Vancouver Rowing Strategy

Strategies for promoting sport in our City
January 2011
Rowing
Inside this report:
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Athlete Development 3
Rowing
High Performance
3
Sport For Life
3
Events
7
Facilities
7
100 Year Plan
7
Current Situation
8
Sustainability
9
Successful Models
10
Sport Capacity
11
NE & SE False Creek
13
Burrard Civic Marina
13
Next Steps
15
Special points of interest:
 Over 120 Vancouver based
rowers have competed at
the Olympic, Paralympic,
Commonwealth and Empire Games
 Vancouver is the largest
Canadian city with suitable
water for rowing that
does not freeze in winter.
 There are 25,000 potential
rowers in Vancouver and
an immediate target audience of 1200 who are not
being served.
Rowing and Vancouver
Rowing is Vancouver’s oldest organized sport
with the Vancouver Boating Club having put
its oars in the water in 1886.
It has achieved success with over 120 Vancouver rowers having competed at an international level from World Championships to
Olympic, and Commonwealth Games. 2008
Olympic Gold Medalists Ben Rutledge (now
BC Provincial Coach) and Kyle Hamilton
learned to row on False Creek, as did 2010
Canadian Champion (bow seat in the Men’s
Pair) Rob Weitermeyer.
Rowing was the first sport to develop a Long
Term Athlete Development Plan of all National Sport Organizations and British Columbia is the first province to implement a strat-
Summary
egy to support that
model.
Vancouver’s shoreline is
highly amenable to rowing in both flatwater and
coastal variations. Failing
to act now on our final
waterfront opportunities
will result in lost futures
for this sport and the Van- Vancouver Sport
For Life Strategy
couver Sport Strategy.
Vancouver, of large Canadian cities, is uniquely suited to embrace rowing because of its environment, sport programming and its relationship to accessible nonfreezing water, as well as its rowing history.
Community & Recreation Centre.
Rowing is a sport that, for users, is comparably  Construction of support rooms and storage
for rowing and paddling at the Burrard Civic
priced to others in the City and requires a relaMarina.
tively small land based facility footprint than
most for the number of individuals it supports.  Resumption of row boat rentals on Lost
Lagoon and renewal of rowing machines in
Canadian Sport Centre Pacific has identified
the City’s Community Centres.
rowing as its number one performance sport,
and for any participant, it is the summer sport
that generates the most aerobic conditioning
for its practitioners.
 Stopping the further incursion of fill, pollution (including sewage and diesel fumes)
and marinas into Vancouver’s waterways.
However, rowing requires investment in infrastructure and improved waterfront access to
preserve and build its capacity. Specifically:
 Designation of the Paddling and Rowing
facility in North East False Creek as a community amenity.
 Installation of rowing specific docks for
launching and boat recovery in Vanier
Park.
Investment in rowing in Vancouver will leverage the $8 million investment made in Richmond, $1 million in Fort Langley and $20 million at Burnaby Lake as well as the relationship
with the Canada Sports Centre Pacific located
at the Creekside Community Centre.
 Completion of the previously agreed to
Rowing and Paddling Centre by Creekside
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Vancouver Sport Strategy
Rowing
Left: Vancouver Rowing Club in Coal Harbour
Below: St George’s Rowing Club and UBC in False Creek,
prior to their relocation to Richmond.
Bottom: The essentials of Rowing Canada Aviron’s Long
Term Athlete Development Plan.
Rowing
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Page 3
Long Term Athlete Development
The technical development of rowers requires a combination of science and understanding of team and personal motivation.
Rowing BC and Rowing Canada Aviron have
developed and implemented a system for
identifying and developing new talent. Stable
funding from various levels of provincial and
federal sources has resulted in success in
terms of developing the implementation
resources for this programming in BC.
Rowing was the first National
Sports Organization in Canada to develop a Long Term
Athlete Development Plan
Additionally in Vancouver, there are opportunities to grow rowing at the high school
age levels. Consistent with the Training to
Train and Learning to Compete groups, a
High School League project is already being
supported by 2010 Legacies Now, but because no suitable facilities in Vancouver exist
to leverage this program the City is missing out
on this program.
Vancouver can play an important role in starting
young rowers off in the right direction. Its potential role can be to support youth on their trip
to their personal success, as well as provide a
place for rowers of all ages to come together to
socialize and in competition.
Rowing is not a participant in the official School
Sport system and has no strategy to do so. Because the waterways do not generally conform
to school districts it is easier to base a catchment area on geographic rather than political
location and high school age participants therefore row with those at a similar development
stage rather than a similar neighbourhood.
