McMaster rowing heads to nationals after earning medals at OUA championships
For current fifth year student Sarah Cushnie, the rowing team is not where her McMaster athletic career began. Cushnie began as a cross country athlete, but two seasons ago she made the transition to the rowing team, and has since become the captain of the women's team.
“The transition was actually pretty smooth. So the reason I initially switched is because I was having a lot of injuries as a runner. So one of my forms of cross training was to get on the rowing machine on the erg. I really loved it and I also excelled at it,” said Cushnie.
As captain, her focus has been on making the entire rowing program a more cohesive one and bridging the gaps between the novice, junior varsity and varsity teams within the program.
A more cohesive environment seems to have helped the team excel this season. From the novice level to the varsity level, the rowing team achieved great results throughout the regular season, building momentum ahead of the Ontario University Athletics championships.
This year’s OUA championships were hosted in St. Catharines on Oct. 24. And Oct. 25. The competition saw the Marauders women's team capture multiple medals. Sarah Oresnik and Brooke McCoy earned a bronze medal in the lightweight women's pair event. Cushnie and Nathalie Hilbert won a silver medal in the open women's double event.
These impressive results set the Marauders up for a great push at this year’s Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov 2. and Nov 3. in Victoria, BC. While the event may be a source of pressure, Cushnie sees it as a way to celebrate.
“Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment,” said Cushnie.
Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and, and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
The exciting weekend at nationals was also a busy one for the team. But despite the busyness of the weekend and the travel, the women's rowing team continued with their mindset of viewing being at nationals as a bonus. Cushnie recalled the gratitude she felt being able to spend her time with her soon-to-be-graduating teammates.
"I was sharing a hotel room with Kate [Panzica] and Natalie [Hilbert] because it was just like the open-weight women in one room and both of them are graduating this year. So for me it was really nice to have that opportunity to really connect with them on a formal trip one last time before they leave," said Cushnie.
As Cushnie took to the first race of the weekend with her partner, she did not fell much external pressure on herself, being already happy with the results of the season. Though with this being Cushnie and Hilbert’s final race weekend, a sense of optimism filled Cushnie.
“It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else,” said Cushnie
It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else.
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
After this race, the 2024 season came to an end for Cushnie and the rest of the rowing team. But the growth of the rowing team is something Cushnie is determined to continue through the off season. She’s aiming to build an eight person boat team to race in competitions.
After a successful season, the growth of the women’s rowing team will be one to keep an eye on. Cushnie’s work will hopefully bring the team to the next level come next season, continuing the team's pattern of success this year.
McMaster's rowing team raised money to cover expenses for trip to Canadian University Rowing Championship outside Fortinos Ancaster
On Sept. 17, the McMaster University rowing team held a fundraising event outside the Fortinos Ancaster to support their trip to the Canadian University Rowing Championship.
While the previous season’s championship took place in St. Catharines, Ont., this year the team will head to Burnaby, B.C. in November for the competition.
“[The executive team] kind of all just collectively decided that this year our main fundraising goal would be for our nationals. . .We’ve been given an estimate of around $1000-$1200 per athlete to go before any fundraising, so that’s just been our main focus for this season,” said Heidi Akot, the team's fundraising coordinator.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team also ran the event in 2018 and 2019 to raise funds for the rowing program. This year the team set up rowing machines outside the grocery store where athletes would row a 50 metre sprint for every $5 donated.
According to Akot, the team was able to raise approximately $5,400 with the contributions from donors. The money raised at the event will primarily go towards paying for their travel costs and accommodations.
The team has also set up a donations page through iFundMac, a crowdfunding platform used by the university to help fund projects that advance research, teaching, learning and student experience within the McMaster community. No additional fees are associated with the platform, with project leaders receiving the full amount of funds sent out by donors.
Additionally, while the team does receive funding as a group under the McMaster Athletics and Recreation department, their fundraising events help provide supplementary financial support to subsidize the costs that athletes typically pay on their own.
“This year we’re really just trying to work together and raise money so that people don’t have to fully pay out of pocket. . .We just want to make sure that money isn’t an issue and our athletes can go and focus on performing their best,” said Akot.
This year we’re really just trying to work together and raise money so that people don’t have to fully pay out of pocket. . .We just want to make sure that money isn’t an issue and our athletes can go and focus on performing their best.
Over the last year, the team has been a part of several other community and fundraising events, including the second annual McMaster Rowing Gala and the McMaster 2x4 Challenge. The team also sold tickets for the Hamilton Bulldogs on Mar. 3 and ran an additional Chuck-A-Puck event at the game.
