Canada’s coxswain
Retired Niagara educator will help guide rowing as president of Rowing Canada
Rowing Canada’s new lead hand wants to get more hands on deck, on and off the water.
Increasing participation in the flatwater sport is Carol Purcer’s No. 1 goal as she begins a four-year term as Rowing Canada president. The St. Catharines native and retired educator said developing strategies to attract more people of all ages is crucial for the growth and development of rowing in this country.
“We have hired a director of partnerships and sports development very recently to spearhead this initiative at the club, provincial and national levels,” said Purcer, who before assuming the presidency spent three years on the Rowing Canada board as provincial director for Ontario.
Hand-in-hand with raising awareness that rowing is a sport everyone can enjoy is the need for a national coaching strategy. Purcer said in addition to recruiting new coaches, rowing’s national governing body needs to focus on the development of people who currently coach.
“As well, we need to improve the pathway to high performance, to capture more of our talented youth and create environments for them to flourish.”
Since she first gave rowing a try in 1992, Purcer, now 60, has became as familiar to people in the rowing community as she was to students while serving as vice-principal at Eastdale and Thorold high schools and as principal at South Lincoln, Westlane and Sir Winston Churchill secondary schools before becoming administrator of special education for District School Board of Niagara.
To say the least, the Merritton High School graduate’s involvement with St. Catharines Rowing Club and with the sport in general didn’t end when the recreational rowing season wrapped up.
Far from it, she chaired the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta for seven years, 2003 to 2009, and spent nearly 20 years volunteering to make Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association (CSSRA) annual regatta in St. Catharines run smoothly, including two stints as CSSRA president.
She spent three years as vice-president for RowOntario running regattas across the province. She spent countless hours working behind-thescenes — there is no Henley gold on the grandstand for volunteers — but for Purcer the investment has returned dividends many times over.
“What has kept me involved in rowing are the people,” she said. “What drives me are the incredible skills and attributes that are gained through the sport: full-body physical fitness, mental conditioning, work ethic, commitment, integrity, grit, the culture of continuous movement, goal-oriented planning for success and networking, to name only a few.
“And it is an activity with no concussions!”
Volunteers — the backbone of rowing, especially at the grassroots level — are as committed to hosting a wellrun regatta as rowing crews are to setting a winning pace with a well-executed race plan.
“When a regatta is well run, the athletes can focus on why they are there — to race,” Purcer said. “Creating an environment that meets the expected standards and is supported by volunteers who are informed, and happy to help, ensures a positive environment with safe and fair racing conditions.
“When the day is over and the races are complete, I am very happy.
“If all did not go well, I reflect on how we can improve and implement the changes the next day.”
Unlike the athletes going for gold in the CSSRA regatta in June and at the Henley on the same course two months later, Purcer never rowed in high school or at the post-secondary level at University of Western Ontario.
She was a widow in her early 30s with three children and “very busy in my life” when friends encouraged her to “get out, be active and relax a little.”
That’s how she became involved with a recreational league run by St. Catharines Rowing Club.
“It took a little time to understand how to row, but I loved being on the water, the physicality of the sport and the social aspect of the rec league.”
The one-time softball player, who went on to marry Mike Purcer, the organizer of the league, quickly came to appreciate how rowing can fit into someone’s busy life, and not necessarily vice-versa.
“What I love about rowing is that you can be involved in the level that fits you,” she said. “With rec rowing, there are practices and weekly race nights, but the training is really up to you. Time-wise, that has always worked best for me.”
As president of Rowing Canada, Purcer hopes more people will be bitten by the rowing bug, just as she was 25 years ago.