OTTAWA - A trio of Carleton Ravens will compete at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. Megan Elekes, Ainsley Salmon and Maya Poziomka will all take to the water when the rowing competitions begin on August 17 at the historic Royal Canadian Henley course.
Poziomka will row for New Brunswick while Elekes and Salmon will take the water with Team Alberta. After a few long seasons of training with few competitions, the twice-delayed games provide these athletes, and thousands of others from across Canada an opportunity to once again experience national competition. The opportunity to finally compete regularly isn't lost on Ainsley Salmon. "Personally, being able to go to Canada Summer Games and representing my province means a chance to finally show the hard work I’ve put in over the years."
As an incoming student-athlete Salmon hopes the experience will speed up her transition to interuniversity athletics. "An opportunity like CSG will really help me prepare for university, especially as a student athlete. It can help me further my time management skills, among others, and show me the importance of staying focused on goals. I hope to learn some lessons at CSG that I can carry with me as I move forward and join the Ravens community."
For Poziomka, the games will start the transition to university. "Transitioning from my high school environment to university life will yield new and challenging situations, filled with new responsibilities, new people, and exciting possibilities." Understanding the grand stage of the games, Poziomka hopes her participation in the event will only act as a launching point for her time with the Ravens. "The Canada Summer Games is an exciting way to start this chapter in my life. I hope to learn much more from this experience to help me succeed at Carleton, both in class and on the water."
Unlike her teammates, Elekes began rowing last year as a member of the Ravens novice team. She sees the games as the first major event of her career. "This opportunity is really the first big step in my rowing career, and the first time I will be recognized on a larger scale, not just club or varsity," she explained. "Going into my first year of varsity rowing, training with a group of great rowers this summer will better prepare me for the university season, hopefully setting me up to do well at OUAs and CUs."
For Ravens head coach Ed Fournier, the opportunity to see so many strong female rowers gaining major experience over the summer will only help the Ravens. "I am really excited to have three Canada Summer games athletes join the Ravens rowing team this fall," admitted Fournier.
"The women's team numbers were greatly reduced over the last 2 years because of athletes graduating and limited recruitment due to the pandemic." In fact, in 2021 the Ravens only featured one senior female rower, as Meghan Jolley took to the water solo. Fournier recognizes what this experience means for the rapid rebuild of the program. "These three athletes will bring experience and competitiveness to the program as we rebuild the women's team."
The Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games take place August 6 - 21 with rowers taking the water August 17 - 18 and 20 - 21.
