Not quite the Spanish Armada

By Dale Miller

There was no tsunami, but the landlubbers from the University of Calgary Rowing Club still managed to make some waves while splashing around in Victoria.


The Calgary squad produced great results over the two days of racing Sun., Oct. 26 at The Head of the Gorge, and Mon., Oct. 27 at The Head of the Elk. Head racing events are typical for the fall season, showcasing a staggered-start time-trial event rather than the head-to-head sprint style.


"This was a really great way to finish the fall season," said Emily Young, a member of the women’s eight-person crew. "We all had a fantastic time, it’s nice to compete with some really good teams."


Competition at the Gorge saw a fourth place finish in the men’s 1X varsity, fifth place in the women’s 8X varsity and sixth place the men’s 4X mixed, women’s 1X varsity and women’s 8X novice.


The Elk Lake competition saw some better results with a second and a seventh place finish in the men’s 1X varsity, a third in the women’s 8X varsity and a respectable fifth for the women’s 8X novice, who have been improving steadily over the last two months.


Not too shabby for land-hugging prairie folk.


"Ours is more of a development program compared to the big varsity schools like UBC and UVic," explained Young, who is a fifth-year Linguistics student in her second year on the team. "We weren’t out there to beat the national team or UBC or anything, but we definitely held our own."


An impressive feat indeed, considering Alberta’s dry and rather cold conditions. The team does manage, if they’re lucky, to get four solid months on the crowded Glenmore Resevoir, honing their skills with rowing machines during the offseason.


"It’s hard to compete against teams that are on the water 10 months of the year, compared to us, who have four months of on-water time," said Young. "But the clubs here do produce some good rowers–I guess they’re really good at dryland training."


With the recent snowfall that has plagued our beloved province, dryland training has come a little earlier than Glenmore’s Fri., Oct. 31 closing date.


The U of C Rowing Club is now recuiting both receational and competitive members, so make sure to check out the clubs information at www.ucalgary.ca/~rowing.