Rowing
Coaching Staff
Mark Wismer
Jim Ganley
Brian Carr
The internationally renowned Brentwood Rowing Club started by Tony Carr and John Queen, has a highly distinguished history that has produced 23 Olympians, including three gold medalists, and has had alumni appear in eleven straight Olympic games. More recent results include Malcolm Howard (Class of 2001) who was a member of Canada's gold medal winning men's eight in Beijing in 2008 as well as the silver medal winning eight in London in 2012. Scott Frandsen (Class of 1998) teamed up with fellow alum David Calder (Class of 1996) to win the silver medal in the men's pair in Beijing in 2008. Brentwood's medal total was good enough to finish 54th out of 204 countries!
Since 1971 the club has hosted the annual Brentwood International Rowing Regatta. This international event attracts teams from all parts of Canada, and the United State and from as far away as Mexico, and Australia. In the past, it has also had teams from as far away as Europe and Asia. In 2017, there were in excess of 4,000 people in attendance including over 1,700 athletes and coaches, and over 500 volunteers. All this showcases student-athletes in world-class racing in over 170 races, down the 1,500 metre course every 7 minutes for 23 hours over 3 days!
Putting rowers on the world stage:
- 23 Olympians,
- Over 200 Grads have gone on to row at Universities like Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, California Berkeley, Washington, UVIC, UBC, Virginia, Duke, Brown, Northeastern, Penn
- Over 80 scholarships including Princeton, Harvard, Washington, California Berkeley, Duke, Virginia, Tulsa, Iowa, Indiana, Syracuse, Penn, Northeastern, Michigan, Texas
- Over $12,000,000 in scholarships has been rewarded to Brentwood rowers
- Grads have competed in 104 Under 23 or Senior World Championships
- Grads have competed in 78 World Cup Regattas since 1999
- 17 Brentwood grads have represented Canada at the Under 23 level since 2001
- Brentwood grads have been on the junior world teams in Canada (64), United States (3) and Germany (2) since 1976
The History of Rowing at Brentwood
Brentwood rowing attracts enthusiastic athletes who are interested in learning to row, or in further developing their skill, endurance, and performance on the water. A coaching staff that includes the 2007 North American Junior Coach of the Year, and a two-time Olympian from the women's team. Facilities include an indoor rowing tank, an enviably equipped boathouse, a large erg room with 40 ergometres, and an expanse of ocean: it is not surprising that our athletes continue to add hardware and glory to a program that has produced more than 120 national championships in the last 50 years. Brentwood sends crews to all of the local regattas, more often than not, to Opening Day and Head of the Lake in Seattle, as well as the Head of the Charles in Boston, USA.
Rick Mercer visits the Brentwood Rowing Program
Each May, select crews also have a chance to travel to the Canadian High School Championships in St Catharines, Ontario. Brentwood has attended the famous Royal Henley Regatta in England several times, winning the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 1996. In 2007, the Brentwood crew lost in the final by a foot, which was considered by Rowing News, as the 'Race of the Year'.
In the last 40 years, Brentwood rowers have left the school to attend some of the top universities in the world. These include the top schools in Canada, University of Washington, University of California Berkeley, and all the top Ivy League schools in the United States. Three students continued their studies to Oxford and Cambridge. Rowing is open to all male and female athletes. Training is also available for coxswains.
Rowing News
@BCSrowing Brentwood Rowing
Brian Carr
B.A. (Victoria) Social Studies, Rowing
Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Brian Carr came to Canada in 1964 with his parents and younger brother, Rory. The Carr family moved onto the Brentwood campus in the fall of 1965 where the senior Mr. Carr served as Houseparent for 19 years. After Brentwood, Brian attended the University of Washington as a rower and fledgling geographer. Graduation from the University of Victoria brought him back to the Cowichan Valley where he taught at Frances Kelsey Secondary School before answering his primal urge to return to Brentwood. A busy member of the Social Studies Department, he is also a coach and former Head of Rowing of the Brentwood College Rowing Club. Brian's wife, Leslie Reid Carr, taught Spanish and French at the school and was the houseparent of Allard House 2007-2019. Their daughter, Natalie (2011) and son Aidan (2014) both graduated from Brentwood.
Mark Wismer
B.A. (McGill), B.Ed. (Ottawa) Houseparent Ellis House, Social Studies, Metamorphosis 9, Rowing
Mark Wismer grew up on beautiful Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world. It was here in this idyllic setting that he first developed his interest in teaching from his mother, also a teacher. Mr. Wismer graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and Human Geography from McGill University. During his time at McGill, he was introduced to the sport of rowing and joined the varsity team for the last three years of his degree. After graduation, he moved out west to hone his rowing skills on Elk Lake, Victoria, a well-known training ground for the top rowers in the country. It was during this time that Mr. Wismer first joined the Brentwood community, working as an intern. Called back to the East, he returned to Montreal and got married to his wife: current part-time nurse Ulrika Drevniok. Curiously enough, when the couple first met, Mrs. Drevniok was being coached by Brentonian Dave Calder (1996), a silver medal Olympian and current Head of Rowing at Brentwood. While in Montreal he coached rowing at McGill and served as the Head Coach of the rowing club for one year. In 2008, the Wismers moved to Ottawa where he completed his education degree at the University of Ottawa. We were pleased to welcome Mr. Wismer formally to our school in September 2009 where he is a Houseparent in Ellis House and teaching as part of the Metamorphosis 9 program when he isn't coaching rowing. He and his wife have also added five wonderful children – Cormac, Stella, Niall, Beatrix and Reine Marie – to the Brentwood family.
