We Came, We Saw, We Got Stuck in an Elevator

22 June 2014Jeen Snidvongs, Roving Reporter, Whittall ’14, Photos by Brian Carr

The Canadian high school National Championships, the CSSRAs, took place during the weekend of Friday June 6th to Sunday June 8th on Martindale Pond in St. Catharines, Ontario. Brentwood sent 50 rowers, each one of whom had met the rigorous standards to be sent halfway across the country to represent Brentwood at the top level of high school racing. 49 of those athletes raced on Sunday in 12 Grand Finals in pursuit of a National Championship. We came away with one gold, four silvers and 2 bronzes: 38 athletes came home with medals with 11 girls proudly sporting two. The Gold from the Junior Boys 4x bought Brentwood’s National Championship count to 97 over the course of the School’s history. Supporting the rowers were a platoon of parents armed to the teeth with Brentwood apparel and cheers that could be heard over the din of the rest of the crowd. Numbers and placements aside, we were champions: champions of grit and joy, of sportsmanship and, most of all, of friendship and memories. I can attest to the sense of camaraderie and joy that was present on this trip. From the Junior Boys dressing up in polos and khakis in a successful attempt to earn Mrs. Sage’s approval, to the Junior Girls trying to make friends with all the LBs in St. Catharines, to the Senior Girls coming back tardy from late night walks and trying in vain to gain the approval of the Boys’ program (see a pattern here?) and of course the Senior Boys who, to Mrs. Sage’s chagrin, were more rowdy and immature (we call it having fun) than the Junior Boys. Of course, the infamous elevator entrapment was chronicled in the Brentwood Blog. I would like to thank all the coaches and Mr. Featherstone, the boatman, on behalf of the rowers for putting up with us and supporting us the whole way. From the 16 graduates, we’d like to leave you with a piece of advice: embrace the pain, we’ve learned to love it. Jeen Snidvongs, Roving Reporter, Whittall ’14

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