Klaudia Krisjane (Photo: Armando Tura / UVic Vikes)
OTTAWA (Nov. 10, 2024) - The Ravens have arrived safely back in Ottawa after a successful regatta away in Victoria, BC, attending the Canadian University Rowing Championships.
Each fall, Ravens Rowing endeavours to send a handful of their top athletes to compete against Canada’s most elite rowers at this highly competitive event. This year, CURCs were hosted by the University of Victoria at their home course - the infamous Elk Lake. The event is divided into two exciting days of racing; the Saturday is a time trial format, where a crew’s time is used to seed them into either the A-, B-, or C-final, occurring the following day. Supported by legendary coach Ed Fournier, the Ravens arrived in Victoria on Thursday, October 31 to begin their race preparations.
The Ravens performed well on their Saturday time trials with a strong showing in our women’s lightweight single. Rowing veteran Rosie O’Brien finished fourth in time, qualifying for the A- final in the women’s open weight double, where she and her partner Kendra Hurtubise demonstrated both grit and power with their fifth-place finish. In addition to the double, Hurtubise also represented the Ravens in the women’s openweight single, where she finished tenth.
As the only member of the men’s team to attend this event, Alex Ladage competed in both the men’s lightweight and openweight singles. Ladage finished in ninth place in each time trial race resulting in two B-final seedings. Finally, Klaudija Krisjane and Abby Dyer topped off Saturday trials coming eighth for the open women’s pair.
On Sunday, under the grey skies of beautiful British Columbia, the Ravens brought their strongest performances to the banks of the Elk Lake. Starting the day with Hurtubise's overall tenth-place finish in the open single followed by O’Brien’s fourth-place finish in the lightweight single meaning both women had maintained their initial positioning. O’Brien and Hurtubise also managed to hold onto their open double position, finishing fifth in the A-final.
Ladage put out two remarkable races in the open and light single dominating the B-final. Starting ninth in time for the heavy single, Ladage finished eighth. Alex was again seeded ninth in the light single but finished first in the B-final - not only improving his standing but placing fourth in time, indicating that he would have beaten two of the A-final competitors.
Finally, Krisjane and Dyer hung onto their rank in the open women’s pair, placing eighth overall with a close finish behind the University of Calgary.
As one of the smallest teams in attendance, the Ravens impressed on and off the water. Other teams would be hard-pressed to out-cheer the Ravens when supporting their teammates.
With the culmination of the 2024 racing season, the Ravens will now migrate indoors an begin winter training.
Ravens athletes Alex Ladage, Ethan Doherty, Kendra Hurtubise, Megan Elekes and Abby Dyer will be graduating in 2025. The team and Carleton Athletics wish you the best of luck in your future rowing endeavours!
