Spring Break Rowing Camp

With the weather starting to warm up and the spring racing season on the horizon, Shawnigan Lake rowers came back early from Spring Break to pack nearly a month’s worth of training into just one week.

Joining Shawnigan on the lake this year was a group from Ridley College from St. Catharines Ontario. Ex-Shawnigan coach Jason Dorland brought a group of 19 athletes out west to get some time on a non-frozen waterway.

“Having Ridley here was really great,” said Shawnigan senior boys coach Tim Coy, “Any time there is an outside group next to you, the intensity of the training rises to a point that you just can’t get training by yourself.”

The athletes rowed three times a day and covered more kilometers in a week than they normally row in a month during the regular school year. The students from the two schools got to know and respect each other through some intense and rewarding practices.

The students also got to know themselves through the concentrated training regimen. Senior girls coach Erica Hamilton spoke of the change in her athletes, noting that “the girls have really learned how to push themselves this week. They rose to the challenge and learned how to train to the level they need to be at.”

Off the water, the joint camp created positive relationships and continued to build a rowing community. The two teams normally only meet once a year, and coaches agreed that a week-long shared training experience brought the teams closer than any formal competition.

Adding to the spirit of community, Olympic gold medalist and Canadian National Team coxswain Brian Price spent time with the group on Thursday afternoon, sharing his Olympic experiences giving the athletes an inside look at some of the biggest international races of his life.

The Shawnigan Lake School Rowing program has held a March camp every year for many years now, but having the Ridley College crew to train with raised the level of training and made this year’s camp one to remember.

– Kyle Hamilton, Head of Rowing