The Roche Family and Leander Boat Club will be holding a memorial gathering in honour of the life and accomplishments of the late James “Jimmy” Roche. The gathering will take place on Sunday September 12 between two o’clock and four o’clock in the afternoon at the Leander Clubhouse located on Leander Drive at the foot of Bay Street North in Hamilton. All are welcome. It will be helpful if those who intend to attend would confirm their intention via email to Leander’s President at: justicerow@cogeco.ca

Thanks

George Gage

OR at the Regatta Office on Henley Island (August 30^th – September 4^th, 2010)

Laura Corbett

Alethia Hazaras struck gold for the Leander Boat Club at the 128^th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta which wrapped up Sunday.

The LBC rower posted a time of 7:52.60 to win the under-23 women’s lightweight single final Thursday, edging Guelph’s Kerith Gordon by .0024 seconds to claim Leander’s only Henley gold medal.

Hazaras then teamed with Kristen King, Katie Piesz and Andrea Valois for a second-place finish in the senior lightweight women’s quad final Sunday afternoon. The Vesper Boat Club placed first.

Leander’s also had a second-place finish turned in by the men’s eight in the 500 metre dash Saturday. Leander was the defending champion in the event. The crew was comprised of Robert Gage, Aubrey Oldham, Angus Jackson, Jordan Clarke, Jon Palmer, Bob Bell, Jeff McKee, Peter Langer and coxie Melanie Remy.

One of the highlights of Sunday racing was the appearance of both the Canadian men’s and women’s teams in Championship races that included the U.S. teams, as well as Canadian  men’s singles racer Macolm Howard. All three were victorious and accepted their medals at the grandstand to tremendous ovations.

The St. Catharines Rowing Club, which trains on the Henley course, were the big winners at Henley, winning the most races and also the efficiency trophy.

Leander’s junior crews, comprised of largely of high school rowers from Westdale, St. Mary’s and Bishop Tonnos high schools did not reach any finals, but each of the crews posted their best times of the season during Henley week. Leander rowers will start their fall season before month’s end, preparing for a series of head races. Rather than racing in lanes, the boats set off at intervals in head races.

Hello Leander Boat Club!
 
I can’t help myself I have to shout -  GOLD !!!!  HENLEY  GOLD!!  Alethia did it!!!!
 
Alethia won the U23 Lwt W 1x this afternoon in exciting style - waiting until the last two strokes to get in front of the Guelph sculler.  Her final sprint was amazing - cheered on by her family, friends and crewmates she found the belief in herself and her training to bring home a gold medal.  I hope every Leander athlete shares a little of her self belief and pushes themselves in their next race even harder than ever before. 
 
The morning started with Alethia and Kristin winning thier U23 Lwt W 2x heat easily.  They looked smooth and strong - only a little nervous leaving the dock. 
Then the U23 Men’s Lwt 2x’s were up.  Pete and Bob had a fast finish sprint but left just a little too much to do, and ended up 1 boat length short of qualifiying to the next round.  In the next heat, Ryan and Jeff looked smooth and in control of thier strokes but when the sprint started they moved fast.  Again, just a little short of qualifiying to semi finals.  Both 2x’s came third in their heats but had excellent races. This bodes well for the development of the lightweight men’s programme through the fall, winter and next summer.
 
Katie was up next in the semi final of the Sr Lwt W 1x.  A well paced and mature race, she stayed in second place for the second half of the race easily qualifying for the finals tomorrow.
The Sr Men 2x of Rob and Aubrey gave us a few scares in the middle of the race but had lots of power to sprint the last 500m and qualifying to the finals tomorrow.
 
A fantastic day for Leander Boat Club.  Many old members are now approaching me on the Island to introduce themselves and wish the club luck with races.  It feels great to be a Leander Coach.
 
Friday races:
 
Heats
9:21am  Sr W 4x     2 to Final
9:33am U17 M 4+ cox Francesco    3 to SF
10:33am  Sr M  4x   3 to F
10:45am Jr M 8+    2 to Final
11:51am Jr W 8+  2 to Final
12:03pm Sr Lwt W 4x  3 to Final
12:57 pm  U23 W 1x Steph  3 to SF
 
Semi Finals
2:57pm U23 Lwt W 2x  3 to Final
 
FINALS:
4:15pm Sr Lwt W 2-  Emmaline Danielle 
6:05pm Sr Lwt W 1x  Katie
6:45pm Sr M 2x  Rob Aubrey
 
Go Leander!!!
Chantelle

FRIDAY NOTES

Hello Leander Boat club!
 
