Senior Rowing

The senior rowing program at Brentwood has always been a highly competitive team and this year has been no different.  The senior men had a solid base of returning rowers from last season with some newcomers in the mix. The senior women’s team, however, focused on catching novices up in order to fill boats and create a competitive team. Both crews were excited for the upcoming year with the prospect of a promising season under the guidance of our new Head of Rowing, Ms Biesenthal, an Olympic athlete and coach, who has limitless knowledge about the sport and the ability to deal with the senior boys’ questionable humor.  After some time on the water in the fall, the rowers moved indoors to the grueling land training that winter brings. We all competed in a few indoor rowing events, such as RADAR, Ergfest, and Monster Erg, where our hard work paid off with solid results. The competitive spring season began at Elk Lake, the first regatta for many novices and a trip down memory lane for the veterans. The pair and double were both won for the first time in 11 years, an impressive feat, by the boys. Come May, we had our spring training camp at Shawnigan, where we enjoyed great water and not-so-great food. There were a few more races that gave us an opportunity to practice, but all eyes were set on Brentwood Regatta. It was a great success, the highlight being the men’s club 8+, where we won the event for the first time in 11 years. With both women and men’s crews qualifying for Opening Day, we began to feel the itch to race at Nationals in June. However, there is still work to be done before then, and we are hoping to find more speed during morning practices and at the Shawnigan Lake Regatta.  None of this could have been achieved without our outstanding coaches and endless support. A special thanks to Mrs Biesenthal who guided us, Mrs Sage who kept everything in order, and our outstanding boatman, Mr Warren Featherstone.  Logan Poseley, Ellis ‘18 & Amaya Varma, Hope ‘18, Boathouse Captains