For sale: 1998 Hudson midweight single
posted on December 30, 2013
1998 Hudson midweight single with Concept 2 oars and rooftop carrier, all in very good condition. $4000 firm.
Currently available for viewing in the private boat bay. For more information, call Bill:
Club Rows
posted on June 23, 2013
Come on out for our Club Rows! Nic Bertoni will be at the boathouse to coordinate boats for most club rows. A volunteer is still needed for Saturdays.
Tuesday/Thursday 5:30 am–7:00 am
Wednesday/Friday 5:30 pm–7:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am–11:00am
Julie Driver
Head Coach, CRC
Mike Jenkinson Regatta
posted on June 10, 2013
Eight CRC members accepted an invitation from the Guelph Rowing Club to join them on Saturday at their fun regatta in honour of the former GRC rower Mike Jenkinson. We all had a great time racing in eights together with GRC and KWRC rowers and getting to know new friends. Many thanks to the GRC for welcoming us to their event.
David Coode
President, CRC
Racing eights at Guelph Lake. More photos by Julie Driver are available online.
CSSRA Championship Regatta draw
posted on May 26, 2013
Cambridge Rowing Club members are going to race at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association (CSSRA) Championship Regatta, starting Friday, May 31, 2013.
Alex Boland is first up at 1:33 PM in Heat 3 of the Senior Men Single, representing Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School. Next on the line is Mathew Szymanowski, at 1:47 PM in Heat 5 of the same event, representing Resurrection Catholic Secondary School.
There are six heats of 7 athletes competing. The winner of each heat, and the next 12 fastest times, will advance to the semi-finals. Three semi-finals of six athletes on Saturday will find the top two athletes from each semi to race in the final on Sunday.
If you have the opportunity to come and cheer these athletes along, please come to St. Catharines and support your club.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Our docks are to be installed on Saturday, April 27
posted on April 21, 2013
Our docks will be installed at 10 am on Saturday, April 27, by club volunteers. Write to row@cambridgerowingclub.on.ca if you'd like to join the effort. Once the docks are in, we can start to row at last. Did you remember to renew your registration? Before going on the water, you must be registered for the 2013-14 season.
Cambridge rowers start the year with indoor racing
posted on February 9, 2013
Five CRC athletes took their first dip in competitive waters this year by racing at the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships (CIRC) on Sunday, February 3. The only real water around was in the athletes' water bottles and frozen under the floorboards laid over the hockey rink at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. Three competitors from the Cambridge contingent were taking part in their first rowing ergometer (erg) race, which is usually an eye-opener.
Cecily Riley, racing in the under-17 (Junior B) category, placed 17th in a field of 29 with her time of 8:27.9. Cecily held her form through her first 2000-meter erg race (after two years of racing on the water) and is looking forward to the coming racing season.
Mathew Szymanowski, freshly graduated to the under-19 (Junior A) category, fought hard and ended in a dead heat for third place to earn a spot on the podium. First place was from Peterborough with a 6:20.1, second from Don RC with 6:23.7, and tied for third were Mathew and a Ridley athlete with 6:26.8. It's not often that rowing awards double medals.
Heather Law, in her first erg race, finished 13th in a strong squad of 21 women in the under-23 category, with a time of 7:39.2. This event features women from university varsity rowing programs around the province, and is highly competitive—the winning time of 7:01.2 is knocking on the door of national-team-level performance. For a first race, this was a great effort from Heather.
Lisa Bos raced in the Senior Women. Talk about intimidating! Twelve of the first 18 finishers were from the national training centre were there, and Lisa was in her first erg race ever. The goal was to finish in less than eight minutes, and she did! With a 7:53.5, placing 24th out of 27 competitors, Lisa got off to a good start at racing in a truly powerful field. Carling Zeeman, a Cambridge native who rows at Laurentian University and placed third in the women's single at the U23 World Champs, placed third in this race with 6:48.9.
Finally, Mike Laszlo raced in the Senior Men category, finishing with a time of 6:40.8, less than two seconds off his personal best. This field featured some strong young men from varsity crew programs. Mike held a steady pace, placing ninth out of eleven in the event. First place was a rower from the University of Western Ontario with a 6:04.0.
