Shawnigan Training Camp

From small boats to a gigantic eight, the Brentwood boys spent the first five days of their Spring Break getting into motion. After a grueling winter of training in smaller boats, it was finally time to start swinging together in our beloved eight.  Training with your competitors is a task not everyone is willing to take, but the Brentwood athletes were given the opportunity to train with Ridley College from back East. Ridley and Brentwood were both rowing in their eights for the first time all season so there were kinks that needed to be worked out.  We rowers were given the opportunity to row on the flat waters of Shawnigan Lake, the home of the women's national team. Our trusted coxswain, Emma H, Allard ‘18 guided us around small islands through glassy waters with ease. It was also put into perspective what life would be like as a professional athlete as we rowed three times a day plus put in the extra sessions off the water to stretch, dryland train, and enjoy video analysis and technical talks. This sport is surely a full commitment.  Our new Head of Rowing. Ms Laryssa Biesenthal, has had quite a bit of experience with Olympic rowing as both an athlete and a coach. The five day training camp in no way comparable to rowing in the Olympics, but, for high school athletes, three rows a day, proper nutritional information, and intensive explanation of the sport made it feel, to me, like an Olympic training camp.  We also had a number of junior rowers who trained in mix boats. They were able to complete the training load and work with the senior rowers to learn how rowing as a sport is very intense and technical. Those five days were extremely beneficial for them and that will show in the spring racing season ahead. To end the camp, both the junior and senior male and female rowers were told to show what they got out of the camp with a 6k test on the erg. Although this was the least favorite workout of the training camp, many of the athletes achieved personal bests and were able to go home on a good note. Axel E, Rogers ‘19 & Emma H, Allard, ‘18