Perhaps the most striking sight on Shawnigan Lake is that of the Canadian National Rowing Team in full flight - the red uniforms and white shells contrasting starkly with the blues and greens of the lake and its surrounding area. But ask any rower, and they will tell you that the sensory stimulation that feeds their athletic addictions has nothing to do with the sights, and everything to do with the sounds. The sound of eight oars slicing the water in unison, eight breaths that punctuate the finishing of a stroke, and most of all the distinctive ka-boom of the oars feathering. These are the sounds the rowers of Shawnigan Lake School hear on a regular basis as they watch the Olympic hopefuls round the corner toward the Read Crewhouse.
The success of Shawnigan's rowing program over the course of the School's existence is well documented. New students are often awe-stricken by the number of National Championship plaques that adorn the boathouse walls. But it is the School's association with one of the most storied Olympic programs in Canada's sporting history that inspires all of our student-athletes.
"Having the National Team train here does more for our athletes than any amount of coaching we can do," says new Shawnigan coach Kelsey McDaniel '97. "When the kids see guys like Conlin McCabe and Andrew Byrnes launching from the same docks they do, you can actually see them walk a little taller, and puff out their chests a little bit more."
Over the years, many Shawnigan alums have parlayed their rowing successes into admission at prestigious universities including Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, UVic, Washington, Oxford, and Cambridge. Knowing the work they do here can potentially lead to scholarships is a driving force for current students. And, of course, the knowledge that many National Team members emerge from those universities makes the dreams of the high school athlete seem that much more attainable.
As the Shawnigan rowers push off each day for practice, they pull away from the dock with eyes and minds focused on following in the footsteps of those that rowed before them. Their ears, however, seek a reward more simple in theory but perhaps even more difficult to find: the sound of something bigger than an individual dream; the sound of something being achieved.