Time for the evening update before I head to bed.  8 days of Henley is really quite tiring!
 
Today was definitely the ‘learning curve day’ - mistakes were made, lessons were learned but support remained true from all the Leanderites that turned up to cheer loudly.  Everyone knows that Leander BC is at Henley!!!  Yeah Buddy!
 
The first first hurdle everyday is the weigh in. I think we are getting pretty good at it now.  Lightweights are doing a good job of managing themselves for making weight.  Coxes are doing a good job of carrying as little sand as possible.  Makes the whole scene a little less stressful.
 
The water today was calm conditions, with a little breeze that changed from cross head in the morning to cross tail early afternoon, and disappeared completely after the little rain fell.
Sr Lwt Men 4x kicked off the day at 8:30am ( I forgot them on last night’s email - sorry guys).  A last minute substitue made things a little difficult and they did not advance.
Sr W 4x is a tough event but the women sculled a great race and pulled out a 4th place finish.  Only 2 to qualify to the final, but all were happy with the effort and technical advances the crew has made in the last two weeks.
U17 Mens 4+  rowed their hearts out and have made it to the next round, coming third in thier heat.  You can imagine the loudness of the cheering from the rest of the junior squad - nearly deafening.
Sr M 4x came 5th in a really fast event. They sculled well but it was not enough to continue through.
Jr M 8+ and Jr W 8+ both came 4th!!!   Gutting when the top 3 go through to the Finals.   The junior squad, in general, has come along so quickly this summer and to be narrowly missing out sure shows great promise for these young athletes. Great things to come from this group, I am sure.
Sr Lwt W 4x had a pretty rocky race, checking out the buoy line for awhile, and not connecting quite as well as usual.  It was still good enough to win the heat and advance to the final on Sunday.
U23 W 1x Steph, had a slower start than her usual ‘blast out of the gates’ approach to racing so she had to work hard through the mid section to ensure victory in her heat and progress to the semi final tomorrow.
In the U23 Lwt W 2x  Alethia practiced some fancy bladework drill after the start sequence just to let everyone else have a head start.  This minor glitch didn’t stop them from winning the Semi final and advance to the final tomorrow.
The Sr Lwt W 2- started off our set of finals this afternoon. They were tied second in the first 500m so were producing good power; then followed thier race plan down the course to place 5th. 
Sr Lwt W 1x Katie was in her first Henley final and the nerves got to here on the start line today too. A sideways start followed by oversteering correction did not make for the fast first 500m that Katie is quite well known for. SHe had to pound her way down the course to catch the pack and then didn’t really have lots of sprint left for the end.  This race was very tight with Katie placing 5th in the end.
Last Leander race of the day was the Sr M2x which Rob and Aubrey finished 5th. They looked very strong and smooth. The winners were the USA men’s 2x from World Championships 2009 so that was always going to be a very tough race.
Great work from all today - more to come tomorrow!
 
Sat = dash day
500m Dash Heats:
9am Sr Lwt M 1x dash  Dom  lane 3   2 to F
9:30am  Sr M8+ dash        lane 7
9:40am  Sr W8+ dash        lane 3
 
Semi Finals:
10:40am  Jr M 4+   3 to Final
11:10am  U23 W 1x   Steph  2 to Final
 
Finals:
12:48p  U23 Lwt W 2x  Alethia Krisin
 
Dash finals if we qualify from the heats in the morning:
3:40p Sr Lwt M 1x
4:00p Sr M8+
4:10p  Sr W 8+
 
Practice times 4:30 - 8pm
 
Hope to see as many of you as possible this weekend,
Chantelle

SATURDAY NOTES

Hello Leander Boat Club!
 
Today was an emotional day to be head coach.  No Henley trophies but two very hard fought second place finishes.  And one big coaching error.
 
First, the men’s dash 8+ had a pretty rocky start in their morning heat, and a few blade clashes near the end. The power and rate 45 was there to pull them throught to the final. The final in the afternoon was a nailbiter! The start was clean at rate 50 (not sure how you guys did that)  and ’settled’ to 45 for the main body.  Leander led for the first 250m and then St. C started to reel them in. In the end only .32 seconds separated them from St. Catherine’s.  So Leander in 2009, St. Catherine’s in 2010 — I feel a rivalry in the making.
 