Looking ahead, the team plans to organize additional community and fundraising initiatives to continue supporting rowers in the program.
For example, Akot described a farm fundraiser on Oct. 1 where the team is planning to visit a local farm to help them prepare for the winter season in exchange for a donation at the end of their work. Later on in the year, the team is also planning on organizing a fundraiser based on an event that the Leander Boat Club has run in the past.
Now looking ahead to the 2023 campaign, the team looks to continue achieving at both the provincial and national level this season. The funding that they receive from their donations this season will not only allow rowers to compete in Burnaby, B.C., but will also help the group to keep developing their talent and work towards sustaining the rowing program in the future.
C/O McMaster Rowing
The first major rowing competition after a year and a half was welcomed by many
On Nov. 6, the Canadian University Rowing Championships took place at Brock University. After over a year of the COVID-19 led recess, the best rowers from universities across Canada gathered to take part in the competition. There were a total of 21 schools competing in both mens and womens entries that had a chance to prove themselves over the two days of competition.
McMaster participated as one of the 21 teams in the rowing competition. They entered the tournament with a total of seven entries, which were: Mens Open 1x, Womens Lightweight 2x, Mens Lightweight 1x, Womens Open 1x, Mens lightweight 2x, Womens lightweight 1x and Mens lightweight 4+.
Overall, the major Canadian rowing competition did not conclude well award-wise for the Marauders, who were unable to achieve podium status in any of their entries. The first race of the day was the Mens Open 1x, which was scheduled at 9:00 a.m. The 2,000 metre rowing distance had McMaster finish in 13th place with a time of 7:57.717.
The next two races didn’t show much more success than the first, unfortunately. In the second race — Women's Lightweight 2x — the Marauders placed 11th while achieving a time of 8:18.096 for 2,000 metres. The third event for McMaster was the Mens Lightweight 1x, which resulted in a 9th place finish for the school, with a time of 7:56.410.
Arguably the biggest success that the Marauders have achieved throughout the rowing championship was the Men's Lightweight 4+ race. The team managed to qualify for the finals, where they unfortunately fell to sixth place, with a total time of 7:00.070 over 2,000 metres. The participants for McMaster’s most successful and final race were Liam McDonald, Alex Barnes, Alex Cowman and Jack Thorpe.
Although McMaster did not do very well in this competition, University of British Columbia student Niko Schramm managed to make the podium in both of his races throughout the weekend. Speaking to him, he expressed his excitement to be back to the sport that he loves after such a long time.
“I was so excited to be a part of this competition. This COVID break seemed to last forever to me and I couldn't wait to get back to rowing. As a student athlete, breaks like these in the past period affected [me] a lot and a return was much needed,” explained Schramm.
Schramm also added how the COVID break started for him and his peers.
“In 2020 there were meant to be many races for my peers and I to participate in. However, there was so much uncertainty as to what would happen, [and] eventually everything had to be cancelled until further notice. I was gutted,” said Schramm
When asked about the competition opportunities for his university compared to McMaster and other Ontario schools, Schramm said that his school did not get as many opportunities to prove themselves on the big stage leading up to the big competition last weekend.
“This was [UBC’s] first major meet in a very long time. It’s a different scenario for Ontario universities as they have had Ontario University Athletics championships beforehand so they have gained some competitive experience leading up to this major meet,” explained Schramm.
"It’s a different scenario for Ontario universities as they have had Ontario University Athletics championships beforehand so they have gained some competitive experience leading up to this major meet,”
Niko Schramm, University of British Columbia Rower
Schramm also spoke about the success he achieved during this rowing meet, coming in second and third place in his heats.
“Personally, we were a bit disappointed with what we achieved. We didn’t really expect anything other than a win in our heats, as we have worked hard to prepare in the best possible way for these races. The expectations were really high as UBC has done exceptionally well at rowing competitions in previous years. On a personal level though, I am somewhat satisfied with the way that I have done. I am just glad to be back to rowing,” said Schramm.
"I am just glad to be back to rowing,"
Niko Schramm, University of British Columbia Rower
Although the Canadian University Rowing Championship is over and won't be played again until next season, the competition couldn't come at a better time for many of the student athletes who have been hungry for competition after a year and a half of inactivity. While the Marauders season comes to an end, there is plenty of room for optimism and improvement when looking ahead to the next season.
