Ravens rowing team preview
The Carleton University Ravens varsity rowing crew had a great start to the 2009-2010 campaign, defeating the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees by two lengths in the Annual P.D. Ross Challenge and capturing two individual bronze medals at the Head of Rideau.
The Ravens wrapped up the 2009 campaign in October when they participated in the OUA Championships. Both the Carleton men and women finished 10th out of 12 teams.
This season, Siobhan McLaughlin, who has spent three years as the Ravens head coach, announced she was stepping down from the position. McLaughlin has accepted a full-time coaching position with the National Development Centre in Welland, Ont.
The Ravens rowers will welcome Karim Pringle as the team’s new head coach. Pringle was a coach at Trent University for three years, coaching all levels of crews from novice to varsity. He has coached crews that have successfully competed at numerous regattas, including the Ontario championships.
“I am excited to be joining the Ravens,” said Pringle. “Rowing in Ottawa is a sport full of growth and promise and Carleton is right on the cusp of that growth. The Ravens show a lot of potential for excellence and it is a privilege to be the one charged with nurturing it.”
With a relatively young team this year, the Ravens will be introducing a new generation of rowers to the program.
This includes newcomer Matthew Fournier, who competed in the Junior National Team tryout at the beginning of June, finishing 6th out of 38 junior men in the single scull event. He was also nominated to the Junior National, representing Canada at the CanAmMex regatta.
Another fresh face to the team is David Blair, a member of the national adaptive rowing team. Blair, who Pringle described as an incredibly hard worker, will be representing Canada at the World Adaptive Rowing Championships in New Zealand next month.
Pringle said the team’s goals this year include finding the Ravens’ place on the Ontario rowing circuit, which will give the group a firm foundation to excel over the following two years.
The team would also like to see their novice/development crews earn a medal at the OUA development regatta. As for the varsity rowers, they are hoping to see the men and women each bring back a medal from the OUA regatta.