In the middle of the day, Alethia and Kristen raced the U23 Lwt W 2x  Final coming second to University of Victoria by 2 seconds. They had to row from behind again as the start is not yet clean for this new partnership. We think that nerves got in the way of thier usual smooth sculling and they reported an OK race but not great.  I can only imagine how fast they will be with more race experience over the next few years.  This has just served to make them hungry for the Lwt 4x tomorrow. Katie and Andrea have also worked their way through the race nerves and are pumped for the 4x.  If these 4 athletes can row the race as smooth as they do in practice, they have the ability to win Henley in the Lwt 4x.
 
In the heats, Dom came 5th in his Lwt M dash.   I didn’t get to talk to him after the race so I am not sure how it went. Obviously he wanted to get to the final.
 
The Senior W8+ did not get to race the dash this morning due to name changes not being registered with the regatta. 
A complete oversight on my part as coach - I have apologised to the crew but feel I should apologise to the club as well.  The crew were well up for the race and had even completed the warm up when my error was discovered.  The Regatta office would not allow the substitution but this is part of the rules. At least I know they treated everyone equally - there were three other coaches in the same position as me in the office. The crew had been working on the dash start for several practices this past week and they were looking really strong. We will never know for this year, but you can be assurred that I will NEVER made such a mistake again.
 
In today’s semi finals, the U17 M 4+ had tough competition (some of the other crews had beards!) and the short training season of our junior program was no match for the crews that train together all year round.  A gutsy race brought them in 5th and they should feel very proud of themselves. The junior squad has been such an asset to the club this summer, and with so many U17’s it certainly looks good for the future of Leander Juniors.  I should also add the the “L B C  , L B C ” chant could be heard from the grandstand to the 1000m mark - everyone certainly knows when Leander is racing!
 
Steph’s semi final in the U23 W 1x was much smoother than yesterday’s heat.  She came in first place but is not being complacent.  The other semi finals were quick times and the scullers were all pushed to the line.  All of the scullers in tomorrow’s final at 2:55pm have to potential to win.  Steph will have to scull like the wind, faster than she has ever gone before, in order to win this race.  No pressure……. : )
 
Sunday’s races are both finals: 
2:35 pm Sr W Lwt 4x  Alethia Kristen Katie Andrea
2:55pm U23 W 1x     Steph
 
We will load as much of the trailer as possible before 2pm and then just have the 4x and 1x to put on at the end.  I see that most of the boats the senior men used are on the trailer, so I will expect the senior women and juniors to be around to help load about 1pm.
 
The trailer unloading and rerigging will start at 4pm on Monday afternoon at Leander.  All boats are to be washed and rerigged before they go back in the boathosue.  All squads are expected to be there.
 
The last Henley 2010 update will be tomorrow night - a long 8 days of fantastic race experience summed up.
 
Sleep time now,
Chantelle

SUNDAY NOTES

Hello Leander BC!
 
The trailer is back in the compound and the athletes are already at the party! What a great finish to my first Henley as Leander Head Coach.
 
Today, the Sr W Lwt 4x came second, by 2 seconds, to Vesper BC.  A little research has shown that the Vesper Lwt 4x are athletes from their club’s ‘Elite programme’.  Alethia, Kristin, Katie and Andrea all said that was the best race they had ever rowed. The crew was in sync, the rhythm was good, they could feel the power being applied together. They followed the race plan and executed the skills to the best of their ability. Look at the photos and you will see the same backsplash off every blade. I couldn’t be happier about how they approached the race and accepted the result that a faster crew beat them.  But Vesper had to work very hard to beat them!  The Lwt 4x has been trying to break 7:00 and today even with a tailwind assisting they smashed this mark by 22 seconds — time 6:38.
 
Steph once again improved her performance and found herself in a truly international U23 single sculls final.  Her 5th place finish does not reflect the changes she has made to her technique and fitness levels.  Her university coach was pleased to see Steph make her mark on the field.  At 20 years old, she has much more to give and much more to come. Leander wishes her all the best for her university season and looks forward to seeing her return to Leander next summer as both a coach and athlete.
 
Finally, a big thank you for all the support shown to our athletes for the entire 8 days.  Seniors and juniors cheered on the Masters; masters and parents cheered on the seniors and juniors. The LBC chant was heard throughout the week — a couple of people have asked that we introduce singing lessons into our winter training programme. : )
 
I, personally, would like to thank all the volunteers, the coaches, the drivers, and the Board for enabling so many people to experience and appreciate good racing, good spirits, and all the good work that went into producing all our crews.
 
