rowing: SFU kicks off the spring season in high gear
Kristina Macdonald, The Peak

During March 6 and 7, the Simon Fraser University rowing crew was in Victoria for the annual Elk Lake Sprints Regatta. SFU had one of their best ever Elk Lake showings, proving to University of British Columbia and University of Victoria that SFU is a force to be reckoned with.

With 2004 being an Olympic year, the Elk Lake Sprints Regatta brought out top competition, with both the men's and women's national teams racing. This was a unique and exciting opportunity to race with Canada's top rowers and some World Champions.

Saturday was a very successful day for the SFU varsity women. In the open quad event, SFU faced some tough competition with the Rowing Canada (RCA) development crew, UVIC, and the Gorge from Victoria in their heat. UVIC challenged SFU until the thousand meter mark when SFU pulled up the anchor, kicked it into high gear, and pulled away, cruising to second place behind the RCA development crew, beating UVIC, and easily qualifying for the final.

In the final, the competition got steeper with the addition of another RCA boat, but SFU had a gutsy race. The RCA took an early lead, but UVIC and SFU were even from the start through to the thousand, and then UVIC was able to edge away. With only 400 meters left, UVIC was still leading, so SFU brought up the rate and made a move on them. With only twenty strokes left and UVIC in front, SFU had to gun it, shooting their rate and emptying the tank to rip it through the line just past UVIC by 0.4 seconds in a photo finish.

Similarly in the pair races, the SFU varsity women were showing speed. In the open women's pair event, 21 boats were entered, making for a very tight field, with the A final consisting solely of the national team's boats.

In their heat, the SFU pair faced off against two national team boats with world-class medallists and two top UBC boats. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking to be on the start line beside Olympians, but SFU kept their focus with their adrenaline pumping. At the thousand meter mark, SFU was still within a boat length of one RCA boat, and had established open water between itself and UBC in lane seven, but was even with UBC in lane six. From there, SFU inched away from both UBC pairs and held them off through the finish. The third place heat finish secured them a spot in the B final.

In the B final, SFU placed with new crews from the national team, UVIC, and UBC. The SFU pair lacked some length in their strokes during their heat and came in fifth, losing to UVIC and one UBC pair by only four and two seconds, respectively, in a very tight finish.

This was, however, still an excellent race performance, and it merited SFU and UBC an invitation by Rowing Canada coaches to row in a RCA development eight on Sunday. Al Morrow, the head coach of Canada's heavyweight women, was on the dock before the race to meet the new additions to the team and to thank them for racing. The experience is an indication that the SFU pair has been identified for future consideration by the national rowing development program.

Success continued for the other half of the varsity women who were in the double on Sunday, even though they almost did not make it to the start line in their heat due to a major equipment problem. With the boat in the water and the double getting set to push off for their race, they realised that the back rigger was on incorrectly, disabling the stroke seat in being able to row. After scrambling to re-rig on the dock with the boat in the water, the double was forced to high-tail it to the start line where the rest of the boats in their heat were set to go. In the first five hundred meters of the heat, SFU was tailing the Gorge and UVIC, but they came from behind to place second and earn a spot to the final. In the final, SFU came up to fifth place against two RCA boats, a Lake Washington crew, and UVIC by just one second. The other SFU double raced well, coming third in their heat, but coming just shy of earning a spot in the final.

SFU's junior varsity women's four were faced with a straight final. Coming hard off the line, the five lanes were even after the first five hundred metres. UVIC and UBC edged away then, but SFU had a hard battle against the University College of the Fraser Valley for third place. In the last 350 meters, the two boats were side-by-side, both fighting to take up the rate and increase their power, but SFU laid the beat down and took third by 0.6 seconds. SFU waxed and polished Trinity Western University, who came in fifth a minute and twenty seconds behind SFU.

On the men's side, the SFU novice men quad team had an intense race. The pack was even off the start with SFU and UCFV starting to pull away. Unfortunately, the rough water caused SFU to catch a few crabs (a blade that gets stuck in water), and UCFV was able to slip away. The men managed to retain their hold on second place. SFU dropped the hammer on Maple Bay and Camoson College, but they were unable to close the gap with UCFV. They had the highest placement for SFU on the weekend of the Elk Lake Sprints.

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