Local High School Rower Finals at Canadian High School Championships

Holy Trinity Titan Zac Azzopardi  advanced to the finals and placed fourth in the Senior Men 72 kg Single event at the Canadian Secondary School Regatta Association Championships held in St. Catharines this past weekend.

Azzopardi of Simcoe advanced to the semi-finals by posting the sixth fastest time in his heat on Friday. In the semi-final, Azzopardi finished third to advance to the finals. Rowing under good conditions in the final on Sunday, Azzopardi improved on his overall position placing fourth overall. “Zac’s winter training paid off. On water training was a challenge given the situation with Silver Lake but he made the best of a bad situation. Zac did exceptionally well considering this is one of North America’s premier high school regattas” said coach Susan Fairley.

Also competing at the Canadian Championships were Simcoe Composite Sabres Ben Auld of Bloomsburg and Eryk Taylor of Simcoe who narrowly missed advancing to the semi-finals in the Senior Men Double event. Frankie Millson-Dodds and Robyn Millson from Holy Trinity, rowing out of the Tillsonburg Rowing Club, also competed in the Senior Women Double event.

The Canadian Secondary School Regatta Association Championships were attended by more than 2,000 high school students drawn from across Canada and the United States including Caleb McCleary of Burford. McCleary began rowing on Silver Lake and through rowing earned a high school scholarship to Shawnigan Lake private school in British Columbia where he has been attending school for the past two years. McCleary won two gold medals at this year’s regatta.

For more information related to the Canadian Secondary School Regatta Association Championships, visit: http://www.cssrarowing.ca

Pictured from left to right: Sue Fairley, Ben Auld, Zac Azzopardi, Eryk Taylor, Samy Fairley

The Silver Lake Rowing Club was established in 1999 to promote the sport of rowing in Norfolk County and surrounding communities. For information regarding high school rowing contact Susan Fairley Head Coach (519-583-0461). To find out more about the Silver Lake Rowing Club, call Jim Dover President, Silver Lake Rowing Club (905-318-5932 ext. 224 / 519-426-5677) or visit our web site at: www.silverlakerowingclub.com.