By Carly McKay
Rowing on the West Coast is ordinarily dominated by the powerhouse University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and University of Victoria Vikes teams. This year’s versions of the Head of the Gorge and Head of the Elk regattas Oct. 29–30, were no different.
That said, the Dinos rowing crew celebrated some milestone achievements over the weekend.
On the Gorge, a 4.5km dash upstream from Victoria’s inner harbour, Calgary managed to take third in the men’s 8+ event, sixth in the men’s 4x, fifth in the women’s 4x, and Andrea Bundon claimed first in the women’s singles race.
In a field dominated by entries from B.C. and Washington, the U of C’s results were rather impressive for a prairie team.
Following up on Saturday’s positive finish, the crew launched at Elk Lake on Sunday hoping to improve their placement. The 8km track proved to be more of a challenge, as lily pads, tree stumps and torrential downpours created a minefield of hazards for the boats to dodge.
On the men’s side, the Dinos placed fourth and sixth in the 4x, while the novice 4x crew took first in their division. The women’s team finished fifth and sixth in the 4x and second in singles. The novice women’s 8+ crew took home a bronze.
While the season is over for most of the Dinos, three team members posted times good enough to qualify them for the Canadian University Championship in Victoria Nov. 5–6. Bundon, Jenna Nodding and Jarrid McKenzie will be representing the U of C at the event, with hopes of bringing home not only some hardware, but also some much needed attention for the sport in Calgary.