High Performance
32 Canadian rowers
(slightly more than 1%
of all registered
competitive rowers)
went to the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games
and earned 17 medals
in 4 events.
Success in performance for sports represented at Olympic and Paralympic Games is
easily determined. Rowing is one of Canada’s
most prolific sport for medals. With 35 athletes (17 men and 18 women) competing in
male, female, heavyweight and lightweight
events, Canada brought home 17 medals at
the Olympics and 5 at the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008.
Given that there are only 2782 registered
competitive developmental rowers (Rowing
Canada Aviron 2010 statistics) this means that
1 in 80 competitive rowers went to the Olym-
pics.
High Performance rowing is possible in Vancouver, but primarily through leveraging the
infrastructure of other governments and organizations. Vancouver’s waterways are not
perfectly suited to high performance but they
can contribute athletes to the funnel that
supports it.
Sport Canada’s High Performance pathway
(see page 6) includes coaching, officiating,
administrating and volunteering and Vancouver can play a large role in this as the home to
many athletes.
Sport For Life
Learn to row lessons at the
Vancouver Rowing Club in
Coal Harbour.
Sport has to be engaging for the participants
to continue to enjoy being a part of it. To that
end, there are a social, educational and aesthetic components to rowing: when performed well it is a marvellous thing. It is also a
personal one: the competition is often against
yesterdays performance, not necessarily versus a competitor’s. That promotes people
rowing to their potential, and not being meas-
ured against others, if they so desire. This
reduces the barrier to entry for those unsure
of their abilities. Importantly, it allows team
mates to support each other at whatever
level they choose to participate at knowing
that their own results are independent of
their friends and colleagues.
(Continued on page 5)
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Vancouver Sport Strategy
Top: Rowing Canada Aviron’s Long Term Development
cycle for athletes with a disability.
Above: Paralympic events have boosted participation
internationally.
Right: Head Of The River Regatta, London England
Rowing
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Vancouver Sport Strategy
Page 5
Sport For Life—Continued
(Continued from page 3)
Rowing offers a low impact workout with a strong cardio
component. It can be performed by participants at any age,
with or without a disability. Adults learning the sport need
to be aware of the stages of athlete development of young
members and focus on the gaps in their own skills and abilities in order to progress and improve.
The following general comments from Dr Gabe Mirkin, a
respected US sports medicine physician give advice around
the effectiveness of sports such as cycling, rowing and cross
country skiing that rely on physical conditioning:
“The best sports for fitness are the ones in which
you exercise continuously, those that are least
likely to injure you and the ones you enjoy the most. You become fit by exercising vigorously enough to increase the circulation of blood. It makes no difference to your heart how you increase your circulation. The best sports for fitness use your
legs because the blood vessels in your legs are so much larger that you can circulate far more blood with your leg muscles.
Furthermore, arm exercises tire you earlier because most people have weaker arms.
Some sports require a great level of fitness just to start. For example, to jump rope, you must spin the rope more than 80
times a minute to keep it from tangling. Many people can't jump 80 times a minute. The safest sports are low-impact aerobics, walking, swimming and pedaling a stationary bicycle. Running causes lots of injuries, because the force of your foot
striking the ground can be three times your body weight, which can damage muscles and bones.
You are most likely to continue a lifelong fitness program if you pick an activity that you enjoy. However, sports that don’t
keep you moving may be fun, but they won’t make you fit. Most tennis players spend about 80 percent of their playing
time waiting for the ball; and golfers are usually required to ride in carts, even if they would prefer to walk.”
Left: 1984 design for boathouse at Granville Island.
Right: Pocock
Rowing Centre
oar storage and
boathouse
doors.
Top: rowers
aged 42 to 62
competing in
Seattle.
Page 6
Clockwise from top left:
novice adult rowers from
the Vancouver Rowing Club
participate at the BC Championships; UBC Women
practicing off of Granville
Island; view of the last regatta in False Creek—
March 2000; Sport Canada’s reasoning and process behind supporting Long
Term Athlete Development
plans; Pocock Rowing Centre’s boat storage.
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Rowing
Rowing
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Page 7
Events
False Creek has the capacity
to host long distance (5 km)
time trial events open to all
rowers. It could also host BC
Summer Games or recreational league events East of
the Cambie Street Bridge.
English Bay could support any
level of coastal rowing event
from recreational events to
World Championships
through support facilities at
Jericho Beach or Vanier Park.
Coal Harbour cannot support
any sanctioned invitational
competitions due to the
cramped waterway resulting
from impingement by developers and marinas.
International level events
held at Burnaby Lake, (such
as a FISA World Cup or Championship, World Masters or
FISA Masters regatta) would
generate overnight stays and
functions in hotels in the core
of downtown Vancouver.
