WHERE ARE THEY ROWING NOW?

 

Silver Lake rowers present and past are making their final preparations for the 128th annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta to be held in St. Catharines from August 1st to 8th.

 

According to Head Coach Sue Fairley, Silver Lake Rowing Club rowers must meet high time, attitude and attendance standards to earn the right to represent the club at the Royal Canadian Henley. The Silver Lake Rowing Club has been training on Oakland Pond given the draining of Silver Lake. However, while athlete numbers are down given the distance to Oakland, the results have been impressive. Silver Lake crews reached the finals in 4 out of 6 entries at the ROWONTARIO Championships held last weekend in Welland.

 

Also this summer, Caleb McCleary of Burford was selected as a member of Canada’s national junior development team as part of the CanAmMex program. McCleary began rowing in the Silver Lake Rowing Club’s summer youth rowing program while in Grade 7 and competed as a member of the Silver Lake Rowing Club while in his early high school years. McCleary currently attends Shawnigan Lake School on a rowing scholarship and has returned this summer to row with the Silver Lake Rowing Club. McCleary joined Canada’s National Junior training camp in London on July 9th to train for a few days before taking a bus to Tennessee on July 12. They trained on Melton Lake in Oakridge Tennessee until Wednesday, July 14. Then they participated in the US Rowing Club National Championships where McCleary was a member of Canada’s Lightweight Men's Intermediate Quad that won gold.

 

This year the Silver Lake Rowing Club will be represented at the Royal Canadian Henley by:

 

·         Josh Azzopardi (Simcoe)

·         Zac Azzopardi (Simcoe)

·         Caleb McCleary (Burford)

·         Eryk Taylor (Simcoe)

·         Tyler Wilson (Simcoe)

 

While at the Ontario Championships, Jim Dover President of Silver Lake Rowing Club was struck by the number of Silver Lake alumni who continue to row. “I kept seeing names of athletes on the program who started rowing with our club. They had been members of our competitive program and left the County to go to university. It was great to see that they continue to row with other Ontario clubs.” Some of the former Silver Lake rowers participating at the ROWONTARIO Championships as members of other clubs included:

 

·         Terry Lovegrove (Simcoe), currently studying at Brock University who won bronze as a member of the St. Catharines Rowing Club Senior Men Eight.

 

·         Ian Edwards (Langton), currently studying at Guelph University, who won gold in the Under 23 Men Double and bronze in the Under 23 Men Single representing the Guelph Rowing Club.

 

·         Laura Fisher (Port Ryerse), currently studying at Trent University, who won gold as a member of the Peterborough Rowing Club’s Senior Women Quad.

 

·         Mike Veltri (Simcoe), currently studying at Guelph, who advanced to the final and finished 6th in the Under 23 Lightweight Men Pair representing the Guelph Rowing Club.

 

·         Chaundra Monorome (Simcoe), recently graduated from Simcoe Composite, who rowed with the Notre Dame Rowing Club based in Welland placing fourth in both the Senior Women Eight and Under 23 Women Straight Four heats.

 

·         Jake Martens (Port Rowan), currently studying at Brock University, who won bronze together with Lovegrove as a member of the St. Catharines Rowing Club Senior Men Eight and also advanced to the final in the Senior Men Single where he placed fifth.

 

Norfolk County is going to be well represented at the Henley this year by Silver Lake Rowing Club members present and past. We’ll keep you posted on the results.

 

Picture from left to right of Canada’s Lightweight Men's Intermediate Quad that won gold : Jacob Giesbrecht, Caleb McCleary, Aubrey Blackhall, and Matt Fournier

 

For more information regarding Canada’s National Junior Team, visit: http://www.rowingcanada.org/fr/national_team/junior/canam_2010/ 

 

For more information about the ROWONTARIO Championships, visit: http://www.rowontario.ca/content/home.asp

 

For more information related to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, visit: http://henleyregatta.ca

 

The Silver Lake Rowing Club was established in 1999 to promote the sport of rowing in Norfolk County and surrounding communities. For information regarding Club 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.