About The Barrie Rowing Club

The Barrie Rowing Club is a non-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate, advocate and develop the sport of rowing in the Barrie area and Simcoe County.

Club History

The Barrie Rowing Club was founded in the winter of 1987-88 by a small group of dedicated people who shared two things: a love of the sport of rowing, and a dream of establishing a permanent rowing club in Barrie. Amongst the Club’s first acquisitions were two old rowing shells borrowed from the Cornwall Rowing Club.

The Club’s first boathouse was an old storage shed that the Club rented on Victoria Street. To put their boats on the water, rowers had to carry them along Victoria Street, across a set of railroad tracks, across Lakeshore Drive, through Centennial Park and across the beach. Without a dock, the rowers waded into the water to launch their boats.

Contributions to The Barrie Rowing Club

The Barrie Rowing Club would like to thank the following for their contributions towards the acquisition of new equipment that enhances the Club’s rowing programs.

Peter & Elaine Bursztyn

Kathy Graham

Rick Hanson Foundation

Despite these humble beginnings, the Club’s membership, equipment inventory and reputation grew.

In 1990, the Club hosted a National Masters Sculling Camp. The Club’s reputation was further enhanced when in 1992, the Canadian Rowing Association held its annual National Coaching Conference in Barrie.

By 1992, the Club’s expanding membership had outgrown the old boathouse. In 1993, the Rowing Club entered an ambitious partnership with the City of Barrie and several other local organizations (including the Barrie Canoe and Kayak Club and local Rotary Clubs). With funding from the City, the Province and each of the Community partners, an old CN maintenance building on the south shore was restored, expanded and transformed into the 1.5 million dollar Southshore Community Center.

Barrie Rowing Club members have entered and won many races throughout Ontario. Several members have competed on provincial and national rowing teams.

  • Aug 12, 2021

    The Club’s first boathouse was an old storage shed that the Club rented on Victoria Street.

Board of Directors/Officers

The Barrie Rowing Club is proudly represented by these volunteers.

Matt Gleben

President

Andrea Lovering

Secretary

David Crann

Treasurer

Jacquie Raycraft

Director

Christine Ignas

Director

Eileen Carl

Director

Heather Gleben

Bingo Volunteer Coordinator

Tim Rose

Director

Mark Potter

Bingo Chairperson/Coordinator

Elaine Bursztyn

Controller

Frequently Aasked Questions

Safety First

MacGyver Tip For Rowers – Pool noodles on the rigors of a racing shell in early May plus your life jacket on board makes for a confident rower that will stay dry. A trusty friend in a kayak can act as your photographer, coach and safety boat.

History of the Barrie Rowing Club

Thank you to those coaches, rowers and community members for their work, time, organizations and conversations to bring our rowing club to where it is today on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay.

When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.

– Vietnamese Proverb

New To Rowing? Start Here!

What skills will you learn while rowing?

Check out this video for a quick overview of the skills we develop and fun we have on the waters of Kempenfelt Bay.

New to erging/dryland rowing? Learn more here:

The above information was sourced from: www.rowingcanada.org

Rowers tend to be passionate about their sport. The sensation of being able to propel a boat at speed through the water under one’s own power is exhilarating. It requires teamwork and concentration so that one is almost oblivious to the physical exertion employed. Rowing is a sport that can be enjoyed by all. You can start at any age, learn the technique quickly and improve on it for the rest of your life. To many it is more than a sport, teaching lessons for life:

The need to work together with others from all backgrounds;
the values of fair play and consideration for others in the form of good sportsmanship; and
the benefits to be obtained from hard work and self-discipline.
RCA has attempted to capture this vision of the sport in its vision statement: “Fostering excellence and teamwork for life through rowing.”

Rowing also brings significant health benefits. It exercises all the major muscle groups through the full range of motion, involves no body contact or jarring of the joints, and improves both strength and cardiovascular performance. It attracts those looking for an enjoyable recreational activity as well as those looking for exciting competitive opportunities.