Everyone is going to use the next month to get into better form for the Ontario Indoor Rowing Championships on March 2 at Ridley College in St. Catharines. Please consider coming to support your club members!
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Walter Martindale and Mathew Szymanowski at the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships
Assault on Welland
posted on September 18, 2012
The Cambridge Rowing Club is steadily increasing its attendance at the Head of the Welland. At the 2011 edition, we had one entry from Cambridge. This year we had six entries in the regatta.
Our entries are:
- Evelyn Hansen: Women's Masters Single
- Michael Laszlo: Men's Open Single
- Mathew Szymanowski: Men's Junior Single
- Cecily Riley: Women's Junior Single
- Sarah Fox: Women's Junior Single
- Sarah and Cecily: Women's Junior Double
A full day for the young women, but we're all done by about 1:30 in the afternoon.
Best wishes to all racers and their supporters—safe travels, too.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
A golden result at the Ontario Championships
posted on August 2, 2012
Walter Martindale congratulates Mathew Szymanowski after his win (photo: Mirek Szymanowski)
At the 2012 Ontario Championships held on the weekend of July 28-29, the Cambridge Rowing Club and the Kitchener-Waterloo Rowing Club attended with a total of six entries.
Nic Bertoni raced in the Senior Lightweight Men's Single in the hope of getting two trips down the race course on Saturday for increased race experience. Still 18 while competing against senior lightweights, Nic was unable to advance to the final. That was our only racing on Saturday.
On Sunday, Sarah Fox and Cecily Riley raced in the Under 17 Women's Double and weren't that happy with their results, attributing some of the result to a shortage of time in the boat in the last week due to family holidays. Next year! And there's this Henley thing coming up in a week or so, so we'll see what happens there with 56 entries in the category.
In the Under 17 Men's Single heats, Mathew Szymanowski of the Cambridge Rowing Club and Alex Boland of Kitchener-Waterloo raced in adjacent lanes in the same heat. Mathew won the heat, while Alex, sculling well, placed fourth.
Nic raced again in the heats for the Under 19 Men's Single, placing fourth and thus not advancing to the final.
Mathew had an interesting race in the final of the Under 17 Men's Single. Ottawa's sculler got the jump at the start, but Mathew rowed through to first position after about 300 metres. From there, Mathew held off all the sprinting efforts of the Ottawa sculler, who was in the adjacent lane. Mathew won the race with a time of 7:41.1. He has been advised to retire from rowing to help preserve his father's health, as Dad is a wreck when his son is racing.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Mathew Szymanowski (photo: Mirek Szymanowski)
Battling the elements at the CORA Championships
posted on July 16, 2012
The current! One thing about a heat wave in southern Ontario during regatta season is that while people are air-conditioning their homes in St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie, there's an increased need for electricity. So they turn up the hydroelectric power generation, and so there's a current on Martindale Pond.
Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo scullers raced at the CORA Championships on Saturday, July 14, in St. Catharines. We had a reduced contingent because of weddings, work, and travel, but those who raced gave good performances.
Cecily Riley and Sarah Fox competed in the Under 17 Women's Single and Double events. They were each disappointed with their single races, but quite happy to place second in the Under 17 Double.
Mathew Szymanowski raced in the Under 17 and Under 19 Singles. Mathew wasn't challenged at all during the Under 17 race, although the start was somewhat difficult. In the Under 19 race, conditions were more troublesome, with the current going against a significant headwind, resulting in a very wavy start area. After suffering a horror of a start (washed out—hey, guys, wait up!) and losing his grip on one oar 250 meters in, Mathew was able to charge through in the last 1000 meters and place second.
Alex Boland of the KW Rowing Club was part of our group, too, racing in the Under 17 Men's Single. Alex struggled with the wavy conditions. His coach (oops, that's me) should have read the conditions a little more carefully and raised his gates by at least one spacer so he'd be better able to get his blades off the water.