Brentonians Rowing at the Olympics
Name | Graduating Year | # of Olympic Games | Yr of Olympic Games | Medal winners |
Ned Pratt | 1930 | 1 | 1936 | Bronze 1936 |
Jim Henniger | 1973 | 1 | 1976 | |
Pat Walter | 1977 | 3 | 1980 | |
Bruce Ford | Left in 1970 | 3 | 1980 | Bronze 1984 |
Marius Felix | 1977 | 1 | 1980 | |
Blair Horn | 1979 | 1 | 1984 | Gold 1984 |
David Ross | 1981 | 2 | 1984 | |
Tim Christian | 1980 | 1 | 1984 | |
Paul Tessier | 1974 | 1 | 1984 | |
Harold Backer | 1980 | 3 | 1984 | |
Tan Barkley | 1983 | 1 | 1984 | |
Jamie Schafer | 1983 | 1 | 1988 | |
Sarah Ogilvie | 1977 | 1 | 1988 | |
Darren Barber | 1987 | 2 | 1992 | Gold 1992 |
Jennifer Browett | 1990 | 1 | 2000 | |
Morgan Crooks | 1994 | 1 | 2000 | |
David Calder | 1996 | 4 | 2000 | Silver 2008 |
Tom Herschmiller | 1996 | 2 | 2000 | Silver 2004 |
Kevin White | 1996 | 1 | 2000 | |
Scott Frandsen | 1998 | 3 | 2004 | Silver 2008 |
Jamie Faris | 2000 | 1 | 2008 | |
Malcolm Howard – | 2001 | 2 | 2008 | Gold 2008 |
| 22 Olympians | 83 years of Brentwood Rowing | 37 Olympic Regattas | | 3 – Gold |
Natasha Ostopovich
B.Sc. (WSU), RFA Coordinator, Allard RFA
Natasha comes from the small Village of Sydenham, Ontario. Natasha graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology: Health and Fitness Teaching, minoring in Psychology) from Washington State University in 2012, where she exhausted her rowing eligibility, and competed at three NCAA Championships. While at WSU, Natasha was involved in a number of community service opportunities, as well as serving as a Peer Academic Counselor, for incoming Freshman student-athletes, and representing the rowing team on the Student Athlete Academic Advisory Committee. After completing her undergrad, she went on to become a Graduate Assistant Coach for the University of Tulsa's Women's Rowing Team, where she completed her Masters in Educational Studies, focusing on how athletes define and set goals, in 2014. From there she was hired on as the Recruiting Coordinator. Wanting to explore her career as a teacher, Natasha took a year abroad, teaching at an Elementary school in England. After returning to Canada, and working at the local college in her neighboring city, Natasha was excited to get back into the coaching and the high school environment. Intrigued by the values and Mission Statement at Brentwood, she jumped at the opportunity to immerse herself in the Brentwood community.
Jim Ganley
B.A. (Trent), B.Ed. (Toronto), M.A. (Toronto) English, BEAT Sponsor, Brentwood Blog & News, Yearbook
Parents with a sense of adventure took Jim from his childhood home in sleepy Peterborough, Ontario, to encounter his adolescence in Kingston, Jamaica and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Along the way, he attended numerous independent schools as either a student or teacher. These included International School of Tanganyika, Lakefield College, Trinity College, and Shawnigan Lake School. In between, Mr. Ganley earned an Honours B.A. in English from Trent, a B.Ed. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and developed a passion for travelling backwards over water in narrow rowing shells which he pursued enthusiastically for 25 years. Jim is currently the editor of the Yearbook, Brentwood Blog and Website News. Jim and his wife, Jillian, are raising their three children in the peaceful beauty of the Cowichan Valley. In moments of boyish indulgence, Jim can be found playing hockey with similar, silver-haired skaters at the Kerry Park Arena.
Katrina Tarrant
B.Sc. (WSU), RFA Allard House, Rowing
Katrina Tarrant is originally from Creston, B.C., where she was introduced to the sport of rowing in 2010, and by 2012 she was part of the gold medal crew at CanAmEx. Katrina received a full rowing scholarship to Washington State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, minoring in Sport Management with an emphasis in Kinesiology. In addition, she was on the PAC 12 First Academic team multiple years, and finished with a national ranking of 7th in 2015, and 11th in 2016. This is Katrina’s second year at Brentwood. She will continue to work as a coach with the Brentwood College Rowing team and Jr Girls Basketball team, provide administrative support in the Learning Centre, and remain as a Residential Faculty Advisor in Allard House.
