Stelly’s secondary students Ian Saari, Bob D’Amours, Nico Murray, Matt Fellner, Colin Hammond, Ben Howey (cox), Nial Paltiel, Aaron Quint and Sean Jacklin rowed in the largest City Championship Regatta in history. The Stingers captured the senior boys quadruple sculls and the senior boys eight.
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Published: November 27, 2008 1:00 PMStelly’s secondary school faced off against 22 other high schools last Saturday in what turned out to be the largest City Championship Regatta in the history of Greater Victoria High School Rowing.
“We have the greatest number of students and schools entered this year,” said Claremont secondary coach and regatta organizer Gord Redlin.
The regatta has become so large that it had to go to a third day to accomodate the entries.
“Involvement in rowing has been growing over the last few years,” said Tim Storm, teacher and rowing team manager for Stelly’s secondary. “The jump in interest this year can probably be attributed to Canada’s amazing success at the Olympic Games. Several of the Olympic team members have competed in our high school league, including Kevin Light, Iain Brambell, and Dave Calder.”
The Stelly’s Stingers captured the senior boys quadruple sculls, and then the senior boys eight oared events.
Coach and teacher Daryl DeLeeuw, also a Stelly’s graduate, was proud of his crew. “It is certainly inspirational for the boys to know that an Olympic Champion [Kevin Light] once competed for Stelly’s in the same event,” he said.
Sidney’s Light won a gold medal in Beijing this summer with Canada’s Olympic men’s eight rowing team. Brambell, of Brentwood Bay, won a bronze in the men’s lightweight fours during the 2008 Summer Games in China.
