For the first time this spring, the Burton Beach Rowing Club finally made a trip to a regatta with its entire team of 20 junior rowers. After some members competed at international races in New Zealand, China and Canada, the full team made the trip south to Vancouver, Washington, for the second annual multi-team scrimmage, hosted by the Vancouver Lake Rowing Club.
BBRC joined crews from South Kitsap High School, Olympia, Lake Stevens, Olympic Peninsula, South Eugene, Renton, Rogue Rowing (Ashland, Oregon) and host Vancouver Lake for what coach Richard Parr called “a great day of racing” on the course, which will host the Northwest Regional Championships in two weeks’ time.
The Burton Beach rowers finished the day with 10 wins coming from all levels of the program. Parr noted that Bronwyn White “looked superb” winning the novice women’s single by a few lengths of open water over the second-place boat from Lake Stevens. White then joined with Jewel Wass de Czege to hold off Lake Stevens again for a win in the novice women’s double. Davis Kelly made a reportedly rare appearance in a single, winning the novice men’s race with what Parr described as “a great row.”
“Every person on this team has been so dedicated to train this season,” Bronwyn White said, “and it was great to see our hard work pay off at the scrimmage at Vancouver Lake.”
Additional wins came in the women’s open single with powerhouse lightweight Mabel Moses clearing the field for a commanding finish, Brian DeLoach in the men’s lightweight single, the women’s pair of Gabbie Graves and Kate Kelly, who were then joined by Ros Bellscheidt and Moses (and coxswain Olivia Sherman) for a win in the women’s four and Olivia White and Ava Lorentzen in the junior varsity women’s double.
Parr added that BBRC’s youngest competitors turned in impressive performances, as the U-14 crew of Vera Moses, Keziah Rutschow, Dexy Richmond and Olivia Sherman (coxed by Olivia White) won its race in the quad, and Vera Moses and Rutschow, surprised, Parr said, to find themselves competing against a field of boys, held their own and crossed the line second in the U-14 double.
Looking ahead to the upcoming regional championships, Parr had this to say:
“Alan Stewart and Brent Eastes from Vancouver Lake put on a great event, and it was really good for the crew to have a chance to race on the Regionals course — more than half of our young team had never been there before. It’s going to get harder over the next couple of weeks, but we are really starting to consistently show the speed that we’ve had glimpses of all season. It was a really fun day for everyone.”
Spring racing for Burton Beach caps off with USRowing’s Northwest Youth Regional Championships in two weeks at Vancouver Lake. Competition at Regionals will crown the top crews in the Northwest, as well as determine who makes the trip to Sarasota, Florida, for Nationals in June.
— Written by Sarah Low, Beachcomber reporter, with input from Richard Parr, BBRC coach and Low’s husband.
