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Sadly, there will not be a 2020 Captain’s Dinner. Another casualty in a long list of disappointments this year has produced. This Saturday, November 21st would have been our evening to recognize all our top athletes along with coach and volunteer of the year. Had the year gone the way we had hoped, we would have had special recognition for the men’s and women’s crews that competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in July and had possibly (probably!) brought home victories.  I may have said it in previous notes but once again to all the coaches and volunteers that turned out and supported the athletes that were able to row – THANK YOU!! You made a difficult year much, much better than it might have been. And a special THANK YOU to Jim Marino! Jim retired from flying 777’s this past year and volunteered to step up and fill in for Mark Welsh. As a previous Board Member from 1990 to 2002 including 5 years as president he was very qualified. More about Jim in a future update. And speaking of Mark Welsh, a few rowers and friends gathered in front of the workshop last June to say Thank You for 14 years of leadership as Club Captain. I promised we would do a better job of recognition at the Captain’s Dinner… and we will… in 2021.  To our very generous Sponsors, not just for the Dinner but for their support at all our functions – THANK YOU! The room would have been host to many of our athletes including masters and rec rowers, past Club Captains, Club Presidents, and assorted Dignitaries. We may even have been able to convince 4-time Olympic Gold Medalist - Sir Matthew Pinsent to make a return visit after a successful Spring 2020 Fundraising Gala he had committed to attending. Though this may be an incomplete list of members who passed away since last year… Brian Davis, Marilyn Minards, Ingrid Edmonstone, we remember them all as great individuals and people that gave so much of their time, energy, and guidance to our Club. As we have moved into November, we still have a few athletes on the water. It is unlikely we will know before next March if the Henley Royal Regatta will happen in July of 2021 but as I write this, their website is up and running. In a spirit of optimism, several junior and senior rowers and their coaches have committed to training through the winter with the hope it will go ahead, and we can attend.  Given the current trend in COVID-19 cases, we will “hope for the best but plan for the worst” come Spring 2021.
If the high school season is cancelled but coaches are willing, we will open the Club early for the boat sizes that are permitted and those athletes – junior, senior, master, rec – that wish to row. Next Update will be a profile of one of our long serving and most successful members! I’m sure you will enjoy it… Best in Sport, Rick Crooker President, St. Catharines Rowing Club 19 November, 2020 It may not be the best way to think about the 2020 rowing seasons but as we move into October with no rowers, coaches or volunteers known to having been diagnosed with the virus - it feels like we’re about to “win”.
I guess it falls under the heading of “…take your victories where you find them…” I am sure everyone can identify with the feeling most of our rowers have over the loss of a competitive season and the fact you cannot get it back. I would however have to offset that loss with a shout out to the wonderful job the coaches and volunteers have done to keep the club open for those athletes that could at least get out in a single and recently doubles, and even quads! (Note: the athletes who entered into team boats have signed an agreement to maintain safety within their rowing bubble) Our master’s rowers have been active through the summer and now the fall both training and participating in the Wednesday evening race around the Island hosted by Nancy Storrs and Ridley Graduate Boat Club. The Island Training Centre (no official name yet) being built for the Canada Summer Games has broken ground and will be finished well before the Games that have now been delayed to the summer of 2022. Since there will not be much rowing news once we move into November, I have been collecting profiles of some of our members which I will start sharing. Having looked through Stan Lapinski’s “One Hundred Years in a Row – 1903 to 2003” more times than I can count it struck me that a few updates about our members might make for enjoyable reading through the winter. You will get a feel for how I would like to do them after the first couple. If you would like to offer up yourself or a rower that doesn’t mind having their history shared then please pull together a biography that includes family background, school(s), rowing, work and current status if you or they are not in the city and still rowing. Email: [email protected] If you are thinking of your own biography, do not be shy! Pull together your bio. SCRC has a wonderful history, and it is because of the thousands of rowers that have represented us. Depending on how many I get, I cannot promise everyone will get profiled. But… I am retired and have no plans for travel this winter (guess why!) so I will make best efforts. Please stay safe as we move into cold and flu season. No one needs to be worried about whether they have the common cold or have contracted the virus. Wear your mask. Social distance. Maintain your social bubble. Best in Sport, Rick Crooker President, St. Catharines Rowing Club |
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© 2014, St. Catharines Rowing Club
St. Catharines Rowing Club, P.O. Box 28010, 600 Ontario St., St. Catharines, ON, L2N 7P8.
St. Catharines Rowing Club, P.O. Box 28010, 600 Ontario St., St. Catharines, ON, L2N 7P8.