Image Credit: World Rowing
One hundred and nineteen Canadian crews will be traveling south to Boston to compete at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta. Their ambitions will vary from gaining experience on this historic course, to securing guaranteed entries for next year, to standing on the podium and setting course records. Every Championship, Club, and Youth crew is previewed in this article, along with highlights of the Masters entries (including rowing royalty from Canada and the UK).
Women’s Championship Singles –
Alizee Brien, representing Club d’aviron de Montreal, was crowned the 2024 National champion in the single just three days ago at the time of writing. She is a triple medalist from the 2023 Pan American Games, taking home bronze medals in the women’s double and quad, as well as gold in the women’s eight. A former professional cyclist, she will have the speed and stamina to break into the top ten among this stacked field.
Racing for Rowing Canada National Training Centre is Katie Clark, who stroked the Canadian women’s quad to victory this summer at Henley Royal Regatta and made her senior World Championships debut in 2023. She is the newly minted national bronze medalist, finishing three seconds behind Brien – Clark should be on track for a top half finish in this field of 22 Olympians and national team rowers.
Women’s Championship Doubles –
Racing lightweight for the Kingston Rowing Club are two-time Olympians in the lightweight double, Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson. This crew has raced together since 2017 with a career-high fourth place at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. They also won the openweight women’s double title at the 2023 Henley Royal Regatta. Moffat and Casson should win the lightweight title handily, and will be looking for a top five or even top three placing in the overall category against very strong heavyweight competition. These athletes are also competing in the all-Paris-Olympians lightweight women’s championship eight representing Skibbereen Rowing Club.
Rowing Canada Aviron High Performance’s Cassidy Deane is a two-time World Rowing Cup medalist, and earned an alternate spot for the Paris Olympics. This past weekend she became the national silver medalist in the women’s pairs. Shannon Kennedy bowed the Canadian women’s quad to victory at Henley Royal Regatta this summer, and placed fifth in the women’s single at nationals this past weekend. This double will be hoping to place in the top seven, among the Olympian crews, based on their consistent training this fall.
Rebecca Dockray and Tess Friar of Peterborough Rowing Club are a very strong club entry, coming off a summer that saw them win U23 quad gold at Royal Canadian Henley Regatta (Canadian Henley) and place second in the U23 four. More recently, they won Head of the Trent by a very large margin – they should be able to place in the top half out of the 22 entries.
Women’s Club Singles
Mara Jones, of Argonaut Rowing Club, is a 2004 Olympian in the lightweight double and 2005 world champion in the lightweight quad. Without any race results from recent years, it is impossible to predict her form, but her international experience should serve her well.
Women’s Youth Singles
Competing U17 for Niagara Falls Rowing Club is Virginia Gates. She had a stellar summer at Canadian Henley; she placed second in the U17 double, and third in both the U17 single and U19 quad. Starting in Bow #4, Gates has an excellent chance at placing top three in her age category, which should place her in the top ten overall.
Peterborough’s representative is Makena Kubica. She placed fourth (behind Gates) at Canadian Henley in the U17 single this summer, and bowed the winning U23 quad, a major accomplishment for such a young athlete. She also represented Canada at CanAmMex. A top seven finish in her age category should also place her in the top half of the overall entries.
Women’s Youth Doubles
Niagara Falls Rowing Club, racing in the U17 category, will be a frontrunner in this event. Lauren Deprez placed second in the U17 double at Canadian Henley, and Kat Egorova won the U17 double at the ERA Montreal event this summer. Starting in Bow #5, this crew should be on track for a top three finish in their age category along with a top ten finish overall.
The Calgary Rowing Club crew rowed in stroke and bow seat in the Canadian-Henley-winning U17 quad this summer. Finishing just two seconds behind Niagara in the U17 double, Orla Bailey and Heidi Wallin will be aiming for fourth or higher in their age category and should be capable of placing top 25% overall.
