A two-kilometre sprint race at Midsummer Madness in Burnaby Lake was a first for local rower Donri Heise, who was pleased with making the finals and racing to fourth place on June 27.
“I'm thankful for coaching from Jack Jenkins (South Cariboo), Marlene Royle (Whistler) and Laurel Glanfield (Fort Langley), who helped me with technique, race plans and endurance,” says the South Cariboo Rowing Club (SCRC) member, adding a big thanks to group president Murray Helmer “for supporting me through many hours of training and keeping me organized and focused at the regatta."
Heise finished only 12 seconds behind third place with a time of 11 minutes 8.54 seconds. The top three rowers represented Simon Fraser University with times of 10 minutes 3.49 seconds, 10 minutes 6.37 seconds and 10 minutes 56.26 seconds.
“Times were a little slower than normal, as there was an extreme headwind making us all work extra hard,” Heise notes.
Next up for SCRC members is the Cascadia Masters Regatta at Burnaby Lake on July 18-19. The event will see 1000-metre sprints against experienced masters in similar age groups. Jenkins and Heise will be racing singles, as well as mixed doubles. Heise will also be racing a women's double and a women's quad with some teammates from Fort Langley.