KENORA — The Kenora Rowing Club welcomed athletes from across Canada and the U.S. for the 120th annual North West International Rowing Association championship regatta.
The event was held Aug. 16 and 17.
The Minneapolis Rowing Club won the overall Lipton Cup this year, while Thunder Bay finished fourth. Kenora did not win any medals or place within the top 10, but hosting the historic event remained a point of pride.
"Kenora is a smaller club, so we’re more of the underdog, but that just makes hosting and participating even more rewarding," said club president Jennifer Sano.
The regatta featured 419 entries from 13 clubs, with athletes competing in singles, doubles, quads and eights.
"This year marked the 120th annual championship," Sano explained. "The regatta used to rotate among member clubs, but now Kenora hosts every year because our lake can fit a full 2,000-metre, seven-lane course, which clubs really love."
For athletes, the weekend was both challenging and rewarding. MacKenzie Thompson of the Thunder Bay Rowing Club competed in multiple events, describing the experience as “super fun” and a milestone for her team.
"All the women who went did really well. It’s great to see everyone perform and contribute to the club’s success," she said. In the pair final, Thompson’s team came third, and in the junior quad, they finished second.
"The open women’s eight was definitely the highlight because we won that race. It was super fun," Thompson added. She also noted how the club has grown. "Compared to last year, we had more people, more races, and our performance was a big step up," she said. "It's exciting to see the club grow."
Vita Ferguson of the Kenora Rowing Club, a junior competitor, also shared her excitement about participating in the event. “It’s really crazy to think that they’ve been doing it for that long and that it’s being hosted here, which is really cool,” she said.
Ferguson made the finals in the 400-metre dash and reflected on the experience of representing a small club.
“We didn’t make many finals, but we’re a really small club, so we were just happy that we had quite a few boats racing this year and quite a few juniors racing.”
Looking ahead, Ferguson said that “it’s really cool that Kenora is able to host this when we’re such a small club."
"We’re just hoping to grow more over the next few years and have more athletes competing at events like this.”