Ross McCandless raced in his second ever 2000 m race. The conditions were trying, and now with two races under his belt, both of which he completed well, Ross is gaining greater understanding of racing and the speeds needed to be competitive.
Learning: When the current is that strong, we need to adjust the start. Make the first stroke a little shorter, and do not go quite so hard during the first drive. Sit waiting with the blades tipped sternward so the water will run under them, or over-feathered, so they'll skim the surface. If you square up too early you'll possibly pull free of the boat holder, but if you mess up the squaring on one side or the other, you might take a disastrous first stroke. Practice, practice, practice...
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Cambridge youth rowers take on the CORA London regatta
posted on July 9, 2012
Alex Labocha (photo: Bev Fox)
The Cambridge Rowing Club sent a contingent of youth rowers to London's Fanshawe Lake on July 8 for the second regatta in the Central Ontario Rowing Association (CORA) regatta series. The CORA events are well subscribed, but a one-day regatta is too short to allow for preliminary heats and finals. When an event is split into multiple heats due to the number of entries, every heat is treated as a final heat.
Cecily Riley and Sarah Fox raced in different heats of the Under 17 Women's Single. As both are 14 years of age, they're a bit outgunned at present, but watch out for next year. Lesson learned: if your hat blows off during the race, leave it and continue racing (even if it's a borrowed hat that belongs to someone else).
Kate Lillepold and Erica Tucker combined to row the Senior Women's Double. Shortly afterward, without having had a complete recovery, Kate was back out to race the Under 19 Women's Single. Being relatively new to the sport and having had a few training setbacks, Kate has resolved to hit the water more often and to up the pace in cross-training, in part so that she can be ready for the Queen's University rowing team.
Alex Labocha competed at his second regatta, and in his second race ever, in the lightweight division of the Under 17 Men's Single. Competition at this regatta featured two Bayside, two South Niagara, and one London sculler in addition to Alex, who placed fifth, rowing well and giving his all.
Mathew Szymanowski raced in two events, the Under 17 and Under 19 Men's Singles, winning both races. Mathew led both races from pillar to post, as they say on the Thames. It looks like the winter of erging and weights is combining well with the long on-water sessions Mathew is putting in, and his complete racing ability, including a closing sprint, is developing. We are looking forward to the next few regattas.
Nic Bertoni raced in the lightweight division of the Under 19 Men's Single. It was Nic's first race since the CSSRA (Schoolboy) regatta. Nic raced hard all the way, placing fourth in the heat.
Ross McCandless entered and completed his first ever 2000-meter sculling race. Whenever anyone enters their first race—and this was not a novice division—it's an accomplishment to get to the finish line. Ross is gradually building confidence and we're looking for longer strokes and more mileage in the near future.
A highlight of the regatta was the opportunity to watch the Canadian women's eight (yes, the Olympic eight) in a final tune-up regatta before they head off to their final training camp in Italy next week. The women's eight raced in an exhibition lane in the Under 19 Men's Eight and Senior Men's Eight, winning the first and finishing about three seconds behind the University of Western Ontario in the second event. The UWO men finished in 5:57, so the women were quite fast.
A personal highlight for me was a brief visit with the seven-seat of the Canadian eight, Rachelle (de Jong) Viinberg, whom I coached in her first year of rowing at the Regina Rowing Club and then on Team Saskatchewan at the 1997 Canada Games.
CORA St. Catharines is on the 14th, and the Ontario Rowing Championship is on the weekend of 28-29 July, leading up to Henley. The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta runs from the 7th to the 12th of August, featuring more than 200 clubs from across North America and around the world.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Mathew Szymanowski, Walter Martindale, Rachelle Viinberg, Cecily Riley, Sarah Fox (photo: Bev Fox)
Cambridge youth rowers return from Guelph with two gold medals, one silver
posted on June 25, 2012
A race official congratulates Sarah Fox and Cecily Riley (photo: Bev Fox)
Five youth athletes from the Cambridge Rowing Club and one from Kitchener-Waterloo braved the waters of Guelph Lake on June 23 to race in the first Central Ontario Rowing Association (CORA) competition of 2012. The winds were light and the lake was very rowable. I'm told that's rare. Racing took place under a slight headwind, so finishing times were generally not spectacular.
