Trent named Rowing Canada training hub
Trent University has been named as one of Rowing Canada Aviron’s five national training hubs, much to the excitement and relief of the university and local rowing community.
On Sept. 1, new leadership at RCA ended the Row To Podium program under which Trent operated as a Talent Development Centre since 2010, with Carol Love as talent identification and development coach. The centre produced many national team athletes, including four world championship medallists, Trevor Jones, Graham Peeters, Andrew Stewart-Jones and Grace Vanden-Broek.
RCA recently announced a new development program called NextGeneration and on Thursday announced Trent as one of Next Gen’ s five training hubs along with Brock, Western, UBC and Victoria.
“I think they have it right,” said Love, “because we have a track record of developing athletes and we’re only getting better. I believe it’s a turn key operation and I don’t think we’ve slowed down there. When they closed Row To Podium the community came together to say ‘How can we help?’ It brought the sport back to the forefront. We realized we have a really good thing and we don’t want to lose it.”
Trent and Peterborough Rowing Club partnered on a joint bid to RCA.
“Any time a process is undertaken which was as broad as this one nationally you’re a little bit apprehensive but we were always confident in our bid,” said Steven Pillar, Trent’s vice-president of finance and administration.
The announcement affirms what Trent has done has worked, Pillar said.
“The top rowers in the country coming out of high school are going to want to attend one of the five hub locations,” he said.
“In Eastern Ontario and Eastern Canada, for that matter, being one of those hubs is going to stand us in excellent stead for recruiting athletes. It’s also going to provide us the resources to continue to offer that high calibre program.”
There was concern Trent would lose out to a larger university but Adam Partiff, RCA coach and athlete pathways director, said it worked to Trent’s advantage.
“Trent was a unique application in that they really nurtured the relationship between the university and the rowing club to really support the performance objectives that aligned with what we’re trying to do with the NextGen strategy,” Partiff said.
“There was no sell. They were there ready to go and wanting to be a part of it. What was unique about it was just how many partners were coming to the table in that application.
“It’s a smaller university compared to some of the other ones on the list and they’ve been able to be somewhat nimble because of that. The leadership from (Trent athletics director) Deborah (Bright-Brundle) and the athletic department was a key part of that. The ongoing job Carol Love does with athletes and the community are really instrumental pieces as well.”
Love will have to apply to head up the program again but Partiff spoke highly of her.
“She is a key part in making the Trent-Peterborough option viable,” he said.
The largest difference between NextGen and Row To Podium, said Partiff, is greater involvement in university and club programs with national stream rowers.
“One of the objectives is not only to find exceptional talent but to elevate the entire Canadian university rowing system,” he said. “We don’t want these exceptional athletes to be training off on their own. We want them to be pushed from below and have the athletes below rise up and realize they have opportunity as well.”
Brian Love, PRC president and Carol’s husband, stated in a press release the designation “offers tremendous opportunity to continue to advance rowing in the community. With a long history of developing high performance, championship rowing talent, Trent and the Peterborough Rowing Club offer a winning partnership for RCA.”