Alumni Newsletter September 2017
Alumni Newsletter September 2017 Upcoming Events
August 26th – September 10th: Training Camp, Kingston
September 24th: Head of the Rideau, Ottawa
1st:
October Head of the Trent, Peterborough
October 14th: Brock Invitational Regatta, St. Catharines
October 27th – October 28th: OUA Championships, St. Catharines
November 4th – November 5th: Canadian University Rowing Championships, Burnaby
Bring on the Cold and the Competition The 2017-2018 season is coming in full force with the first few days of training camp under our belts. As usual, the week begins with the 2km and 6km ergometer tests. It was exciting to see so many athletes achieve personal best times after the summer of hard work in Kingston, the Canada Summer Games training centers, the Victoria Training Center, and everywhere else our Gaels put miles these past four months. The upcoming fall season will focus on small boats, with singles, pairs and doubles as the primary shells. This also means we have seen several beautiful additions to our small boat fleet, all showing Queen’s pride with tri-colour paint on the bow and stern decks. Although it’s nice to see the whole team back in the Limestone City, the Kingston Rowing Club was home to 14 Queen’s athletes this summer! This allowed the team to form training groups and constantly test each other’s speed and racing prowess. Consequently, the KRC decided it was time for new, trendy unisuits, matching their need for style with their need for speed. Finally, for the first time in many years, training camp is not synonymous with weeds in the Cataraqui, the cool summer and high water has seemed to stunt their growth. Everyone can sleep easy this year knowing that an 6x1500m seat racing matrix will no longer become 8x1500m with fin after fin clogged and steering rendered impossible.
Nick Nero (Ontario), Brielle Thorsen (Alberta), Gavin Stone (Ontario), Nick Grubic (Ontario), Daniel Molyneaux (Alberta), Stephanie Pegler (New Brunswick) at the Canada Summer Games in Kenora.
135th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta Queen’s athletes racing as the Kingston Rowing Club had a strong showing at this year’s Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Louise Munro stole the show by handily winning the U23 Women’s Single event on the last day with a time of 7.46.480 well ahead of the second-place boat at 8:02.400. Louise’s name will be added to the Dr. James A. McMullen Memorial Trophy. Other results include the Sr. Men’s Lightweight Quad of Mitchell Valic in bow, Evan Notley, Alex Bernst and Alex Dawson in stroke seat finishing fifth in the final. Alumnus Chloe Deroche came third in the Sr. Women’s Double, and then fifth in the Women’s Single event.
U23 World Championships, Bulgaria Gavin Stone made Queen’s proud this summer racing at the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After a strong finish at Speed Orders in May, he seat raced for the U23 Men’s Quad. Proceeding a slight injury scare, Gavin secured his spot and had a great summer training at the VTC. Here’s what he had to say: “Getting to race for Canada has been a goal of mine for the past few years. It feels incredible to have done so, and it was such an honour to wear the leaf. The entire summer was a massive learning experience, not only on the water, but through training alongside Olympians and World Champions I got an insight into how to take things one step past normal. I am hoping to improve upon our seventh-place finish next year, and am looking forward to a strong year with Queen’s. It’s an exciting season coming up and I hope to be able to contribute the perspective gained this summer to the great culture already existing with the Gaels.”
He Doesn’t Stop Winning After years as Head Coach of Queen’s and the Kingston Rowing Club, with many national and provincial titles, John Armitage continues to make waves (and these waves, rowers like!). John was presented with Kingston’s top citizen award during the Canada 150 celebrations. The First Capital Distinguished Citizen Award was presented by the mayor to recognize John’s incredible contribution to 40 years of rowing in Kingston. John, along with Bruce Alexander, Michael Davies, John Nesbitt, Ian McFarlane, Mark Evans, Doug Hamilton, Jennifer Hogsden-Robinson, and Diane O’Grady, will be inducted into the Kingston Rowing Club Hall of Fame at the 40th Anniversary Banquet on September 16th 2017.
