The recipients of the 39
th annual RCA Excellence Awards, which recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions of Canada’s rowing volunteers, coaches and clubs, have been determined.
Recipients will be recognized at the 2019 Excellence Awards banquet taking place Saturday January 25, 2020, at the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario in conjunction with the 2020 RCA National Conference.
Calgary Rowing Club Junior Program Head Coach
Chris Davidson has been selected as
Coach of the Year due to his work leading numerous junior athletes to medals at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and the National Rowing Championships.
Kevin Boyes has been named
Volunteer of the Year for his work organizing safety boats at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association (CSSRA) regatta and helping create a database of qualified safety boat volunteers for the CSSRA and Canadian Henley regattas.
The
Umpire of the Year is
Bill Donegan, who has been a strong advocate for coastal rowing events in Canada and an umpire at local, provincial, national and international events. This past year he was also selected to the jury for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Argonaut Rowing Club has been chosen as the recipient of the
Club – Outstanding Achievement of the Year award, presented by Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., for its efforts to rebuild its facility after suffering damage from flooding. The rebuild has included making the facility fully accessible and raising $1.2 million through a now sold out community bonds program.
Brentwood Rowing’s
Brian Carr will receive the
Lifetime Achievement award. Carr has coached for 34 years, including 27 at Brentwood College, dedicating his time towards promoting the advancement of youth in rowing and helping to build the Brentwood Regatta, the largest single-school hosted high school sporting event in North America.
Hudson Boat Works will be recognized with the
John Anderson Sport Partner award for its long history of working with RCA and its significant support of Canada’s National Teams.
World Championship PR3 men’s pair gold medallists
Andrew Todd and
Kyle Fredrickson have been selected for the
Para Athlete of the Year award, with the
Senior Athlete of the Year award going to World Championship women’s pair bronze medallists
Hillary Janssens and
Caileigh Filmer.
Ivy Elling Quaintance has been named the
U23 Athlete of the Year and
Claire Ellison the
Junior Athlete of the Year.
Twelve individuals (listed below) are also being recognized for years of service to the sport of rowing in Canada with
Long Service Awards ranging in length from 15 to 50 years.
The 2019 President’s Award recipient will be revealed at the Excellence Awards banquet on January 25.
More information on the 2020 RCA National Conference.
More information on the RCA awards.
Excellence Award banquet tickets can be purchased here.
2019 Excellence Award Recipients
| Coach of the Year |
| Chris Davidson |
Calgary Rowing Club |
| Club - Outstanding Achievement of the Year |
| Argonaut Rowing Club |
| Volunteer of the Year |
| Kevin Boyes |
St. Catharines Rowing Club |
| Umpire of the Year |
| Bill Donegan |
Argonaut Rowing Club |
| Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Brian Carr |
Brentwood Rowing |
| John Anderson Sport Partner Award |
| Hudson Boat Works |
| Senior Athlete of the Year |
| Hillary Janssens |
University of British Columbia Rowing Club |
| Caileigh Filmer |
University of Victoria Rowing Club |
| U23 Athlete of the Year |
| Ivy Elling Quaintance |
Victoria City Rowing Club |
| Junior Athlete of the Year |
| Claire Ellison |
Halifax Rowing Club |
| Para Athlete of the Year |
| Andrew Todd |
North Star Rowing Club |
| Kyle Fredrickson |
University of Victoria Rowing Club |
| Long Service Awards – 50 Years |
| George Gage |
Leander Boat Club |
| Mel LaForme |
Leander Boat Club |
| Long Service Awards – 45 Years |
| Sandra Kirby |
Winnipeg Rowing Club |
| Long Service Awards – 40 Years |
| Swede Burak |
St. Catharines Rowing Club/Brock University |
| Tom Kent |
St. Catharines Rowing Club/Brock University |
| Long Service Awards – 35 Years |
| Linda Arnold |
Rowing BC |
| Daniel Aucoin |
Club d’aviron Terrebonne |
| Long Service Awards – 25 Years |
| Kurt Herman |
Ottawa Rowing Club |
| Long Service Awards – 20 Years |
| Jill Wurflinger |
Inlet Rowing Club |
| Bob Ralph |
St. Catharines Rowing Club |
| Craig Jollymore |
Kennebecasis Rowing Club |
| Long Service Awards – 15 Years |
| Meredith Petrychenko |
St. Catharines Rowing Club |
| Tony Zasada Memorial Fund Award |
| Claire Ellison |
Halifax Rowing Club |
| Jack Nicholson Coaching Bursary |
| Samantha Heron |
University of Victoria |
| Mary Rao |
St. Catharines Rowing Club/Brock University |