The Regatta

Championship races are rowed over 2,000 metres (one mile, 427 yards) in six lanes which are straight and buoyed. There are up to four rounds – heats, repechages, semi-finals and finals. The repechage round is for losing crews in the heats, meaning that every crew that loses in a heat has a second chance before being eliminated. The draw is conducted round by round according to alternative and previously undisclosed systems. The first three crews in each semi-final compete in the A final, and the last three in each semi-final compete in the B final for places 7 to 12. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded for the first three crews to cross the line in the A final.

Sprint Races – a full-speed sprint from start to finish. Often shorter distances.
Head races – The distances vary, but are usually about 3.5 to 5 miles.

Rowing Boats

SingleBoat Stats

Pair/DoubleBoat Stats

Coxed fourBoat Stats

Four/QuadBoat Stats

EightBoat Stats

The boats for competition were traditionally made from wood, but are mostly fabricated from carbon fibre and plastic (ie. Kevlar).

Rowing shells are 0.280 metres to 0.590 metres wide and 8.280 metres to 17.600 metres long. A small fin is fitted at the bottom for stability. A rudder is attached to the fin or the stern (except for sculling boats). A white ball is attached to the bow (called a bow ball for safety measure, photofinish). A washboard prevents waves splashing aboard. Seats are fitted with wheels which slide on runners, or tracks.

Oars are hollow to reduce weight, attached to the boat by adjustable out riggers. Size and shape of the oars is unrestricted, the average length of a sweep oar being 3.81 metres and of a scull being 2.98 metres.

There are six Olympic types of boats, of which three are for sweep-oared rowing in which the rower uses one oar with both hands, and three are for sculling in which two oars are used, one in each hand.

The sculling boats are single scull, double scull, and quadruple scull, the sweep oared events are straight pair, straight four and eight. In the eight there is a coxswain who sits in the stern or lies in the bow of the boat.

Viewer’s Guide

The crew that is making it look easy is most likely the one doing the best job. While you’re watching, look for:

Continuous, fluid motion of the rowers. The rowing motion shouldn’t have a discernible end or beginning.
Synchronization. Rowers strive for perfect synchronization in the boat.

Clean catches of the oarblade. If you see a lot of splash, the oarblades aren’t entering the water correctly. The catch should happen at the end of the recovery, when the hands are as far ahead of the rower as possible. Rowers who uncoil before they drop the oarblades are sacrificing speed and not getting a complete drive.

Even oarblade feathering. When the blades are brought out of the water, they should all move horizontally close to the water and at the same height. It’s not easy, especially if the water is rough.

The most consistent speed. Shells don’t move like a car — they’re slowest at the catch, quickest at the release. The good crews time the catch at just the right moment to maintain the speed of the shell.
Rowing looks graceful, elegant and sometimes effortless when it’s done well. Don’t be fooled. Rowers haven’t been called the world’s most physically fit athletes for nothing. A 2,000-metre rowing race demands virtually everything a human being can physically bring to an athletic competition — aerobic ability, technical talent, exceptional mental discipline, ability to utilize oxygen efficiently and in huge amounts, balance, pain tolerance, and the ability to continue to work when the body is demanding that you stop.

More race-watching tips:

Race times can vary considerably depending upon the course and weather conditions. Tailwinds will improve times, while headwinds and crosswinds will hamper them.

If a crew “catches a crab,” it means that the oar blade has entered the water at an angle instead of perpendicularly. The oar blade gets caught under the surface and will slow or even stop a shell.
A “Power 10” is a call by the coxswain for 10 of the crew’s best, most powerful strokes. Good coxswains read the course to know how many strokes remain for their crew to count down to the finish.
Crews are identified by their oar-blade design.

It doesn’t matter whether you win an Olympic medal or don’t make the finals – each crew will carry their boat back to the rack.

Coxswains from first-place boats worldwide are thrown into the water by their crews.

Coxswains don’t now and probably never did yell “stroke! stroke!” Similar to a jockey, their job is to implement the coach’s strategy during the race, in addition to steering and letting the rowers know where they stand in the race and what they need to do to win.