There’s only a week to go until the Nike National Rowing Team Trails officially begin in Victoria, and the athletes are now ready to take another step closer to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. At the trials, rowers race in small boats (singles and pairs) to show their speed and attempt to fill a seat on the Olympic rowing team.
Here’s a preview of the rowers to watch in each event:
Men's pair - Never have there been so many World Champions trying out for the Canadian Olympic rowing team in this event. Two-time World Champion (2002-2003) men's eight members Andrew Hoskins of Edmonton, Alta. and Joe Stankevicius of Dundas, Ont. will row together, as will Adam Kreek of London, Ont. and Kyle Hamilton Richmond, B.C. Of the men's four that won gold in Milan this year, Jake Wetzel of Saskatoon, Sask. and Barney Williams of Salt Spring Island, B.C. will row as a pair, while men's eight veteran Kevin Light of Sidney, B.C. will row with men's four member Cam Baerg of Saskatoon, and 2000 Olympian Dave Calder of Victoria, B.C., also a member of the 2003 men's eight, will row with Tom Herschmiller of Comox, B.C. of the 2003 men's four. Pan Am medallists Geoff Hodgson of Whitehorse, Yukon and David Kay of Peterborough, Ont. are also rowing as a pair. Another pairing of note: Darren Barber, a member of the 1992 men's eight that won gold at the Olympics, will row with 2003 men's pair crew member, Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C. There are 12 pairs now entered to row next week in Victoria. With the men's pair, men's four and men's eight qualified for the Olympics - this category has the most athletes destined for Athens in 2004.
Women's pair - The women's pair event features 2003 World Cup gold medallists Jacqui Cook of Burlington, Ont. and Karen Clark of Delta, B.C., who were also members of the World bronze-medal women's eight. Other members of the eight competing in trials are the pairs of Andreanne Morin of Montreal rowing with Darcy Marquardt of Richmond, B.C.; Rachel Dunnet of West Vancouver, B.C. and Pauline Van Roessel of Bow Island, Alta.; Rosyln McLeod of Burlington with Buffy Williams of St. Catharines, Ont. Williams is the wife of rower Barney Williams, and is the only member of the 2000 Olympic bronze-medal boat who is trying out for the 2004 Games. Up-and-comers include Sabrina Kolker of West Vancouver, B.C. with Bonnie Fiala of Enderby, B.C. and Victoria's Carli Halpenny rowing with Katy Dunnet (twin sister of 2003 women's eight member Rachel). Those who do well in this event will likely fill the seats of the women's eight and women's pair that will row for Canada in 2004.
Lightweight men's pair – Victoria’s Gavin Hassett, two-time Olympian and National Team veteran, leads the way, and will row in the trials with fellow former Olympian, Chris Davidson of Oakville, Ont. 2003 National Team members Doug Vandor of Dewittville, Que. and Iain Brambell of Brentwood Bay, B.C. will row as a pair, and Jon Mandick of Victoria and Jon Beare of Toronto, both members of the 2003 lightweight men's four, will row together. Up and comers vying for a spot in the Olympic lightweight men's four are former Under-23 champions Dave Stephens and Mike Lewis, among others.
Lightweight women's single - 2003 World Champion Fiona Milne of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. will certainly be the one to watch in this event. Others looking to fill the two Olympic spots open to lightweight women include local favourite Shona McLaren of Victoria, Gen Meredith of Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., who was a spare at the Sydney Olympics, and 2003 team member Mara Jones of Aurora, Ont. Up and comers include two-time Under-23 medallists Lysanne Lavigne of Boucherville, Que. and Lindsay Jennerich of Victoria, among others.
Women's single - 2003 National Team members Jane Rumball of Fredericton, N.B. and Anna-Marie de Zwager of Victoria will join 2003 Pan Am medallists Stacey Norwood of St. John and Marilyn Taylor of Calgary, Alta. in the women's sculling event. 2000 Olympic single sculler Kristen Wall will also try out, as will up-and-comer Zoe Hoskins, sister of the men's eight's Andrew Hoskins. A total of 12 entries are featured in this event.
Men's single - 2000 Olympian Dominic Seiterle of Montreal, Que. is back in the men's sculling event and is joined by Adam Gant of Vancouver, Kiran Van Rijn of Toronto, David Marchioro of Vancouver and seven others in this event.
Lightweight men's single - 2003 National team men's double members, Jeff Bujas of Grimsby, Ont. and Matt Jensen of Innerkip, Ont. will be joined by seven others in the lightweight men's sculling event.
The trials will kick-off on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. at the Howard Johnson in Victoria, followed by three days of exciting racing at Elk Lake.