There won't be any more competitions in 2020 but the Nanaimo Rowing Club may be able to return to Long Lake during Phase 2 COVID-19 restrictions. (NRC Facebook)

By Dan Marshall

Row Your Boat

Nanaimo Rowing Club eyeing partial return

Jun 4, 2020 | 11:59 AM

NANAIMO — There haven’t been any oars in the water at the Nanaimo Rowing Club since the beginning of March but there is optimism activities can soon resume.

Phase Two conditions for physical distancing set out by the BC Government could be met with some modifications according to coach Craig Rutherford, if governing bodies and the province establish clear guidelines.

“It will be a different way of operating. We’d be in small groups in single boats only,” Rutherford said.

The plan is to slowly start bringing a small number of rowers onto Long Lake. New protocols for cleaning and sanitizing any equipment that has to be shared will be crucial steps.

From a coaching standpoint Rutherford is used to instructing groups of 15-20 and now those groups will be limited to five or six.

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“It’s going to take a lot more time and a lot more manpower,” Rutherford explained, citing the need for more coaches once the new normal begins to take shape.

For athletes who would normally be preparing for a number of spring and summer regattas, 2020 is going to be much different.

Rutherford said it’s a matter of treating the here and now as a preparation phase rather than a competition phase.

The next competitions won’t happen until 2021, including the internationally renowned Royal Canadian Henley Regatta which was officially cancelled on June 1.

2020 will mark just the fourth time in 139 years the regatta won’t happen and the first time since 1918.

Megan Duifhuis, Riley and Megan Knight, William and Peter Rogers, and Michael and Markus Jonah-Bigg represented the Nanaimo Rowing Club at the 2019 RCHR in Ontario.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77