Successful time-trial or “Head
Race” rowing events in Seattle routinely draw more than
3,000 competitors. Boston
has one that attracts 8,000
people from around the
globe.
Vanier Park can host both
coastal and flatwater rowing
events, while the Jericho
Sailing Centre can support
coastal ones.
Facilities
Rowing has three specific needs: water free of
obstacles, access to the water via sport specific
docks, boat storage facilities, and needs common to other sports: gym/workout areas, washrooms/showers/locker rooms, administration,
education and socialization space.
The expense of the equipment (1 person boats
cost approximately $8,000 and 8 person boats
approximately $30,000) generates communal
behavior. Rowing boats vary from 30 feet for
small boats to 60 feet for the biggest, while oars
are up to 13 feet long. This requires space plan-
ning to enable safe secure and efficient
storage, access and launching.
As an aerobic sport, participants also require showers and washroom facilities suitable for large numbers of participants arriving off the water at once. This is particularly
true for facilities that also cater to dragonboats each with crew of up to 24 people.
Coach boats, necessary to ensure safety on
the water, also require storage as their engines are highly valued by thieves.
100 Year Plan
Over 5,000 people represented by 8 or 9 clubs
operating from Jericho Sailing Centre, Vanier
Park and in North East and South East False
Creek, in conjunction with Coal Harbour, and
large recreational youth and adult programs
complement excellent representation of local
athletes on our national rowing team.
Coastal rowing World Championships are held in
Vancouver and respected Head Races (time-trial
events) are held in False Creek. A strong high
school rowing league operates in False Creek
and an adult learn to row program continues to
flourish in Coal Harbour along with the largest
coastal rowing program in North America in
English Bay.
Those involved in rowing are taught the
value of communities and participate in
civic process as leaders, creators and respected members of society.
Rowers row to the best of their ability in a
safe and supportive environment, whether
that is in a development pipeline to UBC
and the National Team, a high school
championship or on their own while exercising on a rowing machine somewhere in
the city.
A fully loaded rowing
trailer delivering boats
made in Canada
FISA World Masters
Regattas attract up to
3500 competitors from
around the world and
have generated up to
$100,000 for the host
club.
Organizations involved
in rowing in Vancouver:
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Rowing
Current and Recent Situation
The following groups currently row in Vancouver: Vancouver Life Guards, Vancouver Rowing Club, False Creek Rowing Club, Club Locarno and the Vancouver
College Rowing Program (which includes girls from Little Flower Academy).
Top: students from Vancouver College Rowing
program in False Creek.
Bottom: Equipment maintenance and preparaAll of the groups above are operating on their own merits without assis- tion in Vanier Park by Vancouver College stutance from government operating grants with the exception of the Van- dents.
couver Parks Board Lifeguards. The Parks Board lifeguards use rowing
boats made by Whitehall of Victoria. Club Locarno is developing coastal
rowing programs in English Bay through the Jericho Sailing Centre
which has both the capacity and long term viability to serve a large
community of off shore rowing participants.
Vancouver College operates their programming from a less than optimal fenced in area near Vanier Park at the entrance to False Creek
where they are subject to periodic thefts even as they have developed
young rowers like Anthony Jacob who recently competed at the World
Championships.
The Vancouver Rowing Club operates learn to row programs for adults
and youth, as well as developmental programs for participants in those
programs. In recent years a number of the junior rowers have received
full scholarships to universities in the United States. The club is also an
umbrella organization hosting other sports such as yachting, rugby and
field hockey.
The False Creek Rowing Club was set up in response to the opportunities that have presented themselves in terms of the South East False
Creek developments resulting from the Creekside complex. It is composed of 2 past presidents of Rowing BC, 2 Olympians (including Canada’s first gold medalist in the sport), 2 Order of Canada recipients, the
first Executive Director of Rowing BC and a number of others with long
ties to the local rowing community.
The following groups used to row out of Vancouver and have moved to other
municipalities: UBC, Thunderbird Rowing Program, St George’s School Rowing
Program and Crofton House School rowing program.
Due to a lack of facilities for rowing and paddling in False Creek
(primarily equipment storage, showers, congregation and education
space) at Burrard Civic Marina, when the opportunity arose for UBC to
relocate to Richmond with that municipality’s support, most of these
groups moved there, with Crofton relocating to Burnaby Lake instead.
The following Vancouver schools (at a minimum) have students which row from the Vancouver Rowing Club: Magee Secondary
School, Point Grey Secondary School, Lord Byng School, Van Tech Secondary School, York House School.
