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.
The new experiential course immerses students in Haudenosaunee culture, reconciliation, and land-based learning through a ten-day canoe journey along the Grand River
This past summer, the Indigenous Studies Department ran for the first time a new course titled "Two Row on the Grand Paddle." Associate Professor Bonnie Freeman led this experiential learning opportunity, which was available to students for the first time.
The course aimed to deepen students' understanding of Haudenosaunee culture, treaty history, and reconciliation through hands-on participation in the annual "Two Row on the Grand Paddle" canoe journey.
Freeman, who is Algonquin Mohawk and a member of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, has been involved in the canoe journey for almost ten years. She sees the course as a chance for students to connect what they learn in the classroom with real-life experiences.
"It was important for me to show [students]… that when we learn from an academic perspective, these theories and experiences, it's so much different than when we put them into practice," said Freeman.
It was important for me to show [students]... that when we learn from an academic perspective, these theories and experiences, it's so much different than when we put them into practice.
Bonnie Freeman, Associate Professor
Indigenous Studies Department
She stressed that this course was not just an academic exercise but an immersive experience intended to build connections with Indigenous teachings, the land, and one another.
The "Two Row on the Grand" journey is based on the historical Two Row [Gaswéñdah] Wampum Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Dutch settlers. During the course, students canoed along the Grand River, which is tied to the Haldimand Treaty lands. They had the opportunity to engage with traditional Indigenous teachings and cultural practices and participate in discussions regarding reconciliation throughout the ten day journey.
Freeman’s engagement with land-based Indigenous learning began during her university days. The idea for this course stemmed from those early experiences. "It was a spiritual journey, and I was immersed in the ceremony, with horses, on the land, and learning those teachings," said Freeman, reflecting on her first exposure to land-based learning. Her passion for integrating these life-changing experiences into academic programs has driven her commitment to making the canoe journey a part of the Indigenous Studies Department's course offerings.
According to Freeman, the course was received with great enthusiasm from the student. "They said it was completely life-changing for them," said Freeman. She added that students appreciated the opportunity to apply what they had been learning in classrooms in a meaningful and practical manner.
The course involved facing physical challenges like navigating rapids and developing paddling skills. It also focused on promoting reconciliation in a practical and community-based manner. The course highlighted the importance of establishing connections with the land and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Freeman recalled how some students reflected on the experience. "What was important... about reconciliation is the day-to-day living and the importance of having those relationships and establishing them," said Freeman.
The "Two Row on the Grand Paddle" course establishes a standard for expanding experiential learning within Indigenous studies as the Indigenous Studies Department expands its course offerings.
To enrol in Bonnie Freeman’s land-based learning course, students should review McMaster University’s offerings in Indigenous Studies or Social Work. Registration opens on the Two Row Paddle website in mid-March 2025, and the course is primarily aimed at third —and fourth-year students with relevant academic backgrounds. For detailed information and guidance, students are encouraged to consult academic advisors. As the course involves hands-on, experiential learning, it offers a unique opportunity to engage deeply with Indigenous knowledge and practices, fostering meaningful steps toward reconciliation.
Marauders cap off a huge weekend at provincial rowing championship in St. Catharines with five medals, including two varsity bronze medals
On Oct. 27 and 28, the McMaster University varsity rowing team competed along with 13 other participating schools in the Ontario University Athletics rowing championship at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines. The Marauders secured two bronze medals in the varsity women’s single and men’s lightweight pairs.
President of the rowing team, Nathalie Hilbert placed second in her women’s single heat on Oct. 27 with a time of 8:26.100 to advance to the event’s finals.
For the men’s team, Jonny Diakopoulos and Trevor Tung competed in the men’s lightweight pair and lightweight double. In the pair event, they placed second with a time of 7:25.000 in order to compete in the next-day A finals. For the doubles race, Diakopoulos and Tung finished in second in their heat to move onto the B finals.
