Vernon Youth Win Gold in Shawnigan Lake School Regatta

(Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia – May 11 th , 2025) Four Vernon rowers are bringing home gold medals from the Shawnigan Lake School regatta – one of the largest high school rowing events in the province. Among the over 550 boats competing on the 2000-metre course on Shawnigan Lake, six crews were from Vernon. They saw it all – from discouraging equipment failures and weather so bad that races were cancelled, to the sweet joy of victory for those who work hard. The U19 mixed double crew – Cole O’Connor and Sierra Munroe – crossed the finish line first at 7:34, leaving their closest opponent trailing by 12 seconds. Both athletes are joining university rowing programs next year. Munroe has been recruited by the University of Rhode Island, and O’Connor caught the sights of the University of Victoria. They will be joining five more Vernon Rowing and Dragon Boat alumni, who are currently rowing in university teams across the country. The day before, O’Connor also snagged a bronze medal in the U19 men’s single race – one of the most competitive events – finishing at 8:00. Munroe, on the other hand, suffered an unfortunate equipment failure and did not progress into the U19 women’s single final. The U17 crew – Peter Masys and Leo Middelkamp – were forced off the water on Saturday by high winds, along with their competitors. Their rescheduled race was organized in a rare timed final format, where they not only had to race their opponents in the same final but also needed to post the fastest time of all finals combined. Luckily, the boys pushed their hardest, because the 41-second gap they attained in their final at 8:17 gave them only a 2-second overall lead and, of course, a set of gold medals. Middelkamp also made the U17 men’s singles B final, where he finished 4th.