Brentwood College School finished fourth overall out of 35 teams and first among school teams at the 45th Annual Brentwood International Rowing Regatta in Mill Bay last weekend.
"I am very proud of the Brentwood crews for the great effort that they put in this weekend, and for us to finish fourth out of 35 teams is a great accomplishment," Brentwood head of rowing Debbie Sage said.
The clubs, like first-overall Victoria City, draw from multiple schools, while Brentwood's team is limited to its student body, making the fourthplace result a noteworthy accomplishment. More than 2,100 athletes and coaches attended the meet, racing every seven minutes over 24 hours of competition spread across three days.
"The regatta went very well, with all 167 races being run on schedule with no delays or postponements," Sage noted. "The atmosphere around the school was very positive and the visiting crews and spectators had a great time." Out of 52 final races, Brentwood won three: the junior boys double, senior boys 3V eight, and junior boys quad. The school placed first among all junior boys teams.
"Last year we did not win one event; this year we won three," coach Brian Carr said. "A step in the right direction. Placing fourth overall is a great team effort from all 90 of our rowers. Our junior boys team were first overall, which is an incredible achievement considering we have 25 junior novice boys in the squad."
Brentwood's junior girls finished eighth, and the school was second in the overall junior standings. The senior boys placed fifth and senior girls finished seventh for an overall senior result of fifth.
Shawnigan Lake School won one race, the senior boys eight. Shawnigan was 13th in the senior boys standings, 19th in senior girls, 16th in senior aggregate, 21st in junior boys, 19th in junior girls, 24th in junior aggregate, and 16th in the overall standings. The Maple Bay Rowing Club placed 27th in the senior boys standings, 17th in senior girls, 22nd in senior aggregate, 19th in junior boys, 16th in junior girls, 20th in junior aggregate, and 24th overall.
Sage was pleased with the outcome of the regatta and all the work done by the school community to make it happen.
"I could not have asked for a better team of coaches to work with," she said. "They kept the regatta running on the water. The students and teachers from Brentwood all provide the manpower to make this event happen and I am appreciative of all the time and work that they put in over the whole weekend."