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Beach season kicked off on the west coast with an acition packed day that included clubs from Vancouver Island, the mainland, Salt Spring Island, and Washington state coming to the Colwood Waterfront for the Western Canadian Beach Sprint Championships, hosted by OARCA Coastal Rowing. Cash prizes were on the line for the winners of the Open Men’s 1x ($500), Open Women’s 1x ($500), and Open Mixed 2x ($1000).

“Offering cash prizes is in line with the direction that beach sprints is heading. It wouldn’t have been possible with the generous support the Province of BC, viaSport, Rowing Canada, The Athlete Centre, Regatta Master, and Swift Racing,” said regatta chair Michelle Boss.

Taking home the money was Trish Mara of Victoria City Rowing Club who won the Women’s1x and teamed up with OARCA’s Julien Bahain to win the Mixed 2x. Bahain also won the Men’s 1x after a close race with National Training Centre athlete Dan DeGroot.

It was also great to see U19 and masters athletes taking part. Some were there to test their skill, while others just wanted to try out this fun, new discipline of rowing.

Four of the athletes who raced at WCBSC went on to compete at the RCA national selection regatta at Risser’s Beach, Nova Scotia. Blasie Beaulieu and Sasha Fraser from VCRC made the cross country treck, accompanied by coach Mike Chantler, to race the U19 Women’s doube. Conditions were rough for finals, with waves that made Colwood look like flat water. The VCRC double ended up third behind Monreal Rowing Club and Orillia Rowing Club.

Photo: Richard Liu

The winning duo of Bahain and Mara also made the trip to Nova Scotia. Competiton was fierce in the open categories. In the Women’s 1x, Mara won the B final over Ontario’s Caitlin Pauls.

Photo: Richard Liu

Bahain stepped up in the Men’s 1x and battled experienced beach sprinter Aubrey Oldham. The race was super close until the boats returned to the beach. A slight misstep by Oldham resulted in Bahain taking the win.

Bahain and Mara also contested the Mixed 2x and worked their way into the A Final against Oldham and his partner Sarah Pidgeon. It was another close race, but the Ontario based double was able to take the win over the BC crew.

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