After facing each other as foes in competition on all season, five young athletes come together to represent Canada in the women’s coxed fours competition at U19 World Rowing Championships this month in Ontario.
Dubbed a “project boat” the five young athletes were cobbled together by Rowing BC and made up of three different clubs: Willow Tzonev, Rowan Thompson and Kate Watson of Victoria City Rowing Club as well as Agata Minka of Maple Bay Rowing Club and Annika Maiorino of Brentwood College.
Their schools are even more diverse with 2025 grads Tzonev returning to St. Michaels University School and Thompson at Glenlyon Norfolk School and 2024 grads Watson (Claremont), Minka (online) and Maiorino (Brentwood).
“Throughout the season they raced against each other,” coach Miki Chantler told the Saanich News as the team trained “in the final touch-up stage” on Elk Lake days before the competition in St. Catharines. “They went into all of it as underdogs. They weren’t our top boat to select but they ended up doing phenomenal in trials.”
The boat formation process started last September, Tzonev said, noting none of the five teens had competed in the same hull before.
“This is the boat that emerged for us and we’re pretty happy with it,” she said.
Determined to represent Canada well, they’ve dedicated 20 hours a week to building confidence and skilll as a team. That means eight or nine two- or three-hour sessions on Elk Lake and that doesn’t include bike, swim and erg time.
“We’ve always been the crew to say just give it your best shot,” Tzonev said. “Obviously, we want to get top three and that’s the main goal, but I think what we really want to do is have a good race and be proud of what we accomplished in the end.”
The team also hopes to raise $12,500 to help with travel and associated costs.
“Being high-school students as well as high-performance athletes is always a challenge – but we fought hard, gave it our all, and were selected for the Canadian Junior National Team of 2024,” the team says on its fundraising page.
“We are thrilled and honoured to have this opportunity to represent our country. We've been working hard for months in the rain, wind, hail, and heat and we are ready to try to 'own the podium' for Canada on the world stage.”
The team leaves Aug. 17 with races Aug. 22 and 25. Chantler expects to learn a lot about the competition in the first heat.
“I also hope they come top three and get a medal, but I don’t really know anything about the other boats," she said.
The same competition will see Victoria City Rowing members Lucy Hallett and Ciana Della Siega, both 17, compete in junior women’s pairs.
“Over the past four months, we have spent many hours training while taking full course loads in high school,” the Oak Bay High rowers state on their online fundraising platform.
The pair hopes to raise $8,000 to offset costs of precamp, travel and coaching.
Novella Rusman, 17, of Brentwood College is the lone B.C. representative in the junior women’s 8 and also fundraising to attend the international competition.
Find fundraisers for all the young athletes at GoFundMe.
The 2024 World Rowing Senior, U23 and U19 Championships, also known as Mega Worlds, take place from Aug. 18 to 25 in St. Catharines, Ont.
This marks the third time in history that St. Catharines hosts the World Rowing Championships at the historic Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course. With thousands of spectators, competitors, and coaches converging on this iconic venue, the event promises to be a thrilling spectacle and special moment for Canadian rowers, said Chuck McDiarmid, Rowing Canada NextGen Lead, calling 2024 a summer to remember.
“It isn’t often that Canada has the honour of hosting a world championships, allowing athletes the opportunity to race on home soil in front of their family and friends. I’m impressed by the number of athletes who have put their hand up and taken on the challenge of achieving the target speeds needed to be competitive at such an event,” he said.
Follow the racing online at worldrowing.com.
