SILVER LAKE ROWERS RACE WELL AT THE ROYAL CANADIAN HENLEY REGATTA
Silver Lake rowers Eryk Taylor and Zac Azzopardi participated against the best in North America at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines last week.
Taylor and Azzopardi remained home in
Simcoe and trained on Oakland Pond under the coaching of Sue Fairley. Though
only 17 and 19, they raced in the Under 23 Lightweight Division in the pair and
double events. According to Fairley, “Eryk and Zac both demonstrated their
ability to move between the two very different types of rowing – sculling and
sweep. This will be particularly valuable
Racing at the Henley went very well in both boats. In the double event, Taylor and Azzopardi drew one of the most competitive heats. They placed second by beating the bronze medalist at the Ontario Championships to advance to the semi-finals. In the pair event, they raced competitors from British Columbia and a few crews from the United States. They beat out all the US crews and placed second behind the University of Victoria to qualify through to the semi-finals. Although they did not advance to the finals, Azzopardi and Taylor ranked 11th overall in the double event and 12th overall in the pair at the Royal Canadian Henley.
With Silver Lake remaining drained, other former Silver Lake rowers from across Norfolk County stayed away from home during the summer to train with other clubs. Ian Edwards of Langton placed second in his final rowing for the Ottawa Rowing Club while Caleb McCleary of Burford placed third in his final rowing for the University of Western Ontario. Tyler Wilson of Simcoe rowed for the Guelph Rowing Club and advanced to the semi-finals in the Under 23 Lightweight double event. Also racing for other clubs at the Royal Canadian Henley were alumni Chaundra Manorome of Simcoe rowing for the University of Western Ontario and Ben Auld of Bloomsburg rowing for the Guelph Rowing Club. Terry Lovegrove of Simcoe and Jake Martens of Port Rowan both rowed for the St Catharines Rowing Club.
For more information related to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, visit: http://henleyregatta.ca
Pictured from front to back rowing to the start at the Royal Canadian Henley: Zac Azzopardi, Eryk Taylor
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