Rowing on golden pond
More than 2,000 athletes going for gold at high school championships
St. Catharines is once again the place to be for the top high school rowers in Canada.
A total of 2,034 athletes from 122 programs, including 28 from the United States and 14 from British Columbia, today begin competing in the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association (CSS RA) championships being held on the Henley Course on Martindale Pond.
All will be hoping to qualify for the 36 finals that will be run in rapid-fire fashion Sunday, exploding from the starting gate in 10- to 12-minute intervals weather conditions permitting.
There will be no shortage of hometown hopefuls in the 72nd edition of a prestigious regatta that until female entries began overtaking male entries was widely known by the short form The Schoolboy.
In all, 18 high schools from the region will be wrapping up the short scholastic season by rowing against some of the top competitions in their age and weight categories.
Topping the list of Niagara crews, both in terms of numbers and aspirations, are the E.L. Crossley Cyclone from Pelham. The defending boys, girls and overall champions have the most athletes, with 18; and have entered the most events, 26.
Despite its official name, the Canadian national champions aren’t limited to crews from this side of the border.
“Any secondary school in the world can enter,” regatta chairman Ken Campbell said. “As long as they’re certified as a high school, with Grade 9 to 12 or Grade 13, they are eligible to compete.” “And many do, year after year.” Interest from high school programs in the U.S. is remarkable, given that the racing distance in the U.S. is 1,500 metres, not the 2,000 metres that is standard in Canada.
Campbell conceded while this gives Canadian rowers an advantage, that hasn’t plugged the flow of rowing talent.
“They come here because of the competition,” he said. “They want to compete against the best.”
Overall registration is down slightly from the 2,100 athletes who competed at the 2016 CSSRA Championships in 2016.
“This is a flat year,” Campbell said. “Our entries haven’t increased.”
Wacky weather not at all conducive to training is being blamed for the drop. In some regions, such as the Ottawa Valley, rain was the culprit, while continuous high winds kept crews off the water in other areas.
“Considering the spring we’ve had, there has been little time for training in some areas,” Campbell said.
Three schools from Ottawa only brought graduating seniors because training opportunities were restricted due to an unseasonably wet spring.
“They were the only ones who were allowed to train, and they didn’t get on the water until two weeks ago,” Campbell said. “Their boathouse was under water because the (Ottawa) river was too high.”
As in past years crews are coming from coast to coast, from Saint John, N.B., in the Maritimes to Shawnigan Lake and Victoria on Vancouver Island.
Distance prize goes to the schools from Vancouver Island, a little more than 3,400 kilometres in the air or 850 round trips on the Henley Course, with the three programs clustered around West Palm, Fla., a not-so-close second, at roughly 1,800 km.
Michigan is the state with the most teams, 14; followed by New York, seven.
Supporting the athletes in their endeavours this weekend in St. Catharines are 466 coaches, and hoping to ensure the regatta follows a tight schedule as much as possible are 287 volunteers, including 40 umpires.
Volunteers also manage the dock, get boats in and out of the water, as well as maintain the course and weigh in the athletes.
Oh yes, the reason Schoolboy is inaccurate is that 60 per cent of athletes competing nowadays are schoolgirls.
They come here because of the competition. They want to compete against the best.”
Regatta chairman Ken Campbell