Brock named hub for rowing
Brock University is among five Canadian host sites selected for new Rowing Canada hubs aimed at identifying and training up-and-coming national-calibre rowers.
The flatwater sports national governing body announced Thursday that Brock, the University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Western University and Trent University have been selected to host the NextGen Hubs.
Brock athletic director Neil Lumsden called the selection a big win for the university’s rowing program.
“This reflects on the high level of coaching within our program along with our approach to developing our student athletes,” Lumsden said. “It’s a reflection of our rowing program, and Brock Sports as a department.”
Brock head rowing coach Peter Somerwil said it’s also a reflection of the school’s history of producing talented athletes.
“It’s a recognition of Brock rowing’s excellent track record of promoting athletes to the national team level through good coaching, equipment and winter training facilities,” said Somerwil, who pointed out that nearly a quarter of the athletes representing Canada at the 2015 Under23 World Championships and FISU Games were Brock athletes.
Rowing Canada said the hubs will provide optimal coach-to-athlete ratios, extensive performance planning and enhanced technical coaching capacity.
Sport science and sport medicine support will also be embedded within these daily training environments.
The connection between these NextGen Hubs and the local clubs in the host communities was an integral component in the overall selection process.
“I’m truly excited about the engagement of the rowing community in the process,” Adam Parfitt, Rowing Canada’s director of Coach and Athlete Pathways, said. “They care about Canada’s performance and by putting their hands up, they want to share in the responsibility and process of finding and training our next Olympians.”
NextGen Hubs are part of a wider strategy that replaces as well as builds on the learning and work done in the Row to Podium programs. Talent identification programming will be conducted within the NextGen program through partnerships with provincial sport organizations, clubs, schools and institutions.
Mike Purcer, technical specialist for Brock’s rowing program, said Niagara has one of the largest concentrations of rowing clubs in Canada, which will benefit with events such as monthly training camps.
“As a Rowing Canada Hub Training Centre, high-performance coaches and athletes will have an opportunity to connect to a national team pathway,” Purcer said. “Top club, university and high school athletes will become familiar with the training, technique and learning required to achieve the next level.”
Rowing Canada and NextGen Hubs will be forming one management committee to co-ordinate the development of programming at the hubs. One of the first tasks will be to assist in the hiring of the hub coaches.
“The additional coaching expertise that will be part of being a NextGen Hub will help athletes with more personal, one-on-one coaching,” Somerwil said. “It will help athletes and the program keep abreast of the evolving best practices in physiological testing, training methods and procedures for trying out for the national team.”
Lumsden said being named as one of the hubs will help with Brock’s recruiting efforts.
“We become more attractive to student-athlete rowers who want to compete at a high level and advance their careers beyond varsity rowing to potentially represent their country,” he said.