Previously Magee and Point Grey had rowing programs that rowed in Coal Harbour in years gone by. Currently students
from these schools are joined by others from West Vancouver, Richmond and Delta at the Vancouver Rowing Club.
Arguably, the rowing machines at Community Centres, private and public gyms also represent participation in the sport. St
George’s School near West 29th & Dunbar is host to the Western Canada Indoor Rowing Championships each spring with competitors coming from the National Team, the university system, club and school groups, and groups associated with fitness such as
physiotherapy clinics and personal trainers clients.
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Page 9
Sustainability
The Vancouver Rowing Club was established in 1886 and it remains strong as it has evolved to suit the needs of its community.
From a high performance perspective, the sport has been in every Olympic Games and it remains successful and consistent for
Canada in terms of medals: 38 in 16 Olympic Games.
Club Development Metropolitan areas with the environmental capacity for rowing have a rough guide of 1 rowing club per
100,000 inhabitants. London England (population 7.5 million) has 94 clubs, metro Boston, Massachusetts (population 4.5 million)
has 34 clubs. Metro Seattle (population 3.4 million) has 25. Victoria CRD (population 345,000) with 8 clubs is indicative of smaller
towns that can have ratios closer to 1 per 3000 people (Shannon, Ireland population 17,000 with 6 clubs).
Vancouver has 4 active clubs although Metro Vancouver has 16. On this basis, Vancouver can support 6 rowing clubs and Metro
Vancouver’s 2.1 million people: a further 5.
Pricing Models vary, but on average, Canadian rowing clubs tend to charge an amount equal to $65 to $100 per month. There are
clubs that charge less but are completely reliant on volunteers which proves to be problematic with large clubs. This compares favourably with soccer (approximately $40 to $90 per month) and little league baseball (approximately $50 to $75 per month), particularly when accounting for rowing clubs having to maintain a fleet of boats and club houses.
Cash Flow It is interesting to note that publically accessible rowing clubs do not receive operating grants from any municipality in
BC. Many municipalities and other levels of government have invested in capital items, but not for the purposes of operating the
programming at a club level.
Programming Victoria and North Vancouver provide examples of successful clubs with strong high school leagues and youth rowing programs. In the fall, high school students participate in Train to Train (see page 2, Long Term Athlete Development model diagram) programs. Those willing to progress further join youth programs, and adults progress up through a similar system.
Financial Support is available through groups such as Kidsport and Direct Access Grants. At the present time rowing groups do not
take advantage of these programs: they are not guaranteed and wealthier parents often tend to support the whole team. Private
schools recognize the benefit of team dynamics and the lessons learned from rowing and pull students from many neighbourhoods, and clubs that have participants from a number of different areas (possibly through a sports academy model) are more
likely to maintain their viability in the face of changing economics and income distribution.
Educational Support Title IX, a program to ensure equal gender access to sport in the United States has resulted in the equivalent
of 1900 full women’s rowing scholarships at universities and colleges that receive public funding. This has led to a large number of
Canadian youth attending US universities due to
this country’s success with sport development
but lack of financial support at domestic post
secondary institutions. As a result, investing in
rowing by youth and parents may reduce the
cost of post secondary education and increase
the opportunities that are otherwise financially
unavailable.
Local Management: another important observation is that rowing clubs must be locally and
independently run. The distinct lack of success
that organizations trying to operate multiple
centre s have experienced indicates that a
strong local understanding and relationship to
neighbouring and regulatory bodies is crucial
for the long term viability of the programming.
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Vancouver Sport Strategy
Rowing
Successful Models to Follow
The Jericho Sailing Centre, home to coastal rowing, stand up paddleboard, sail-boarding, kayaking, outrigger canoe, and sailing (for
people with and without disabilities) represents an outstanding example of groups of like minded participants coming together in
sport. With sufficient membership, they are able to hire professional staff and to operate well run programs in a facility that is ultimately owned by the City of Vancouver but is operated independently from it.
It contains the following essential elements:
Access to the water in a safe and protected environment.
Appropriate and secure equipment storage for sports equipment,
safety needs and materials—especially those requiring protection
from the sun’s rays (especially advanced plastics and carbon fibre).
Communal use of socialization spaces, including public access to
the licensed café allowing for congregation of like minded individuals and also providing an additional revenue source for the centre.
Sufficient and accessible space for education and administration
purposes as well as repairs to difficult to move equipment.
Accessible lockers, showers and changing rooms for the centre’s
users with bathrooms available to all visitors.
