Women’s Eight doing double duty at World Cup II
The Women’s Eight will compete in both the Eights and the Fours at the World Cup event in Italy this weekend.
- Featured
- Jun 15, 2023
This weekend’s World Cup II in Varese, Italy will bring a new experience for the Women’s Eight crew members as they compete in both the Women’s Eight and Women’s Fours at the same regatta on the international stage.
When World Rowing announced the entries, it became apparent that only three crews would be competing in the Women’s Eights category: Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. In search of more racing opportunities and starts, Carol Love, the Women’s Eights coach, collaborated with the team and World Rowing to add two additional entries in the Fours event.
Jessica Sevick, a Tokyo Olympian in the Women’s Doubles and now in the Eight, believes that more competitive races will benefit the team as they prepare for the upcoming World Championships.
“I think it’d be a great opportunity for us to get some starts and races in, especially because we have an inexperienced crew,” said Sevick. “So I think it’d be really good to gain more experience and improve our skills.”
Sevick’s teammate, Kristina Walker, shares the same sentiment regarding the importance of more racing opportunities for the crew.
“I think with the Eight, it can be challenging when there aren’t as many boats or countries entered into the World Cup,” Walker explained. “So getting the chance to line up a couple more times is super beneficial. It’s a great opportunity to split up the eight into two boats and further develop our technical skills in the smaller boats.”
Canadian rowing fans have fond memories of the Women’s Eight and Women’s Four competing together at an international regatta. At the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, the Canadian women’s crews achieved gold medals in both categories. While reminiscing about the past, the 2023 crew is eagerly looking forward to the new challenge.
“Competing in the Eights and the Fours is a great way to test our fitness and push ourselves to see what we can do under fatigue,” Sevick expressed. “So that’s pretty exciting too.”
The possibility of lining up against their own teammates adds a fun novelty to the event. However, for Walker, Sevick, and the rest of the crew, the focus remains on the larger boat and delivering their best performances.
“We all have immense respect for each other, and ultimately, we all want what’s best for one another. If we can go out there and give our best performances, I believe everybody will be happy,” Walker affirmed.
“We’ve discussed the idea of competing against each other, but our focus is on the Eight. We’re one team utilizing these four races to elevate the Eight. While friendly competition within the team is always good, our primary focus is on performing as a cohesive unit,” Sevick added. “We really want to elevate each other and our performances.”
World Cup II is the second leg of the World Rowing annual series of three regattas leading up to the World Rowing Championships. Each regatta is held over three days racing a progression system from heats through to finals. The Canadian World Cup Team will compete in Varese, Italy, and World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland on July 7-9. Canadian rowers will also compete at the historic Royal Henley Regatta, held on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England from Tuesday, 27 June to Sunday, 2 July. Additional team selections are being considered for the Royal Henley Regatta and World Cup III.
The focus then turns to the 2023 World Rowing Championships, in Belgrade, Serbia this September 3–10, as this will be the first opportunity to qualify Canadian boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
To support the national team, RCA has recently launched an initiative entitled Patrons for Paris to power the teams on their journey to the Paris 2024 Games.
We invite you to join the movement and become a valuable member of a supportive community that will embrace the team and help them achieve success on the international stage.
Learn more about Patrons for Paris
WORLD CUP II CANADIAN TEAM
Friday 16 June 2023 – Start List Summary
Women’s Double (W2x) – Heat #2 – 11:00am (local time) | 5:00am ET | 2:00am PT
Katie Clark – University of British Columbia Rowing Club
Marilou Duvernay-Tardif – Knowlton Rowing Club
Women’s Four (W4-) – Heat #1 – 11:35am (local time) | 5:35am ET | 2:35am PT
Jessica Sevick – University of British Columbia / Calgary Rowing Club
Cassidy Deane – Kingston Rowing Club
Morgan Rosts – Ridley Graduate Boat Club
Kirsten Edwards – University of Victoria Rowing Club
Women’s Four (W4-) – Heat #2 – 11:40am (local time) | 5:40am ET | 2:40am PT
Kristina Walker – Kingston Rowing Club / University of British Columbia Rowing Club
Avalon Wasteneys – University of Victoria Rowing Club
Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski – Club d’Aviron Knowlton
Alexis Cronk – University of Toronto Rowing Club
Men’s Single (M1x) – Heat #1 – 12:25pm (local time) | 6:25am ET | 3:25am PT
Trevor Jones – Peterborough Rowing Club
Lightweight Women’s Double (LW2x) – Heat #1 – 12:55pm (local time) | 6:55am ET | 3:55am PT
Jill Moffatt – Western University Rowing Club
Jennifer Casson – Kingston Rowing Club
Women’s Quad (W4x) – Heat #2 – 13:30pm (local time) | 7:30am ET | 4:30am PT
Shannon Kennedy – London Western Rowing Club
Grace VandenBroek – Peterborough Rowing Club/Trent University
Carling Zeeman – Sudbury Rowing Club
Elisa Bolinger – University of Western Ontario
Men’s Quad (M4x) – Heat #2 – 13:40pm (local time) | 7:40am ET | 4:40am PT
Liam Smit – University of British Columbia Rowing Club
Ryan Clegg – Western University Rowing Club
Terek Been – Montreal Rowing Club
Steven Rosts – Ridley Graduate Boat Club
Men’s Eight (M8+) – Preliminary Race – 13:45pm (local time) | 7:45am ET | 4:45am PT
Will Crothers – Kingston Rowing Club
Liam Keane – Victoria City Rowing Club
Cody Bailey – London Western Rowing Club
Josh King – Ottawa Rowing Club
Luke Gadsdon – Leander Boat Club / Brock University
Gavin Stone – Queen’s University Rowing Club / Island Lake Rowing Club
Curtis Ames – Calgary Rowing Club
Jakub Buczek – St. Catharines Rowing Club
Laura Court (cox) – St. Catharines Rowing Club
Women’s Eight (W8+) – Preliminary Race – 15:40pm (local time) | 9:40am ET | 6:40am PT
Cassidy Deane – Kingston Rowing Club
Morgan Rosts – Ridley Graduate Boat Club
Kirsten Edwards – University of Victoria Rowing Club
Alexis Cronk – University of Toronto Rowing Club
Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski – Club d’Aviron Knowlton
Jessica Sevick – University of British Columbia / Calgary Rowing Club
Kristina Walker – Kingston Rowing Club / University of British Columbia Rowing Club
Avalon Wasteneys – University of Victoria Rowing Club
Kristen Kit (cox) – University of British Columbia / St. Catharines Rowing Club
Alternate
Daniel de Groot – St. Catharines Rowing Club
Coaches
Lauren Fisher
Jeremy Ivey
Maksym Kepskyy
Carol Love
John Wetzstein
How to Follow World Cup II Racing
Follow all the action at www.worldrowing.com
Schedule and results available at www.worldrowing.com