The next day on Oct. 28, Hilbert returned to take on the A finals for the women’s single race, grabbing a spot on the podium with her bronze medal time of 8:53.270. Competing with Sarah Cushnie, Hilbert also placed fifth in the varsity women’s pair A finals.
To round out the Marauders’ wins that weekend, Diakopoulos and Tung picked up the team’s second bronze medal after finishing in third in the varsity men’s lightweight pairs. Their time of 7:37.780 just missed the silver medal spot by a few seconds, with the rowers from Western University narrowly beating out the duo by completing the race in 7:34.030.
To round out the Marauders’ wins that weekend, Diakopoulos and Tung picked up the team’s second bronze medal after finishing in third in the varsity men’s lightweight pairs.
Along with the varsity medalists, McMaster teams also secured three more medals from their junior varsity crews.
Along with the varsity medalists, McMaster teams also secured three more medals from their junior varsity crews.
The maroon and grey team dominated the junior varsity women’s doubles race, with the pair of Brooke McCoy and Olivia Richardson winning the gold medal while Sienna Munro and Hayden Taylor took the silver.
Ben Milone, Eshaan Maneyapanda, Rahul Patel, Matthew Glenn and Shuruthi Sivadas won the bronze medal for McMaster in the men’s coxed fours.
With success from both their varsity and junior varsity rowers, the Marauders finished their season in grand fashion.
Myma Okuda-Rayfuse honoured with the Hydro One Safe Play Award for creating safe and inclusive space for rowing team
Since beginning her tenure as a rowing coach just two years ago, Myma Okuda-Rayfuse has already made a name for herself. Last year, Okuda-Rayfuse helped lead the Marauders to a big performance at the Ontario University Athletics championship where they won three medals. On Sept. 13, she was awarded the Hydro One Safe Play Award by the Coaching Association of Ontario.
This award is given to a coach who creates a positive environment for their athletes and allows them to feel safe and included in their sport. According to the Coaching Association of Ontario, Okuda-Rayfuse does this to the highest level through her involvement at McMaster University, as well as with the Hamilton-based Leander Boat Club.
According to the Coaching Association of Ontario, Okuda-Rayfuse does this to the highest level through her involvement at McMaster University, as well as with the Hamilton-based Leander Boat Club.
Not long ago, Okuda-Rayfuse was an athlete for McMaster, excelling as a member of the varsity rowing team from 2014 until 2019. She earned many accolades with her rowing crew, winning multiple regattas for the Marauders while also being named to the 2018 Team Canada roster.
It was in 2021 that she made the jump from rower to rowing coach, beginning her career as co- head coach of the team and assuming sole responsibility of the position in 2022.
The Hydro One Safe Play Award awards recipients with funding to assist in equipment costs for current athletes. As rowing is an OUA sport, this additional funding will help the team greatly in reducing costs that may not be covered by the university.
The Hydro One Safe Play Award awards recipients with funding to assist in equipment costs for current athletes.
Along with her knowledge and experience in the sport, Okuda-Rayfuse’s coaching guidance is a major asset for athletes currently in the rowing program at the university. It is the beginning of an extremely career for Okuda-Rayfuse, and McMaster is lucky to have her.
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.
The McMaster men’s baseball and rugby team lead the way in fundraising for men’s health issues
Raising money for men’s health is an annual November initiative for athletes at McMaster University. As the end of this year's Movember campaign nears, Marauder sports teams have quietly raised over $25,000.
The McMaster men’s baseball team and men’s rugby team spearheaded this year’s fundraising efforts, with over $11,900 and $9600 in donations respectively. In addition, the McMaster men’s volleyball team and wrestling teams fundraised over $3600 and $1100 each. Other participating teams include the McMaster rowing team, swimming team and men’s soccer team.
The McMaster teams primarily fundraise through the Movember campaign website. Established in 2003, the international campaign looks to allocate resources to various areas of men’s health such as mental health, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Over $19 million was donated to men’s health projects in Canada just last year.