Full results to follow when they are official.  or you can check them out at www.henleyregatta.ca
 
Signing off ( for now!!)
Chantelle

Results summary follows. The next challenge for the Masters’ crews will be the World Masters’ Regatta to be held in St. Catharines September 2 - 5.

Henley Results – Masters’

GOLD

I – J Men’s Single– Con Andrevchuck

E – I Men’s Eight – Leander/TSC – Andy Van Ruvven, Phil Monckton, Ian Gordon, Brian Dick, George Gage, Chris Carroll, Bob Cherwinski, Steve Strba, cox – Allison Zimmerman

B Women’s Cox Four – Mary Ann Repa, Kristin Moore, Elly Campioni, Nicola Giles-Morreale, cox –Mary Rao

B Women’s Eight - Natalie Greig, Deb Larocque, Marilena Savino, Cindy vanHalderen, Mary Ann Repa, Kristin Moore, Bev Comfort, Nicola Giles-Morreale, cox –Nicole Lebon-Ernst

Mixed C –I Eight –Mary Ann Repa, Cindy vanHalderen, Bob Cherwinski, Mark Jansen, George Gage, Steve Strba, Marilena Savino, Deb Larocque, cox – Mary Rao

SILVER

F Men’s Single – Ed Makkreel

C Men’s Single – Reg Wilson

B Women’s Cox Four -  Natalie Greig, Deb Larocque, Marilena Savino, Siobhan Faherty, cox –Nicole Lebon-Ernst

G – I Men’s Double – Joe Stankevicius, Con Andrevchuck

D Men’s Eight - Chris Tanser, Greg Kott, Henry Gumulak, Bruce Dickenson, Bruce Church, Dave Lewington, Mark Jansen, John Hryczynski, cox – Andrea Jansen

Mixed B Eight – Natalie Greig, Siobhan Faherty, Chris Tanser, Greg Kott, Henry Gumulak, Bruce Dickenson, Elly Campioni, Nicola Giles- Morreale, cox –Nicole Lebon-Ernst

 BRONZE

F – I Men’s Quad – Frank Corner, Vic Andrevchuck, Cliff Revnolds, Ken Jeans

C Men’s Cox Four – Chris Tanser, Greg Kott, Henry Gumulak, Bruce Dickenson, cox – Andrea Jansen

F – I Men’s Cox Four – Vic Andrevchuck, William Jackson, Joe Stankevicius, Con Andrevchuck , cox – Allison Zimmerman

F Men’s Double – William Jackson, Ken Jeans

Mixed D Double – Kristine Henry, Reg Wilson

FOURTH

C Men’s Double – Reg Wilson, Craig Pollock

Mixed D Double – Carmen Buiara, Matt Clark

Full results are available on the Henley site at http://www.henleyregatta.ca/

Crews are formed many ways. Some will be corporate groups, neighborhood groups, rowing parents and community crews where people get to know each other in a boat. Some participants have continued with this program since its earliest days while some have moved on to other club programs.

This year’s crews raised over $31,400 for Heart and Stroke programs in the Hamilton area. To our corporate sponsors, thanks for your support with prizes and refreshments . Also thank you to the Leander Boat Club members who ran the event. Full results are listed below.

The rain held off until all racing was completed. Well done to all crews!!

Team photos from our amateur photographers ( Alana and Najlaa) , please see attached.

http://s927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/HSFOHamilton/Row%20For%20Heart%20Hamilton%202010/

Password: Hamilton

Row for Heart Regatta, July 24^th -  183  Photos to choose from. Hit Slideshow for the best view!

So many of you were asking about photos of the races and teams . For professional photos that you can order and purchase, please see

  http://randysphotos.smugmug.com/Other/722-Heart-and-Stroke-Row-for/13111181_fsteE/12/950698181_dUyKW/Medium

 
 
Silver
Women’s  B 4+  Natalie Greig, Deb Laroque, Marilena Savino , Nicole Giles-Morreale. cox Mary Rao
Men’s 8+  Bruce Church, Con Andrevchuk, Joe Stankevicius, John Hryczynski, Dave Lewington, Frank Corner, Cliff Reynolds, Ken Jeans, cox Francesco Rao
Men’s C Double -Reg Wilson, Craig
 
Bronze
Women’s D Lightweight 1xSingle -   Mary MacLeod
Men’s E-F Single -  Ed Makkreel
 
4th
Women’s Lightweight Single - Isabel Millar
Men’s Double  Craig Pollock, Chris Tanser
Men’s 4+  Chris Tanser, Greg Kott, Henry Gumulak, Bruce Dickinson cox Francesco Rao
Men’s D-I 4+  Bill Jackson, JoeStankevicius, Con Andreychuck, Vic Andreychuck,  cox Mary Rao

Alethia Hazaras (pictured with her quad crew) led the Leander Boat Club with two gold medals, plus a silver at the Row Ontario Championships in Welland over the weekend. Full results are found below.