40 Years of Rowing in Kingston – September 16th 2017 Forty-three years ago, nine intrepid young men borrowed a rowing shell from the Brockville Rowing Club, stored it beside HMCS Cataraqui near the causeway and trained for and competed at the then OUAA championships at Brock, thus proving the viability of rowing in Kingston. Three years later, a group of rowing enthusiasts led by Queens's trustee Bruce Alexander and Whig Standard publisher Michael Davies, advertised for expressions of interest in reintroducing rowing in Kingston. Former St. Catharines rower Ian McFarlane and retired Brockville rower John Armitage were appointed the first coaches at KCVI, Kingston Rowing Club and Queen's University. Join us on September 16th, 2017 at Ban Righ Hall on Queen’s campus for a celebration of forty years of rowing in Kingston. The banquet will feature guest speakers, boat christenings, a silent auction and familiar faces from Queen’s Rowing and KRC. The banquet will also feature a slideshow of pictures of Kingston and Queen’s rowing over the past 40 years. For maximum slideshow quality, we’re asking alumni for photos! If you have pictures to contribute, they can be uploaded to: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3Z4B7oCuIMEV2RiUzBlZUhPd1E?usp=sharing For more information and to register visit: http://www.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/11/17/rowing-40th-anniversary.aspx?path=row
Giving to Queen’s Rowing There are four critical success factors in developing a championship rowing team, namely talented athletes, dedicated coaches, high quality racing equipment and the support from our alumni, parents and friends. Queen’s Rowing has been entirely volunteer run since its inception, but with the help of John Armitage a fund has been created to support a full-time head coach. Thanks to generous donations we are half way to our goal but still need to raise an additional $400,000 to ensure that the program can continue to grow with strong leadership at the helm. At the same time, the rowing team is working to replace some of the older, worn out equipment in the near future. To do this, we need an additional $46,000 to ensure our athletes have the highest quality racing equipment they possibly can. Individual or corporate gifts are always being accepted and are extremely valued. Recognition opportunities are available including having your name commemorated on equipment purchased with the help of your donation. For more information on recognition opportunities or to make a donation contact former rower Sarah Roth, Director of Advancement at 613.533.6000 ext. 77281 or [email protected]. You can also give online at www.givetoqueens.ca/rowing.
August 26th – September 10th: Training Camp, Kingston
September 24th: Head of the Rideau, Ottawa
1st:
October Head of the Trent, Peterborough
October 14th: Brock Invitational Regatta, St. Catharines
October 27th – October 28th: OUA Championships, St. Catharines
November 4th – November 5th: Canadian University Rowing Championships, Burnaby
Bring on the Cold and the Competition The 2017-2018 season is coming in full force with the first few days of training camp under our belts. As usual, the week begins with the 2km and 6km ergometer tests. It was exciting to see so many athletes achieve personal best times after the summer of hard work in Kingston, the Canada Summer Games training centers, the Victoria Training Center, and everywhere else our Gaels put miles these past four months. The upcoming fall season will focus on small boats, with singles, pairs and doubles as the primary shells. This also means we have seen several beautiful additions to our small boat fleet, all showing Queen’s pride with tri-colour paint on the bow and stern decks. Although it’s nice to see the whole team back in the Limestone City, the Kingston Rowing Club was home to 14 Queen’s athletes this summer! This allowed the team to form training groups and constantly test each other’s speed and racing prowess. Consequently, the KRC decided it was time for new, trendy unisuits, matching their need for style with their need for speed. Finally, for the first time in many years, training camp is not synonymous with weeds in the Cataraqui, the cool summer and high water has seemed to stunt their growth. Everyone can sleep easy this year knowing that an 6x1500m seat racing matrix will no longer become 8x1500m with fin after fin clogged and steering rendered impossible.
Nick Nero (Ontario), Brielle Thorsen (Alberta), Gavin Stone (Ontario), Nick Grubic (Ontario), Daniel Molyneaux (Alberta), Stephanie Pegler (New Brunswick) at the Canada Summer Games in Kenora.