Though growing a mustache and fundraising for Movember is a tradition amongst McMaster sports teams, the movement has not lost its meaning to repeat participants such as Marco Dilaudo, Maclean Van Raay, Josh Kalmain and Aiden Muldoon.
“We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health,” explained Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health.
Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team
In addition to leading the baseball team’s fundraising efforts with over $2,000 raised individually, Dilaudo plans to bike 300 kilometres over the month of November – an opportunity for Dilaudo to embrace a challenge and support others that are battling illnesses in their day-to-day lives.
“Everyone struggles with mental health in some way. Being an athlete, it becomes really stressful trying to balance school and athletics. The mental health part of it definitely plays a factor [wanting to raise money] as well,” said Maclean Van Raay, third year student and middle infielder for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
For some McMaster athletes, raising money and awareness is especially important because of personal experiences with loved ones. Participating for his fifth in a row, Aiden Muldoon became particularly connected to the cause after experiencing the loss of his father to cancer in 2021.
“It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction,” explained Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team.
It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction.
Aiden Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team
As club captain for the McMaster men’s rugby, Muldoon organizes various fundraising events with other members of the team. The rugby team held a Touch 7s Rugby Tournament that took place earlier this month where all profits from the event were donated to Movember. In the past, the team has also welcomed guest speakers or held raffles to raise money.
“For us, as much as it is a serious issue, we do like to make fun of each other’s mustaches a little bit . . . It’s another way to encourage one another to not only support the cause but also support each other in raising money for a good cause,” said Kalmin, a third year student and pitcher for the baseball team.
Along with raising awareness and fundraising, Movember is a chance for McMaster teams to bond and boost team morale. The competitive aspect that McMaster athletes bring into sport also translates into friendly competition to raise the most money.
To learn more about the Movember movement, visit their website. To donate or keep up with the fundraising teams, visit their Instagram pages or link here.
The Marauders row row row their boat all the way to the podium, securing the first gold medal for the rowing team in 20 years 🚣
The McMaster University rowing team competed at the Ontario University Athletics rowing championships on Oct. 29, capturing three medals in a historic team performance. The Marauders earned podium spots in the women’s double and lightweight fours and men’s lightweight double events. For the day, the men’s and women’s teams placed ninth and eighth respectively.
A day before the championships, the novice and junior varsity rowing crews also secured two medals in the Development Regatta on Oct. 28.
Sonia Odutola and Hayley Monson placed third in the women’s JV double with a time of 8:55.3. Members of the women’s novice fours, Rachel Caruk, Alexandra Wu, Erika Bullen, Victoria Epshtein and Annika Culhane won the gold medal for the maroon and grey.
Against 13 other schools, McMaster looked to improve on their two medal performance at last season’s championships. Due to the foggy conditions, the regatta took on a modified schedule where rowers competed for the podium in heats as opposed to needing to qualify through time trials.
On the women’s team, Amanda Ciezki and Nathalie Hilbert took home gold medals in their doubles event. Their time of 7:44.40 was more than three seconds ahead of the second placing duo of Ainsley Salmon and Rosemary O’Brien from Carleton. The medal marks a significant milestone for the rowing program, coming as their first OUA gold in two decades of competition.
“Everything that could’ve lined up for us did . . . We left it out there and I don’t think we could’ve done any better and I think the gold medal reflects that,” said Ciezki.
"Everything that could’ve lined up for us did . . . We left it out there and I don’t think we could’ve done any better and I think the gold medal reflects that."
Amanda Ciezki, women's Rowing Team
Ciezki, who started on the novice team in 2021, provides an outstanding example of the program and coaching staff’s ability to develop their student athletes. This is a major factor towards sustainable success in any sport at the school.
