Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) is set to send a team to Asunción, Paraguay, with the goal of securing boat qualifications for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games. The qualification regatta, scheduled for March 19-22, 2025, will be a key step in Canada’s pathway to the second edition of these Junior Games, taking place August 9-23, 2025.

Following the success of the inaugural Junior Pan Am Games in Cali, Colombia, in 2021, the upcoming event promises to be an exciting showcase of emerging talent. A total of 4,206 athletes from 41 countries will compete in 27 sports and 43 disciplines, making it a significant multi-sport event for young athletes across the Americas.

Canadian rowers heading to Paraguay will be tasked with competing in multiple boat classes over the four-day qualification regatta. RCA is focusing on qualifying the men’s and women’s coxless fours (4-) and quadruple sculls (4x), as securing spots in these events will grant automatic qualification for the pairs (2-), double sculls (2x), and single sculls (1x) events at the main Games in August.

Athletes selected for this qualification regatta were identified through RCA’s NextGen Assessment and Monitoring program, as well as their performances at key 2024 events, such as the National Rowing Championships, Canadian University Rowing Championships, Ontario University Athletics Championships, and the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

The Canadian team departs for Paraguay on March 12 and will have a five-day training period from March 14-18 to acclimate to the conditions before racing begins on March 19. The regatta will conclude on March 22, at which point, RCA will assess its qualification results and plan for the next steps leading into the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games.

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For general information about the Junior Pan American Games this August, click HERE.
For more information about the number of athletes, disciplines, and countries competing at the Junior Pan American Games, click HERE.

TEAM ROSTER

Oliver Baker – University of Western Ontario
Euan Coulson – Brock University
Maddox Harrison – Brock University
Kyland Mels-Williams – University of Western Ontario
Riley Watson – Brock University
Kaija Erickson – Queen’s University
Tess Friar – Trent / Peterborough
Jacquie Groenewegen – Queen’s University
Kate Kulig – NorthStar Rowing Club
Roksolana Nazar – University of Toronto
Ellie Sousa – University of Victoria

COACHES

Katie Bruggeling – Brock University
Joe Rochon – Montreal Rowing Club
Chuck McDiarmid – Team Lead Rowing Canada Aviron