Crossley/Dame RC crew ready to take on world
Early on this spring, it became clear E.L. Crossley’s senior boys quad, made up of Liam Shapland, Lucas Riddle, James Cuff, Andy Nawrocki and coxie Dario Cirello, was something special.
“We knew during our spring time trials that it was our fastest and best boat,” Crossley coach Pat McNally said. “We encouraged them to get together for the world championships and time trial.”
The boys were receptive to the challenge.
“Junior worlds had been a goal for all of us for awhile but not collectively until this spring,” Cuff said. “We ran a time trial with our coach and pulled a pretty decent number in that and it was ‘You know what? Let’s go for it.’ We decided to go for it and it turned out well.”
The biggest challenge for the crew was obvious. It’s not easy to go from sculling in a quad with two oars to sweeping in a four with one oar.
“For them, it wasn’t but for a lot of athletes it would be very difficult. It was seamless,” McNally said. “They are extremely adaptable and all of our athletes are pretty adaptable. They handled that like it was no big deal and that just shows good they are. They have an excellent coxie and Dario is a great leader for them. He led them on the water and they just went out and did what they do in the high school program all the time.”
Cuff credited the program at Crossley and the Notre Dame Rowing Club for helping the boat make that smooth transition.
“We row with a lot of different people all the time. You are able to mesh quickly because you row with so many different people anyways.”
With only two or three practices under their belt, the four headed to the time trials in St. Catharines one day after winning Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association gold in the quad.
At the time trial, the boat didn’t know how it had done until it got off the water.
“We were so excited when we got the results because we knew we had put down a fast time and we had done the best we could,” Shapland said. “When we saw the results and they supported how we felt, it felt really great to be selected to this team. A lot of boats weren’t 100 per cent sure but we were told we would be nominated to the team.”
The nomination turned to reality officially on June 28 when it was announced the four would represent Canada at the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under 23, and Under 19 Championships (Mega Worlds) Aug. 18-25 in St. Catharines.
It will be the first time all five will wear a Canadian singlet. Shapland was selected to attend CanAmMex regatta in 2023 but he declined.
“It’s going to be great,” Shapland said. “My whole extended family has tickets to come watch and that’s really great. Our coach got 35 tickets to give out and there will be a lot of support for Team Canada, especially our boat. That means so much to me as a rower and an athlete to know I have support no matter what.”
The 17-year-old Fonthill resident is excited about the racing and the chance to meet people from around the world.
“Getting to interact with different countries and getting to know about different cultures is very exciting to me.”
Nawrocki, an 18-year-old Fonthill resident, can’t wait to compete at the world and is glad the event is being held in St. Catharines.
“We know the course and it is familiar water for us. It’s a great opportunity and I’m glad I get to do it with these guys who I have been rowing with my whole career.”
Cuff, an 18-year-old Fonthill resident, is ecstatic about the opportunity.
“It has always been a dream of mine to compete on the world stage. When I was younger, I played hockey and I wanted to do that but hockey didn’t really work out for me and I’m glad I get a chance to compete in something else I enjoy.”
Riddle, a 17-year-old Thorold native, describes the worlds as an amazing opportunity.
“I’m excited to represent the Maple Leaf and row for Canada. It is a little bit unfortunate that it is so close to home but it calms the nerves being so close and we are more familiar with the course.”
Cirello, an 18-year-old Fonthill native, appreciates being able to race close to home.
“It is really nice because we train on that water every day. It is comfortable to be there and it is great to represent Canada.”
Home course advantage should be a factor for the crew.
“For 2K courses like this, it is less of an advantage because it is straight but it is a lot more comfortable. When you are going to the course you are not stressing about what is the traffic pattern and what is it going to look like. It is similar to what is has always been,” Cirello said.
Knowing reference points on the course is also helpful.
“Since we have raced on this course many times, we know at this building is where we want to do this one piece and right at this marker is where we want to do this,” he said.
The crew has high expectations for worlds.
“We definitely want to get a medal but the goal is to go out, see how we can do against every boat and try and do the best that we can,” Cirello said. “We have put in a lot of practice and we know what we are capable of doing so doing the best we can is our goal. The results should be good.”
Nawrocki believes the boat’s dynamic gives it a chance to do something special.
“Everyone plays their own role and we work together really nicely.”
Having those defined roles is important.
“Everyone plays their own part in the boat and the culmination of that is what makes the boat run well and go fast.”
McNally believes the crew’s toughness will give it an edge.
“They aren’t going to be the biggest crew there but they are in extremely good condition and they have trained very hard.”
During the summer, the four was doing 30 kilometres a day at the Notre Dame Rowing Club.
“That is an enormous workload but they ate it up and loved every minute of it. They have proven their toughness time and time again and they are physically and mentally ready,” McNally said. “They love to row on the edge and push their physical limits. That is a rare quality in an athlete and all of them have it.”
The boat had been training six days a week during the summer and recently ramped that up to seven days.
“Usually we go on a morning row for two hours or four hours and an afternoon row for two hours,” Cirello said.
The crew is motivated to do well.
“When we first went out for the trial it was to see how we would do and stack up against other crews. Once we realized it was feasible in terms of what we could accomplish it got us going every day, putting in the hours and it was let us see how we can do against the world,” he said.
Riddle feels the boat has made lots of progress this summer.
“We got a lot more comfortable taking strokes and rowing together. We have been able to calm our nerves, relax a little bit, lengthen it out and get those good strokes in. One of our issues with previous races we have honed in the past week and we feel much better as a crew being able to row together fluently.”
He credits the coaching of John Ruscitti (E.L. Crossley) and McNally (Crossley and Notre Dame RC) for the boat’s success.
“They brought us from Square 1 of never having sat in a boat before and got us all the way to this point. They really helped us and came to us when we needed it. If we were struggling or didn’t want to do the sport any more, they would encourage us, show us the light on the other side and what we could strive to be.”
A sendoff for the four was held Thursday night at the Notre Dame Rowing Club.
“It was very important to do it not just for the guys to know that they have everyone at the club behind them and cheering them on every step of the way, but it also allows some of our junior athletes to look up and see how far these guys have come,” Notre Dame Rowing Club head coach Rhiannon Zahorchak said. “We have even invited some of our younger learn to row athletes who have been just introduced to the sport to come out and see them because they are on the national team. Even myself, I am super proud and thankful that I have had the opportunity to watch these guys train.”
It was announced Friday that 1,800 athletes from more than 60 countries will be competing at Mega Worlds.
“The calibre of athlete participation is excellent. Even though we were anticipating a greater number of countries to participate in the 2024 Mega Worlds, we are excited to welcome this world-class competition to St. Catharines,” world rowing chair Bill Schenck said.
