Brock rower Stephen Harris trains at the Welland International Flatwater Centre on the morning of Monday, July 10. Harris and a group of fellow Badgers will compete at the U23 World Championships in Bulgaria from July 19 to 23.A boatload of Brock Badgers are among the next generation of Canadian rowers ready to shine on the international stage.
Brock University student-athletes and coaches will represent Canada at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from July 19 to 23.
Stephen Harris, Michael Ciepiela and Connor Dodds were among 29 athletes named to Rowing Canada’s roster for the upcoming regatta, which features up to 1,000 rowers from around the world.
Canada’s coaching staff also includes Badgers interim head coach Mary Rao and assistant coach Scott Anderson, who recently served as a coach for the Canadian team at the World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland, from July 7 to 9.
Brock’s rowing program has led a camp that welcomed the top under-23 lightweight rowers from across the country. They’ve been training on Martindale Pond in Port Dalhousie and at the Welland International Flatwater Centre since May.
“We are proud to have a group of Brock athletes in the running for World Championship medals,” Rao said. “We hope to expand the program in future years and continue to expose Canadian athletes to lightweight competition at the next level.”
Incoming student-athlete Clara Van Dyk of Port Colborne was named to the World Under-19 Championship team, which will compete in Paris, France, from Aug. 2 to 6. Van Dyk, who competes with South Niagara Rowing Club, will begin her studies in Brock’s Faculty of Education this fall.
Harris, a third-year Economics student from Guelph, will compete in the U23 men’s lightweight. He won a bronze medal at the competition in 2022.
This past season, Harris was named the Brock Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season. His multi-gold medal performance at both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Rowing Championships and Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) netted him the Oarsman of the Year award at both events.
Ciepiela, a third-year Business student from Brampton, will compete in the men’s double alongside teammate Andrew Hubbard from Queen’s University.
A second-year Computing and Business student from Regina, Sask., Dodds is a member of the lightweight men’s quad. His boat also includes Giancarlo DiPompeo of University of Victoria, Emerson Crick of University of British Columbia and Lucas Celia of Queen’s.
