A Little Friendly Competition

The Saturday before Regatta, the Brentwood Rowing Girls sacrificed an hour of their blessed sleep to meet the St Michaels University School girls’ team.  With slightly awkward introductions out of the way, we headed onto the water to begin our first of the day’s practices. With Brentwood rowing a heavy 8 and a light 8, we did 15-minute pieces with the SMUS 8+.  The heavyweights had an off day; both lightweight boats were able to keep ahead of them. SMUS’s 8+ proved a challenging competitor for our light 8+ as they satisfactorily swept to the finish. After a grueling practice, the Brentwood and SMUS teams put their friendly competitiveness to the side to enjoy a team breakfast together. The Brentwood girls then headed off to Saturday classes, as the SMUS girls went out on the water for another practice. After lunch, the girls met one more time for their last practice of the day. This time though, Mrs. Debbie Sage (Head of Brentwood Rowing) and her sister Mrs. Susanne Walker Curry (Head of the SMUS rowing program) had a little twist in mind. Brentwood and SMUS girls were split up and put into mixed boats. This allowed the girls to work on technique, much like when one writer collaborates with another, to see what each school was good at, and what needed improvement. The day ended on a good note as the Brentwood girls waved goodbye to the SMUS bus when it left the Brentwood gates. No doubt we will see them again at the Shawnigan Regatta and at the CSSRAs. Caitlin C, Hope ‘17