135th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta Queen’s athletes racing as the Kingston Rowing Club had a strong showing at this year’s Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Louise Munro stole the show by handily winning the U23 Women’s Single event on the last day with a time of 7.46.480 well ahead of the second-place boat at 8:02.400. Louise’s name will be added to the Dr. James A. McMullen Memorial Trophy. Other results include the Sr. Men’s Lightweight Quad of Mitchell Valic in bow, Evan Notley, Alex Bernst and Alex Dawson in stroke seat finishing fifth in the final. Alumnus Chloe Deroche came third in the Sr. Women’s Double, and then fifth in the Women’s Single event.
U23 World Championships, Bulgaria Gavin Stone made Queen’s proud this summer racing at the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After a strong finish at Speed Orders in May, he seat raced for the U23 Men’s Quad. Proceeding a slight injury scare, Gavin secured his spot and had a great summer training at the VTC. Here’s what he had to say: “Getting to race for Canada has been a goal of mine for the past few years. It feels incredible to have done so, and it was such an honour to wear the leaf. The entire summer was a massive learning experience, not only on the water, but through training alongside Olympians and World Champions I got an insight into how to take things one step past normal. I am hoping to improve upon our seventh-place finish next year, and am looking forward to a strong year with Queen’s. It’s an exciting season coming up and I hope to be able to contribute the perspective gained this summer to the great culture already existing with the Gaels.”
He Doesn’t Stop Winning After years as Head Coach of Queen’s and the Kingston Rowing Club, with many national and provincial titles, John Armitage continues to make waves (and these waves, rowers like!). John was presented with Kingston’s top citizen award during the Canada 150 celebrations. The First Capital Distinguished Citizen Award was presented by the mayor to recognize John’s incredible contribution to 40 years of rowing in Kingston. John, along with Bruce Alexander, Michael Davies, John Nesbitt, Ian McFarlane, Mark Evans, Doug Hamilton, Jennifer Hogsden-Robinson, and Diane O’Grady, will be inducted into the Kingston Rowing Club Hall of Fame at the 40th Anniversary Banquet on September 16th 2017.
40 Years of Rowing in Kingston – September 16th 2017 Forty-three years ago, nine intrepid young men borrowed a rowing shell from the Brockville Rowing Club, stored it beside HMCS Cataraqui near the causeway and trained for and competed at the then OUAA championships at Brock, thus proving the viability of rowing in Kingston. Three years later, a group of rowing enthusiasts led by Queens's trustee Bruce Alexander and Whig Standard publisher Michael Davies, advertised for expressions of interest in reintroducing rowing in Kingston. Former St. Catharines rower Ian McFarlane and retired Brockville rower John Armitage were appointed the first coaches at KCVI, Kingston Rowing Club and Queen's University. Join us on September 16th, 2017 at Ban Righ Hall on Queen’s campus for a celebration of forty years of rowing in Kingston. The banquet will feature guest speakers, boat christenings, a silent auction and familiar faces from Queen’s Rowing and KRC. The banquet will also feature a slideshow of pictures of Kingston and Queen’s rowing over the past 40 years. For maximum slideshow quality, we’re asking alumni for photos! If you have pictures to contribute, they can be uploaded to: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3Z4B7oCuIMEV2RiUzBlZUhPd1E?usp=sharing For more information and to register visit: http://www.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/11/17/rowing-40th-anniversary.aspx?path=row
Giving to Queen’s Rowing There are four critical success factors in developing a championship rowing team, namely talented athletes, dedicated coaches, high quality racing equipment and the support from our alumni, parents and friends. Queen’s Rowing has been entirely volunteer run since its inception, but with the help of John Armitage a fund has been created to support a full-time head coach. Thanks to generous donations we are half way to our goal but still need to raise an additional $400,000 to ensure that the program can continue to grow with strong leadership at the helm. At the same time, the rowing team is working to replace some of the older, worn out equipment in the near future. To do this, we need an additional $46,000 to ensure our athletes have the highest quality racing equipment they possibly can. Individual or corporate gifts are always being accepted and are extremely valued. Recognition opportunities are available including having your name commemorated on equipment purchased with the help of your donation. For more information on recognition opportunities or to make a donation contact former rower Sarah Roth, Director of Advancement at 613.533.6000 ext. 77281 or [email protected]. You can also give online at www.givetoqueens.ca/rowing.
