Brentwood Rowing Program Outline

Arts Day Rowing Program

The Brentwood Rowing Program is built on Arts Day Rowing, and is open to any student from Grade 9 - 12 to try. Rowing happens in Arts Blocks 2 and 3, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Students can join other Arts Courses in Arts Block 1 and 4. Students are expected to show up prepared to practices, on time and properly dressed. Rowing is an outdoor sport and participants are exposed to the elements.

Experience and Structure

No experience is required to join Arts Day Rowing. Through October, the Arts Day Rowing Program offers Learn-to-Row lessons for beginners, as well as integrated training sessions for beginners to row with experienced teammates. This joint approach offers an accelerated learning environment unique to Brentwood, creating a low-risk exposure opportunity to rowing for beginners.

Students participating in rowing are divided into the following four groups: (1) Junior or U17 Women, (2) Junior or U17 Men, (3) Senior or U19 Women and (4) Senior or U19 Men. Within each group, tiers are created based on experience and skill levels, focusing on development and performance outcomes.

Rowing at Brentwood is a competitive sport, and students are expected to participate in regattas. Regattas are most typically structured around age and ability, in U17 or U19 Varsity, Junior Varsity and Novice categories.

Attendance, attitude and skill development are the building blocks of the rowing program, and like any other sport, try-outs for select racing crews will occur. While there are opportunities for everyone to participate and compete, there are crews and regattas that require successful selection to participate in.

Commitment and Expectations

Rowing is a year long commitment, however, for those students who are trying the sport for the first time, there is an opportunity to change into another Art after the Thanksgiving Break. It is important to remember that many Arts fill-up and are no longer available in October.

Students who join rowing can expect to have fun and to work hard. Students are coached to rise to the challenges they face in the sport throughout the year. Coaches focus on technique, fitness and preparation as key pillars to individual and program success. The Brentwood Rowing Program is built around a strong, healthy team environment.

Sports Day Rowing

The Brentwood Rowing Program offers supplemental rowing, training and racing opportunities for experienced rowers who are selected to participate in Sports Day Rowing. Sports Day Rowing occurs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, and incorporates morning training sessions into each term. Students in Grades 9 and 10 who row on Arts Days are required to participate in a second competitive sport, other than rowing, in Terms 1 & 2 on Sports Days. Exceptions may be made for U17 rowers competing at the Head of the Charles or National Rowing Championships (NRCs) in Term 1. Any students selected to represent the School at the National High School Championships (CSSRAs) in Term 3, regardless of grade, may participate in Sports Day Rowing in the final term.

Experience and Structure

Students wanting to be selected to participate in Sports Day Rowing must have previous rowing experience, and must have a conversation with their program Lead Coach and the Head of Rowing before they will be considered for Sports Day Rowing.

Terms 1 & 2

In addition to afternoon practices, students taking part in Sports Day Rowing in Terms 1 & 2 will participate in set morning practices throughout the week, and will be provided with a Strength and Conditioning program to follow. Sports Day rowers in Terms 1 & 2 train as one co-ed group. Students interested in representing the school at the Head of the Charles must participate in Sports Day Rowing in Term 1.

Term 3

Sports Day Rowing in Term 3 divides into the four smaller group teams: Junior/Senior, Women/Men, and provides supplemental rowing and training opportunities during the School’s primary competitive season for rowing. Sport Day Rowing in Term 3 specifically targets the National Championships (CSSRAs) and the regattas leading up to them.

Grade 8 Rowing and Physical Education

At Brentwood College School the Grade 8 program stands independent of the Grade 9 - 12 program. Brentwood’s unique relationship with the ocean, and its rich history in rowing, compels the school to expose the Grade 8 class to the sport. Each year, students in the Grade 8 program at Brentwood will have three opportunities to try rowing: first in September/October on the water, second in January/February on the rowing machine, and for a third time in May/June, again on the water. The aim of these three PE blocks is to create a safe, positive, low barrier exposure to the sport for every Grade 8 student. Grade 8 students participate in the Kraken Erg, an indoor rowing machine competition hosted by Brentwood College School in February each year.

Grade 8 Students are not allowed to race at the CSSRA regatta due to the rules of racing for the event.

Annual Regatta Schedule

Boathouse

Brentwood College School’s historic rowing program requires significant support to maintain. While the rowing program is well staffed, the Boathouse course provides students the ability to learn, develop and enhance skills required to maintain all aspects of the school’s boathouse and rowing program, including: coach boat and small engine maintenance, rowing shell maintenance, oar maintenance, anchor, buoy & course maintenance, dock maintenance and the boathouse’s physical structure maintenance. The course also provides the opportunity for students to learn about event planning and execution, and infrastructure required for production, broadcast and live streaming of rowing races.

Experience and Structure

This course is open to any student from Grade 10 - 12, and requires no previous rowing experience. Boathouse is looking for hard working students willing to take initiative in real-world, practical, problem solving situations. This course satisfies the BC Ministry of Education’s Power Technology 10 curriculum. Boathouse is scheduled on Arts Days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in Arts Block 1, but will require students to participate in course related activities during other times.

All Boathouse students will complete their Pleasure Craft Operator’s Certificate (PCOC), if they have not already done so.

Boathouse students will be provided the opportunity to focus on four major areas that support the program: (1) rowing shell repairs, (2) rowing oar repairs, (3) small engine repairs, and (4) peripheral program support, including dock and buoy maintenance, waterway clearing, safety and rescue, and other regatta related activities.

Boathouse students will be heavily involved in the planning and execution of the Kraken Erg and the Brentwood International Regatta.