Competing in the lightweight women’s fours, Heidi Akot, Vivian Lee, Sarah Oresnik, Brianna Fournier and coxswain Jacqueline Huo placed third with a time of 8:24.30. Rounding out the podium, the rowers from Guelph took home silver after completing the race in 8:19.81. The Western Mustangs would go on to grab the top spot with an outstanding time of 7:53.08.
Members of last year’s bronze medalist group in the men’s lightweight fours Alex Cowman and Alex Barnes earned a silver medal for their efforts in the lightweight pairs. Their time of 7:41.13 was just 74 milliseconds ahead of third place rowers Maddox Harrison and Ethan Mason from Brock.
With only three varsity men competing for McMaster, the team was able to make the most of their limited roster size and add on another medal to the day’s total.
“It’s good to be up there and pushing ourselves and showing what we’re capable of doing. I think it’s really great to see the change in the team to become more of a winning team and hopefully it can continue in the future and maybe also get bigger,” said Cowman.
"It’s good to be up there and pushing ourselves and showing what we’re capable of doing. I think it’s really great to see the change in the team to become more of a winning team and hopefully it can continue in the future and maybe also get bigger."
Alex Cowman, Men's Rowing Team
The men finished in ninth with 61 points in the contest and the women placed eighth with 132 points. The hometown Badgers placed first in the men’s standings while seven medals from the Mustangs helped propel their women to team gold.
The team ended their season following their run at the Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.
Top finishers for the Marauders, Cowman and Barnes placed eighth in the time trials and second in the B finals for the men’s lightweight double. Taking on the lightweight single a few races later, Cowman recorded a time of 7:29.22 to place third in the B finals.
In the women’s lightweight fours, McMaster finished sixth in both the time trials and A finals. Competing in the lightweight doubles, the pair of Lee and Oresnik finished tenth in their qualifiers and fourth in the B finals, missing the top three by 40 milliseconds with a time of 7:32.55.
Despite the lack of hardware at nationals, the success at OUAs indicates great potential for both the men’s and women’s team next season. Continuing their novice recruitment and athlete development will help the rowing program to grow the roster’s depth and flourish for years to come.
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.
C/O Sum_of_Marc/Flickr
Adam van Koeverden: A McMaster alumnus, Olympic gold-medalist and MP
Adam van Koeverden is Milton’s current member of Parliament and has been since 2019, but he had not always planned to go into politics. In 2007, van Koeverden graduated as valedictorian from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology all while balancing an athletic career as Canada’s most successful kayak paddler.
During van Koeverden’s pre-teen life, he never would have considered himself an athlete.
“I wasn’t a very good athlete growing up; I was pretty bad at most of the early-indicator sports. . . I ran cross-country, track and field, downhill skiing and snowboarding, stuff like that. I liked riding my bike, but I wasn’t really into the games that most young boys would identify themselves as athletes by doing,” explained van Koeverden.
When he was 13, things would begin to change, as he joined the local canoe club in Oakville, Ontario. For van Koeverden, kayaking started as a way for him to stay busy after school and get his exercise. However, it quickly became his connection to his local community and a value that has remained with him ever since.
“When I went down to the canoe club, I found something new that nobody else did. I wanted to be the best at something and nobody else that I knew did kayaking. So on the first day, I was already the best kayaker I knew, which was novel. I stuck with it because it was exciting and different and I was up for the challenge,” said van Koeverden.
It was not until van Koeverden had been kayaking for a few years that he became interested in pursuing the sport competitively at a high level. He began racing competitively both in and out of Ontario, as well as nationally and internationally.
In 2004, van Koeverden qualified for the first time for the Summer Olympic Games in Athens and acted as the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies in addition to achieving gold in the K-1 500 metre race. He continued to race in the next three Summer Olympics, ending his Olympic career with four Olympic and eight world championship medals.
Despite not competing for McMaster’s varsity teams, he was still continuously supported by his peers, faculty and professors.
