The Championships get underway on August 30 and will take place on the picturesque Lake Aiguebelette, just 20km west of Chambéry. Qualification for Rio2016 will depend on the final standings of each crew, with the number of qualification places available differing for each event.
Canada is fielding crews in ten Olympic events and one crew for Paralympic qualification. The Women’s eight will need a top five finish, the men’s quadruple sculls a top eight finish, the single scull competitors need a top nine finish while all other events will see the top 11 finishes qualify their country for the Rio2016 Olympic Regatta. Canada’s LTA Mixed Coxed Four needs a top eight finish to qualify for the Rio2016 Paralympic Regatta.
Many crews have enjoyed a successful summer competing at World Rowing Cup II, World Rowing Cup III and the TO2015 Pan Am Regatta. The Women’s Eight, Men’s Four, Men’s Quadruple Sculls and Women’s Single Sculler Carling Zeeman all head into the Championships with strong performances under their belt.
“I’ve really enjoyed racing this summer and will be taking all the energy and experience I gained at the Pan Am Games,” said the TO2015 dual gold medalist, Carling Zeeman. “I’ll have some tough racing in France against a very deep and experienced field but my goal is to ensure Olympic qualification by making the A final and then anything can happen.”
The 2015 World Rowing Championships will be an odd sort of homecoming for dual-citizen Julien Bahain who has represented France at the last two Olympic Games. Competing in the men’s quadruple sculls, the tricolour is replaced with the maple leaf in Bahain’s third Olympic bid.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in France," said Bahain, speaking from the heavyweight men's training camp in Guelph, ON. "When Lac d’Aiguebelette was announced as the 2015 host of the World Rowing Championships some years ago, I remember thinking that it was going to be a great opportunity to compete in my country but at that stage, I had no idea that it would be with a maple leaf on my oar. Now it’s a unique opportunity and I will be seizing the moment to qualify Canada for the Rio Olympic Games by racing in France."
The team is looking to secure Olympic qualifying spots, ideally through podium finishes.
Peter Cookson, High Performance Director of Rowing Canada Aviron notes, “We have selected crews that ensure Canada is strongly represented in a number of Olympic events. The team plays to the strengths of our athletes and we believe a high number of the crews that we have entered into the World Rowing Championships will be able to secure Olympic qualification spots.”
These athletes will remain training in Canada before departing for Europe early next week. Click on the respective teams to view bios of each athlete - National Senior Team - National Para Team.
The 2015 World Rowing Championships will be live streamed at worldrowing.com and Finals will likely be shown in delayed broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.
2015 National Senior Team
Women’s Eight
Cristy Nurse of Georgetown, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Lisa Roman of Langley, BC (Western RC & U. of the Fraser Valley Rowing)
Susanne Grainger of London, ON (London Rowing Club)
Jennifer Martins of Toronto, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Christine Roper of Montego Bay, Jamaica (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Ashley Brzozowicz of Toronto, ON (Peterborough Rowing Club)
Natalie Mastracci of Thorold, ON (St. Catharines Rowing Club)
Lauren Wilkinson of North Vancouver, BC (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club)
Lesley Thompson-Willie (coxswain) of London, ON (London Rowing Club)
Women’s Double Scull
Antje Von Seydlitz of Smithers, BC (London Training Centre)
Kate Goodfellow of Perth, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Lightweight Women’s Double Scull
Patricia Obee of Victoria, BC (Victoria City Rowing Club)
Lindsay Jennerich of Victoria, BC (University of Victoria)
Women’s Pair
Jennifer Martins of Toronto, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Cristy Nurse of Georgetown, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Women’s Single Scull
Carling Zeeman of Cambridge, ON (Sudbury Rowing Club)
Lightweight Women’s Single Scull
Katherine Sauks of Owen Sound, ON, (Victoria City Rowing Club)
Women's Sweep Alternates
Rosie DeBoef of Victoria, BC (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Kristin Bauder of Langley, BC (Western Rowing Club)
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Matt Buie of Duntroon, ON (St. Catharines Rowing Club)
Julien Bahain of Sherbrooke, QC (Club d’Aviron de Laval)
Will Dean of Kelowna, BC (Brentwood College School)
Rob Gibson of Kingston, ON (Kingston Rowing Club)
Men’s Four
Will Crothers of Kingston, ON (Kingston Rowing Club)
Tim Schrijver of Forest, ON (St.Catharines Rowing Club)
Kai Langerfeld of Parksville, BC (University of Victoria Rowing Club)
Conlin McCabe of Brockville, ON (Brockville Rowing Club)
Lightweight Men’s Four
Brendan Hodge of Delta, BC (Brentwood College & Burnaby Lake Rowing Club)
Maxwell Lattimer of Delta, BC (UBC Rowing Club)
Nicolas Pratt of Kingston, ON (Kingston Rowing Club)
Eric Woelfl of St. Catharines, ON (Brock University & Ridley Grad Boat Club)
Heavyweight Men’s Alternatives
Mike Evans of Victoria, BC (Victoria City Rowing Club) - M2-
Martin Barakso of Nanaimo, BC (Brentwood College) - M2-
Pascal Lussier of St-Jean-sur-Richleau, QC (Club d’Aviron de Laval) - M1x
Lightweight Men's Alternates
Tom Watson of Victoria, BC (London Training Centre)
Evan Cheng of Vancouver, BC (University of British Columbia)
LTA Mixed Coxed Four (subject to classification)
Veronique Boucher of Clarence Creek, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Lianne Gibson of Toronto, ON (Victoria Training Centre)
Curtis Halladay of Sudbury, ON (Laurentian University)
Andrew Todd of Thunder Bay, ON (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Kristin Kit (coxswain) of St. Catharines, ON (University of British Columbia / California Rowing Club)
Para Alternates
Jake Macullum of Victoria, BC (University of Victoria)
Victoria Nolan of Toronto, ON, (Argonaut Rowing Club)
Coaching Team
John Keogh - Rowing Canada Aviron’s Director of Performance, Women
Martin McElroy - Rowing Canada Aviron’s Director of Performance, Heavyweight Men
Al Morrow - Rowing Canada Aviron’s Director of Performance, Lightweight Men
Howard Campbell - Rowing Canada Aviron’s Assistant Men’s Coach
Tom Morris - Rowing Canada Aviron’s Assistant Women’s Coach
Volker Nolte - Assistant Women’s Coach (University of Western Ontario)
Terry Paul - Rowing Canada Aviron, Development Coach
Amanda Schweinbenz - Para Coach (Laurentian University)