MEDAL WINNERS

GOLD

Under 23 lightweight women’s double: Alethia Hazaras, Kristen King

Senior women’s lightweight quad: Alethia Hazaras, Kristen King, Katie Piesz, Andrea Valois

SILVER

Under 23 lightweight women’s single: Alethia Hazaras

Senior lightweight women’s single: Katie Piesz

Senior lightweight women’s double: Katie Piesz, Andrea Valois

Senior men’s four: Ryan Northway, Jeff McKee, Bob Bell, Peter Langer

Under-23 women’s single: Stephanie Bochenek

BRONZE

Senior men’s double: Aubrey Oldham, Robert Gage

Senior men’s pair: Robert Gage, Aubrey Oldham

Senior men’s quad: Aubrey Oldham, Jordan Clarke, Angus Jackson, Robert Gage

Under 19 men’s pair: Taylor Perry, Max Batey

MAKING FINALS

Senior men’s double: Jordan Clarke, Angus Jackson

Under-23 lightweight men’s double; Ryan Northway, Jeff McKee

Senior women’s quad: Jasmine Graham, Aislinn Rooney, Cayley Firth, Emily Loyer

Senior men’s single: Aubrey Oldham

Senior women’s eight: Jasmine Graham, Cayley Firth, Aislinn Rooney, Emily Loyer, Chelsea Goodenough, Alessandra Gage ,Katie Piesz, Brittany Davidson, Alison Zimmerman

Senior lightweight men’s quad: Jeff McKee, Bob Bell, Peter Langer, Dominik Ross

Under 19 men’s coxed four: David Patterson, Ethan Sykes, Taylor Perry, Max Batey, Nikki Morrison

Under 17 men’s eight: Mitch Bloomberg, Eben Prevec, Nathan Turnbull, Thomas Brown, Alex Glaros, Johnathan DeGrow, Mark McCarthy, Jack Lange, Vienna Lam

Under 19 men’s eight: David Paterson, Ethan Sykes, Taylor Perry, Max Batey, Frank Salvo, Eben Prevec, D.J. Nedelko, Mitch Bloomberg, Nikki Morrison.

Senior women’s single: Stephanie Bochenek

Under 23 men’s single: Robert Gage

Our next challenge is Canadian Henley - it is another step up in competition level.  Every athlete has acheived the minimum time standard to get into the finals at Henley in at least one crew, which is a massive acheivement for all the squads. 
Now we must put those times aside and go even faster. The competition will be strong so we must row our technical best, and with all our hearts, and with guts in order to stand on the podium in St. Catherine’s.  
Come out and cheer for Leander at everyone of our 55 crew entries for Henley! The event runs from August 1 to August 8. See the Royal Canadian Henley website for event schedule and draws. http://www.henleyregatta.ca/

Results for Westdale Women’s Rowing were as follows:

Senior 63kg Single Sculls - Tyra Simone-Neufeld - 4th

Junior 63kg Four with coxie - Emily Margetts, Jane North, Olivia Rowles, Anise Truman and Emma Sincerbox - 3rd

Junior 59kg Eight with Coxie - Vienna Lam, Jane North, Gracie Sykes, Arwen Ballentine-Cole, Rebecca Lucier, Shantel Gailing, Emily Margetts, Anise Truman and Emma Sincerbox - 2nd (just 0.17 seconds behind first, after an INCREDIBLY sprint at the end!)

Senior Eight with Coxie - Meaghan Perrotta, Taylor McKittrick, Eve Laverty, Alex Dunlap, Mira Anand, Kayla Lucier, Maggie Spring, Tyra Simone-Neufeld and Bronte Beach - 2nd (in an incredible time of 7:01, just 2 seconds behind the gold medal powerhouses from TC Williams in Virginia).  This was Westdale’s first ever medal in a senior 8+.

Their top men’s performance was Iain Wilson and Ethan Sykes in the Heavy Men’s Double, who qualified for semi-finals.

Also participating in the event were teams from St. Mary’s, Hillfield and Bishop Tonnes. A full set of results are available at http://www.cssrarowing.ca/