“I made it pretty clear to a bunch of my professors that I had big goals and I needed their support in order to achieve them. Professors like Maureen MacDonald, [Stuart] Phillips and Martin Gibala and many, many others, [including] Digby Sale, were there for me [and stood up for me] when I needed a little bit of help. [Joanne] Smith [did] as well — she was an administrator within the department,” said van Koeverden.
While he had plenty of support, van Koeverden stressed the importance of continuous learning.
“You need to become sort of a student of your sport, like a student of your craft a little bit, if you want to be successful. And I think what that means is different for everybody, but you can’t rely solely on coaches and administrators and other people to figure out how to get better. You’ve got to figure that out for yourself,”
Adam Van Koeverden
Van Koeverden is no longer paddling competitively, but he continues to make splashes as Milton’s MP. He advocates for youth and seniors alike, promoting active living while working towards an equitable future. Turning to politics was not an easy decision and it stemmed from his hope to remain an active part of Team Canada.
“I landed on politics because I saw a gap, to be honest. I saw a lot of politicians working hard, developing great policies and I didn’t see enough, from my perspective, on the priorities of physical health, and preventative medicine and recreation and sport in Canada,” said van Koeverden.
Having just been re-elected in the most recent election, van Koeverden is excited to continue working as Milton’s voice in Ottawa. For students with diverse interests, a sense of ambition and high hopes for themselves, van Koeverden is surely a great role model and a source of inspiration!
McMaster’s 5:30 a.m. athletes: the rowing team
C/o Yoohyun Park
Meet a McMaster sports team who finds themselves with very minimal media share — the rowing team. They were founded in 2002 and are composed of varsity, junior varsity and novice teams. The rowing team attends numerous regattas, the most recent one being the invitational regatta hosted by the University of Guelph.
With the lack of media attention comes a few problems for the team, the largest one being a lack of incoming members. Jacob Bresolin is the captain of the men’s rowing team.
“Definitely without having a lot of media coverage and not much attention, it’s hard to keep numbers up and keep people interested in rowing. And definitely it’s a big turn off when you tell them that we have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning,” said Bresolin.
Sarah Oresnik, the captain of the women's rowing team, further echoed this message, conveying the difficulty of member recruitment, especially through the pandemic.
“With COVID, we’ve had a couple of years of students graduating, so we lost a lot of our varsity members, and we didn’t have novice teams for at least a year,” said Oresnik.
The novice teams are made up of those who have an interest in rowing but have never rowed either competitively, or even at all.
“The way novice works is it’s for people who have never rowed before and have never rowed a race in their life before, and we train them for a year and teach them how to row a race. And then if they come back for another year, they have the chance to be on the JV or varsity team straight out of novice,” explained Bresolin
While joining the team may be easier, having the will to stay on it is much harder.
“I think keeping your cool and staying in time are the hardest parts about it,” said Bresolin. “And basically staying focused and keeping yourself from getting frustrated when things don’t go right. Especially when you’re in a boat with a lot of people, there’s a lot of factors that you can’t control.”
Oresnik agreed and explained her mentality regarding the sport.
“When you get frustrated, [you have to] focus even more, keep your head in the boat, follow the swing of the person in front of you,” said Oresnik.
However, according to Bresolin, these hardships build great relationships.
“Being at practice is another way that we actually build our team spirit and our team bond, just by rowing together every morning. The struggle builds friendships,” commented Bresolin.
"Being at practice is another way that we actually build our team spirit and our team bond, just by rowing together every morning. The struggle builds friendships."
Oresnik agreed, “Yeah, you’re all going through the same experiences, and it really brings you together.”
The rowing team’s next race is the weekend of the second of October, and will be hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines. In preparation for the event, the team will be heading to Trent University for an exhibitional race on Oct. 2.
“This weekend, we are heading up to Trent University to row a bit of a longer race, it’s called a head race. It’s about five kilometers down the Trent course. . . It cuts through the campus, so it’s a really cool race. There’s a lot of energy at this regatta, so it should be a fun time,” explained Bresolin.