The regatta started with Sarah Fox and Cecily Riley competing in different heats of the Under 17 Women's Single. As it was their first 2000 m race of the year, there were some cobwebs to shake out, but both Sarah and Cecily gave it their best and finished in the middle of the pack.
Later in the morning Kate Lillepold had her first 2000 m sculling race ever. Kate raced hard and finished in the middle of the group. The first race is always, well, interesting.
Cecily and Sarah returned to the water for the Under 17 Women's Double, racing in the Jane MacKinnon Wilson (the Kaschper Custom 30 double), and won in front of the boat's namesake. Jane and her daughter were both happy to see the crew do so well.
We had three entries in the Under 17 Men's Single, two from Cambridge—Mathew Szymanowski and Alex Labocha—and one from Kitchener-Waterloo—Alex Boland. Mathew dominated the race and wasn't pressed, his time of just under 8 minutes reflecting the slight headwind and the lack of pressure from his competitors. Alex Boland, in his first single sculling race, placed third. Alex Labocha, in his first 2000 m race, placed a very close fourth.
The last race of the day for CRC saw Mathew Szymanowski take to the water again, this time in the Under 19 Men's Single, a tall order for a 16-year-old. Mathew led the race for the first 1500 m, but couldn't answer the sprint in the last 500 m by the sculler from Durham RC.
An interesting summer of racing is approaching. The next regatta for this group is on July 7 at Lake Fanshawe, London.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Kate Lillepold (photo: Bev Fox)
CRC youth represent local schools at the CSSRA Regatta
posted on June 3, 2012
Mathew Szymanowski (photo: Bev Fox)
The Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association (CSSRA) Regatta, also known as the Schoolboy Championship, was held from June 1 to June 3 in St. Catharines, on the same course that hosts the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. The Cambridge Rowing Club sent three youth members, each racing in the colors of their own school.
Nic Bertoni represented Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge, competing in the Senior Under 72 kg Men's Single category. The field of 37 started on Friday in six heats. The winner of each heat, plus the eight remaining fastest times from all heats, progressed to the semifinals on Saturday. Nic raced hard but did not advance to the next level of competition.
Sarah Fox raced under the Galt Collegiate Institute banner in the Junior Women's Single. (Junior rowers at CSSRA must be less than 16 years old on January 1 of the year of the regatta.) When Sarah began her race, the water was quite rough, with a strong tail wind. At the 250-metre mark, Sarah caught a blade on a wave and tipped out of her boat—for her first time ever—and lost the sliding seat. While she was able to get back in the boat, her seat was gone and she was too far back, so she withdrew from the race. There's a first time for everything. Conditions at that time of the day were very difficult. We should pray for more windy weather on our stretch of the Grand River so that our competitive rowers can prepare better.
Mathew Szymanowski of Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, in Kitchener, raced his Junior Men's Single heat on Friday under pretty good conditions, winning with the fastest heat of the day. In the semifinal on Saturday, Mathew won his own heat quite handily, but his time was just a little better than the other semifinal's second-place finish. In the final on Sunday, Mathew raced hard and sculled well all the way down, ending up with the bronze medal in the Junior Men's Single.
All of our athletes have come away knowing a little more about racing, and "I'm going to train hard" was a common sentiment from the scullers when they got off the water.
Support crew: How do you top the kind of support we received from Bev and Hugh Fox? You can't. Hugh drove the boats to the Henley course on Friday, and Bev took us on Saturday and Sunday, bringing the boats back and re-rigging with Sarah and me on Sunday. Bev's egg-salad sandwiches are the best!
CORA, here we come.
Walter Martindale
Regional Coach
Mathew Szymanowski and Walter Martindale (photo: Bev Fox)
Dock Day
posted on April 22, 2012
Many thanks to all who showed up on a bracing Sunday morning to install the docks! Your help was much appreciated. Our full docks are now ready for use.