Shawnigan Lake Regatta 1

25 May 2014Joanna L, Alex 14, Photos by Brian C and Joe K, Whittall '16

The early mornings dragging oneself out of bed before the sunrise, the long afternoons on the water, each painstaking shower with blistered hands and sore legs culminate, we hope, in the ultimate goal, the National Championships in St. Catharines. Most rowers hope that by now, all their hard work is paying off. They wouldn’t be wrong. Last weekend, the entire Brentwood Rowing team headed up the road to Shawnigan Lake for their final regatta as an entire club, the Shawnigan Lake Regatta. Friday afternoon, trying to escape predicted windy conditions, the regatta began with time trials for smaller boats as the rest of the club rigged boats for the coming days. With the entire club competing, the unloading and rigging was time and labour intensive. The more difficult journey – getting the boats down the narrow, winding path from the parking lot to the beach at Shawnigan Lake Provincial Park – is a less than ideal route for shells that are up to twenty metres long. After rigging was completed, there was a barbeque kindly put on by rowing parents while the time trials began, with several Brentwood boats moving forward to the finals the next day. Saturday dawned bright and early, with the first bus leaving the school at 6 a.m. The first races off the dock were the Junior Girls Single, Mens Four, and Senior Quads. Unfortunately, barely anyone actually made it out before the characteristic wind delays that forced last year’s regatta to be called off part way through reared their heads. After three coaches’ meetings, five hours, and a lot of mooching about on the part of the rowers, racing was finally resumed, continuing until late in the evening, with many successes had by the Brentwood rowers. Sunday, unhindered by wind, finals continued, with Brentwood crews performing well and coming away with over fifteen boats placing in the top four. After a long packup, it was back to the school for a few hours of well-deserved rest, and the coaches’ meeting to determine which crews would be attending the National Championships in St. Catharines. More than 50 names are now on plane tickets, and the crews continue to train hard, with boat loading next week for the long journey across Western Canada. We now wish all those travelling to Ontario the very best of luck – let’s bring back the gold! Joanna L, Alex 14

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