The Ridley College Rowing Club crew (Rachel Mason and Naomi Cousins) won a silver medal in the U17 double at this year’s Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association nationals (CSSRAs), putting them in good position to finish top five in U17. They will be racing CSSRA bronze medalist Natalie Franke from Thunder Rowing Crew with her new partner Julia Borodow – this crew looks strong enough to improve on last year’s seventh place finish.
Don Rowing Club, Notre Dame Rowing Club, and Peterborough round out the large group of Canadian entries in this category.
Women’s Youth Coxed Quads
The 2023 champions Notre Dame are returning, and based on their club’s second place at Canadian Henley in the U19 quad this summer, they may have the strength to attempt a title defense from Bow #1.
The rest of the Canadian entries are U17. Thunder Crew placed third at Canadian Henley in the U17 quad, and should be able to make a significant improvement from their 22nd place in 2023. St. Catharines Rowing Club placed fourth in the U19 quad at Canadian Henley, and two of those athletes are competing in the U17 category in Boston (with the addition of a CSSRA double medalist). This crew should be able to improve upon last year’s ninth place finish. Niagara Falls has four CSSRA finalists/medalists in their crew, and will be aiming for a top ten finish as well. The Argonauts and Elmwood School round out the Canadian entries in this category.
Women’s Youth Fours
The St. Catharines crew looks to be stronger than last year’s seventh-placed crew. Three athletes placed second at Canadian Henley in both the U17 eight and four this summer, and Isabella Essig won the U17 double. With experienced coxswain Haley Knott returning, watch for them to crack the top five.
Branksome Hall Rowing placed second in the U19 four and third in the eight at CSSRAs. Their crew should be aiming for the top 15 overall. Havergal Rowing Club will also be looking to move up from last year’s 25th place position. Ottawa Rowing Club is sending a new crew and will be hoping to place higher than their Bow #81.
Women’s Youth Eights
Every member of the Ridley College crew represented Canada this summer. Five athletes raced in the junior women’s eight at MegaWorlds after winning both the senior and championship eight events at Canadian Henley (Swick, Postma, Pieckenhagen, Clarke, Seville). Najjar, Hallett, and Della Siega raced in small boats at MegaWorlds, and Taylor raced at CanAmMex. This should be one of the best Canadian Youth eights in several years, and a top five finish in the event should be in reach even from Bow #66.
Brentwood College School and Branksome Hall placed 30th and 40th respectively last year, but are both switching to the U17 category for 2024. Brentwood won CSSRAs this summer by a large margin and should be able to maintain their top 30 position, likely placing them in the top ten U17. Branksome Hall won the silver medal at CSSRAs, ten seconds behind, and will be aiming for a top half finish in the overall event and top fifteen in their category.
Women’s Lightweight Single
The lone Canadian entry is Julia Mills from North Star Rowing Club. She placed fifth in the senior lightweight single and third in the dash this summer at Canadian Henley, which should put her on track for a top-half result in this strong field of 14.
Women’s Masters Highlights
There are two masters women’s eights racing with Canadian rowing legends on board. In the Senior Master [50+] eights, last year’s victorious (and course-record-setting) 50+ Four (Walinga, Moore, Penney, Platt, Lloyd) have teamed up with four Olympic medallists from Great Britain – Katherine Grainger, Cath Bishop, Gillian Lindsay, and Kate Harvey nee Mackenzie. This crew is incredibly decorated – keep an eye on Marlow Rowing Club!
In the Grand Master [60+] eights, watch for the Rowing Canada Alumni Association crew which includes six Olympians and three Olympic medalists (Worthington, Schneider, Barnes).
Sarah Pidgen, six-time Canadian National team member for Beach and Coastal disciplines, is racing in the women’s masters single.
The St Catharines Master [30+] four is another strong entry – this crew won Canadian Master’s Henley gold this summer, and has made only one change to the crew bringing in another national team alumni. St Catharines should be capable of a top five finish even from the back of the bow numbers.
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