Brentwood Regatta returns to celebrate 50 years of rowing

730 rowers hit the water off Mill Bay this weekend

When Olympic gold-medallist Sydney Payne crossed the finish line first last summer in Tokyo with her victorious Canadian women’s eight crewmates, she continued a Brentwood College rowing tradition stretching back to fellow Brentwood alumni and Olympic gold medallists before her such as Blair Horn and Malcolm Howard.

They all came through the Brentwood Regatta, which returns this weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus, to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

“The Brentwood College rowing tradition honed my skills and were a big part of this [Olympic] journey,” said Payne, when she returned to the Island from Tokyo last summer.

“Brentwood College fostered my love of the sport.”

The school’s marquee regatta will do that again for a new generation of rowers this weekend as 730 competitors, from as far east as Ontario and far south as California, descend on Mill Bay for the event as 19 clubs are participating in 122 races from Friday through Sunday

“The return of the Brentwood Regatta marks not only 50 years of history in hosting this event, but a beacon for a return to in-person, on-campus learning that we know is essential for young and old,” Brentwood head of school Bud Patel said in a statement.

The pandemic took its toll on sports, no more so than in the two-year gap it created in high school sports, because those student years can never return and are unrecoverable and lost forever. That adds to the sense of joy this weekend as oars stroke through the waters of Mill Bay once again after the chance to compete in 2020 and 2021 were denied by COVID.

“It’s a big regatta so there’s lots of nerves going into it, but I’m excited to show what my crew can do,” said Grade 12 Brentwood College student and rower Miles Smith. • Information: brentwood.ca/ regatta.