WSU rowing to compete in British Columbia

This Saturday the WSU women’s rowing team will head to Burnaby, British Columbia, to take part in the sixth annual Burnaby Lake Small Boat Invitational hosted by the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club.

This upcoming race will take place in an unusual lake. The lake is just over two kilometers long, so rowers will have to compensate by turning 180 degrees, to turn around to finish the rest of the regatta. The Cougs will compete in a four kilometer regatta against the clock in a timed trial.

The challenging turn in the regatta could be a key factor in clocking in a good time. Senior Isabella Watt describes the unique challenge that this course offers.

“You’re going from full tilt race speed to throwing your blade in the water and trying to turn your boat around as fast as possible,” Watt said. “You have to make sure you’re very focused and paying attention, otherwise that turn could go south pretty fast.”

Head Coach Jane LaRiviere feels that the team has really prepared for this upcoming regatta, even this early in the season.

“We’ve been switching lineups (in practice) and for the most part, people have been really adaptable and flexible,” LaRiviere said in an interview with WSU athletics. “We’ve been getting lots of kilometers in and I’m looking forward to going up to Burnaby and seeing what we can do.”

While it’s early in the season, LaRiviere is looking at this upcoming regatta as a learning experience for the whole team. In the fall, the team competes in four regattas, compared to the spring season which features six regattas, including the Pac-12 championships.

“We’re taking a crowd of eight pairs that all have different goals,” LaRiviere said in an interview with WSU athletics. “This is a quite an experience for them to race in a pair and to have a hairpin turn.”

This will be their second regatta of the season. The first regatta was the Spokane Small Boat Regatta in Spokane, Washington.

Senior Jessi Howe said the Spokane Small Boat Regatta was a learning experience.

“I think it definitely helped prepare us for racing, especially for Burnaby,” Howe said. “Last year we didn’t have that at all and we weren’t in the racing mindset.”

The regatta will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and results will be posted on wsucougars.com. Their next regatta will be the Head of the Spokane in Spokane.