Island rowers compete for national titles in North Cowichan

Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan was the weekend’s venue, but Serbia next September was the destination.

Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan was the weekend’s venue, but Serbia next September was the destination.

Less than a year after the 2023 World Rowing Championships, which is the main qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics, top Canadian rowers have made a case for being in Belgrade next summer.

It appears to be an experienced team preparing for Belgrade and eventually Paris 2024, as several familiar faces made their way into the winners’ circle during the Canadian Championships at Quamichan Lake, which featured more than 250 rowers from 45 clubs . Rowing at the National Championships is conducted in small boats, individually or in pairs, to give coaches more control over evaluating individual strengths.

Avalon Wasteneys of Campbell River, University of Victoria Vikes graduate, and Sydney Payne of Mill Bay, graduate of Brentwood College, both gold medalists at the Tokyo Olympics with the Canadian Eight Crew, won the Kathleen Heddle and Marnie McBean Plate as Women’s Doubles Champions.

Olympians Jakub Buczek and Curtis Ames won the George Hungerford and Roger Jackson Trophy as men’s doubles champions.

The trophies are named after Canadian rowing legends.

Olympic gold medalist Carling Zeeman, who is also a paramedic on the island, was the winner of the Silken Laumann Plate as the women’s singles winner and Liam Smit was the winner of the Derek Porter Trophy as the men’s singles winner.

In other notable results, Olympian Jill Moffatt won the Wendy Wiebe Trophy in women’s lightweight singles and Emerson Crick won the Brian Thorne Trophy in men’s lightweight singles.

In the Future Clocks category, Cait Whittard was named the Bobby Pearce Award winner for Female Junior Rower of the Year and Lucas Maroney and Owen Bartel were co-recipients of the Jack Guest Award for Best Junior Rower.

The national rowing team, based at Elk Lake for four decades, is now centralized at Quamichan Lake.

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