The Faces Behind Rowing BC

The Faces Behind Rowing BC – SUSAN WILKINSON

In her own words:

I was introduced to rowing at UBC by Rod Bell-Irving, the UBC Men’s Coach who invited me to a rowing meeting at the Vancouver Rowing Club.  Soon afterwards, I started rowing at VRC under Glen Battersby, on the first UBC women’s rowing team in the Fall of 1975.  My first strokes were taken on the rickety old ‘barge’ at the club.  It was cold and pouring with rain that day and we didn’t know what we were doing, but our little group of newbies had fun and we stuck with it!  

I have been on the board of rowing BC since 2015, was President from 2016-2018, and now I am Past President.  I’ve been inspired by the commitment that our Board members and our Staff have for rowing.  A highlight was witnessing the amazing engagement and collaboration of the rowing community at the 2018 Rowing BC Conference and Awards Dinner.

My husband and I rowed competitively during and after university, and two of our children are Olympians in Rowing. 

After a long career in public health, I recently retired from the Fraser Health Authority where I was the Manager of the Fraser Health Assisted Living Program

Today I row with the Master’s group at the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club, play tennis, golf, volunteer at a senior’s facility, and am on the board of the Burnaby Lake Park Association.  We recently became grandparents and I enjoy spending time with our family.

In 2017 I walked the Camino in Spain (760km) starting in Balboa and finishing in Santiago de Compostela.  It took 33 days and I made some wonderful friendships with fellow pilgrims along the way.  It’s one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.