What’s happening in New Brunswick

By Domestic Development Officer-Sport Development

Jennifer Parfitt 

After visiting the clubs in Nova Scotia I had the opportunity to carry on to New Brunswick. This is yet another beautiful part of Canada to row in. The Atlantic Provinces are truly great rowing venues for everything from touring, to open water rowing and of course traditional rowing. New Brunswick has three clubs: Fredericton Rowing Club, Two Rivers Rowing Club and Kennebecasis Rowing Club.

My first stop was at Fredericton Rowing Club. Pat Cody, New Brunswick’s provincial coach and technical director met with me after a junior rowing practice at the club, which is located on the St John River. Only weeks earlier bad flooding brought water within inches of their boathouse. Luckily nothing was damaged and everything looked impeccable (which Pat told was due to a city wide clean up!).

The club itself has a facility above it for meetings and small social gatherings and is shared with a canoe kayak outfit. It is right on a chip pathway that takes you to downtown Fredericton and a perfect running opportunity for those windy days. I was able to facilitate another Learn to Row workshop for up and coming coaches in New Brunswick and was really impressed with the juniors Pat was coaching; many took the Learn to Row workshop and were very active with the club.

The St John River at Fredericton can accommodate numerous rowing shells across it and is a fantastic regatta site. Currently the club is trying to get more of the community involved with rowing. This is a bit of challenge due to water conditions for beginners or recreational rowers. I offered the idea of pontoons for the boats which may give the added stability a beginner or recreational rower needs. It will be interesting to see if this works…

The St John River runs right by the Two Rivers Rowing Club in Oromocto. Pat takes his crews there once a year via the river on an “endurance tour”, which ends in a fantastic BBQ hosted by Two Rivers Rowing Club coach, Tim Sears!

Two Rivers Rowing Club is a short half hour drive from Fredericton however; I am told the row between the two cities is longer though! This club is quite a lot smaller than most clubs in Canada. In June there were two members, Tim Sears and New Brunswick president Florence Burte! The support from the community is unbelievable though…even the road signs have pictures of rowers on it! The club has one bay, long enough to house 4+’s. The other side of the building is a kayak rental however, the city owns the building and is considering having all of the building for rowing shells in the future.

As the club name indicates, there are two choices of rivers to row on…the Oromocto River or the St John River. The St John is typically windier but the Oromocto River is sheltered and calm. I tried to convince Tim to get more tours going on the river, which leads to French Lake 20 km down. Furthermore, there is a vineyard not too far away either, a perfect stop for any touring enthusiast! Two Rivers RC would also be an ideal spot for a headrace with plenty of protection and lots of bridges! It is a challenge for Tim to get more members involved. I hoped through running an event like a headrace or tour that more exposure to rowing would be seen by the community plus offer additional funds for Two Rivers.

My final stop was in Rothesay, New Brunswick home of the Paris Crew! The Kennebecasis rowing club is on a tidal river that apparently has its challenges wind wise too. Craig Jollymore, local teacher, NB treasurer and coach extradonaire met with me.


Kennebecasis Rowing Club, which is very proud to have had Ed Winchester as a member (I could tell from the posters and a signed unisuit of Ed on the walls of the clubs) has a three bay building with Kayaks in the end bay. The club has done a fantastic job with establishing a great fleet of boats. Challenges for Kennebecasis lie around having enough umpires to help with regattas as well as enough coaches in general. (hmm where have I heard that before??!). Hopefully through the Learn to Row workshops there will be more coaches available in New Brunswick. Craig had some interesting and insightful suggestions for consideration for both coaches and umpires recruitment and retention. It would be fantastic to see both groups grow in New Brunswick.

It is always interesting to see the different ways clubs do things and the common issues nationwide that all clubs have. So far the Maritimes had been incredibly hospitable to me I was looking forward to my next stop on PEI…stayed tuned for more there!