McGill rowing club to christen seven new boats on Saturday
MONTREAL - The McGill University Rowing Club will be christening seven recently-purchased boats in a ceremony to be held Saturday (Sept. 17) at 11 a.m. on the lower campus. Among the team's alumni expected for the ceremony are Canadian Olympians Doug Vandor and Henry Hering, as well as Robert Baxter, a founder of the modern-day club, which was rejuvenated back in 1976 after decades of inactivity.
These boats, which have been insured for a combined replacement value of $196,000, were acquired as a result of alumni donations, combined with team fundraising efforts and assistance from McGill Athletics & Recreation.
Among the vessels that will be named is a Vespoli Millennium women's eight, a Vespoli lightweight women's eight, two Vespoli men's coxed fours, a Fillippi lightweight men's double, a Hudson middleweight men's eight and a Vega lightweight men's single.
With these new acquisitions, the MURC doubled their fleet of boats from seven to 14. The MURC, which has an annual operating budget of $60,000, is now in a position to avoid renting equipment from other teams, thereby reducing future operating costs. Also, the team is now closer to the size and quality of equipment that other university clubs benefit from.
The last time a new boat was christened at McGill was in 2006 when a group of alumni purchased the "Red Wave", a Hudson Men's coxed four. Prior to that, the team held a christening ceremony in 2001 when a group of heavyweight men's alumni from the 1990's purchased the "Heavy Red", a Hudson men's eight.
Other special guests expected include Matteo Cendamo (McGill rowing alumnus and past president of Association Quebecoise d'Aviron), Andrew Howard (McGill rowing grad and coach), Michael Ross (current president of the team) and Emma Millson-Taylor (a McGill varsity athlete and current VP Alumni Affairs for the MURC).
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
514-398-1956 (Fax)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)