2014 BC Summer Games Comes to an End
Jul 23, 2014
The 2014 BC Summer Games in Nanaimo, BC came to a close on Sunday in what was an action packed four day competition between eight zones throughout the province.
Rowing at the games took place over two days (Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19) on Long Lake, home of the Nanaimo Rowing Club, and saw six zones competing in twelve events consisting of both Mens and Womens Double Sculls and Single Sculls.
On the girls side Zone 3 (Fraser Valley), consisting of Iman Fortin, Emily Down, and Hannah Bailey, almost swept the competition winning gold in 5 of the 6 events. In the end, Zone 3’s total medal count for the weekend tallied 5 Gold, 3 Silver, and 3 Bronze. Behind Zone 3 were Zone 6 athletes Sarah Hagkull and Madeleine Oulton winning Silver in the W2x 1000m Time Trial, W2x 500m Double Elimination, and the W2x Skills Competition.
The boys saw a deep field of competition with Zone 5 (Vancouver-Squamish) athletes Ryan Watt and Konrad Swic taking home half of the gold medals over the weekend. Close behind them were Zone 3 (Fraser Valley) athletes Tanner Wick and Alexander Matson winning gold in the M1x 500m Double Elimination and M1x Skills Competition. The last gold medal went to Zone 4 (Fraser Valley – Delta) athletes James Houston & Ivan Rybkin in the M2x 500m Double Elimination.
On the Sunday, 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Mike Lewis gave an inspiring presentation to all the competitors and coaches that participated over the weekend. As a current coach at St. Michaels University School, Mike talked about his experiences as a rower starting out on Elk Lake until his Bronze medal race in Beijing, China. His experiences over the years has encouraged him to create and oversee a safe, fun, and hard working rowing environment for his athletes and his overall focus is to ensure that every athlete has a great rowing experience.
With another fun and successful BC Summer Games behind us, it is important that we recognize the volunteers and support workers for all their hard work and efforts that went into the regatta this past weekend. Without their love and passion for rowing, these games would not have been made possible. Thank You!
