Racing season in the rowing community is well underway.

Rockies Rowing Club attended the Vernon regatta on June 8, racing a 3.5 km Head race and 500m sprint races.

The Head race is so named for the way the race starts and is timed. The start is a floating start where larger boats are sent off before smaller boats. Time is started once the bow ball crosses the start line and stops when the boats cross the finish line.

The course at Vernon is on Swan Lake and is triangular in shape so start and finish are the same line. Rowing the course is a challenge as faster boats may overtake slower boats but have the difficulty of not easily seeing where they are going. Rowers move through the course having to do three turns around three large buoys during the race.

Rockies RC had two boats in the Head race, a quad with junior rowers and a double with masters rowers. The categories determined by age are: Junior rowers age 19 and under and masters rowers are over 21. The quad (four people, two oars each) finished the 3.5k in 20:16.31 which is a personal best for this crew. The masters double (two people, two oars each) finished in 28:07.68 and it was a first race for Jon O’Grady who had just finished lessons.

The 500 m sprint races are fast and fun. The quad split into two doubles and rowed 2:11.62 and 2:26.94 respectively.

One double split to two singles and they rowed a fast paced 500m finishing first and second in the 12 boat, W1x race. Josie Schmidt just nosed out Emily Sartorel by one stroke for the win. Their times were 1:52.59 and 1:53.70 at the finish. Josie and Emily combined with two rowers from Vernon to place first in the women’s quad race finishing with a time of 1:54.83. The other composite quad (South Cariboo RC/Rockies RC) was also in the last race of the day as the waves started rolling down the course and they rowed a 2:19.80 500m sprint.

Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) hosted speed orders June 14-16.

Katie Clark, former downhill ski racer, from Cranbrook raced the women’s single each of the three days. Speed orders are the races that give coaches with RCA information for selection to Canada’s National teams in various categories. Katie is U21 and trying to make the team that will represent Canada at the regattas the U21’s will attend through the rest of the racing season.

June 14, Katie finished the 2,000m distance in 7:10.53 to give her a fourth place finish in that race. She was rowing against Canada’s best women single scullers in all age categories (U21, U23 and Senior).

June 15th, Katie’s first race of the day was a first place finish with a time of 7:51.35 for 2000m. Her second race was completed in 8:16.39 for second place. These race finishes put Katie Clark in the A category of the A through D finals on June 16th.

June 16th after racing 6000m in two days the A final was decided at 910 am Sunday morning and the top three finishers in the A final were: Queens University, L. Munro, U23, first with a time of 7:26.54. UBC, Katie Clark, U21, second with a time of 7:37.75 and Club Aviron de Sherbrooke, A. Burnotte, U21, third with a time of 7:38.41.

It is awesome to see local athletes making their mark on the National stage and the International stage. Ski-cross racers like India Sherret and Zoe Chore are an example of working hard to achieve goals and in turn representing well. Little known fact: all three of these athletes learned to row at Rockies Rowing Club. All the best India, Zoe and Katie as you push your limits to succeed.

Lead image: Josie Schmidt and Emily Sartorel are bow pair in this boat crossing the finish line for their 4x race in Vernon. Photos submitted

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