz & Scott Wheaton. • Jr. Men’s 4+: Malcolm Conn, Jackson Hooke, Jason Hunter, Matt Forward & Tyler Pickford. • Sr. Women’s 4x: Annika Spence, Tara Christensen & Spencer Manton. Thanks to the more than 20 Brentwood rowing parents and family who supported us at the regatta. Also to Mrs. Sage who organized and ran the entire trip; without her we would never have been able to compete at this level. Thanks to Mr. Carr for his never-ending dedication and to Mr. Amiel and Mrs. Willow for their tandem tackling of the Jr. Boys. Also to Mr. Backer for creating the Goon Squad who were the first Brentwood crew to take the Gold in the Sr. Quad. Finally, to Mr. Wismer for the world-class warm-up he developed along with his coaching of the girls. Thank you all for making this such an amazing Brentwood experience. Joel B, Ellis ’13, Boathouse Captain

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