The following boathouses have embraced these same items over the years
in their own way: UBC Boathouse in Richmond, BC; Community Rowing
Boathouse in Boston, MA; Green Lake Small Craft Centre in Seattle, WA
(operated by the Seattle Recreation Department); the Gorge Rowing and
Paddling Centre in Victoria; and the Oklahoma City Boathouse, OK which
has transformed that city’s waterfront into a place to be, as opposed to be a
place to be away from.
Lessons from all of these sites, and also from the Vancouver Rowing Club
have shown that for sport, and rowing in particular the following needs
must be accounted for: socialization (by adults and youth together), equipment storage, education, administration, off-water workout/gym space,
repair space, safety, changing rooms and first aid locations and space
(particularly washrooms) accessible to the community at large.
Top: Community Rowing Inc of Boston MA.
Middle and Bottom: Jericho Sailing Centre in Vancouver.
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Sport Capacity
Market
4.3% of the US population aged 16 or older participated in rowing, 9.2 million people. This is more than the number of participants
in kayaking (3.7% or 7.9 million), sailboarding or windsurfing (0.8% or 1.7 million), or cross country skiing (3.8% or 8.1 million). This
is according to the US Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) National Survey of Recreation and the Environment Summary
Report #1, version 13 survey on “American’s Participation in Outdoor Recreation” conducted between July 1999 and July 2002,
4.3% of Vancouver’s population of 578,000 (2006 Census) would result in a rowing population of 24,854 people. This is not feasible given the resources available in terms of waterways available for flatwater rowing. Coastal rowing is another matter but that
sport is still in early stages of development in Vancouver.
Rowing Australia Ltd.’s Strategic Plan 2009—2013 indicates that its membership is approximately 0.177% of the population. Rowing Ireland’s Strategic Plan “To 2012 and beyond” indicates that club membership registrations with their national sport bodies
represent the actual number of rowers by approximately 46%. Sport England, indicated that 0.15% of the adult population rowed
in the previous week through a comprehensive survey conducted on “Active People Survey” from October 2007 to October 2009
(which includes results taken in the winter time when participants are not on the water).
North Vancouver had 0.24% of its population rowing out of the overcrowded boathouse at Deep Cove and registered with our governing body. In Victoria, 0.24% of the Capital Regional District residents are registered with Rowing Canada Aviron. Again, overcrowded facilities restrict further growth although that is being addressed to some degree at Elk Lake largely through a grant from
the Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Grant program.
0.24% of Vancouver’s residents results in a hard target market of 1360 rowers. Between False Creek, Coal Harbour and the Jericho
Sailing Centre, this number is easily feasible and sustainable. The Vancouver Rowing Club routinely turns away prospective members due to a lack of capacity, particularly since Thunderbird Rowing Centre stopped programming for over 640 participants when
they relocated to Richmond.
In July of 2007, 198 Vancouver residents were reported as members of Rowing Canada Aviron, the sport’s national governing body.
This leaves a gap of approximately 1200 individuals that should be rowing, but are not.
Geographic Potential
In terms of rowing, Vancouver has both protected (flat) and unprotected water. The former is in False Creek, Coal Harbour and Lost
Lagoon. The latter is anything in English Bay.
Lost Lagoon could be home to rental row boats, similar to Whitehall Row Boats used by the Vancouver Parks Board’s Lifeguards.
This would provide opportunity for rowing in a very comfortable setting and without much guidance or instruction.
False Creek has the greatest immediate opportunity: in the centre of the city, surrounded by residential areas, accessible by public
transit, this represents an excellent field of play. Its flat waters are at times augmented by flat water West of the Burrard Street
Bridge allowing the sport to project outwards from False Creek.
Coal Harbour is highly utilized by the rowing community already and operates a successful Learn To Row program for adults but
are restricted in terms of the number of users due to the small and shrinking navigable channel.
English Bay represents a new opportunity in terms of Coastal or Offshore Rowing. Current rowers from the Jericho Sailing Centre’s
Club Locarno and potential users in False Creek can project into rough waters in boats designed for that purpose. The North American Market is untapped and undefined at this point and further study is required to determine how to grow this aspect to the sport
as it has the potential to provide the highest long term involvement, based on European experiences.
The Southern coastline along the Fraser River is home to many commercial operations and is not appropriate for rowing. Although
the UBC Boathouse is located on the middle arm of the Fraser which is home to seaplane operators but not many other users.
The shore off UBC is inaccessible or unprotected from the Gulf of Georgia making it hard to launch or recover boats, particularly for
new participants.
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South East and North East False Creek
The City of Vancouver has contracted engineering firm Moffatt
and Nichol with respect to bid PS10066 for “Consulting Services
for the Design and Construction of Non-Motorized Facility and
Ferry Terminal” in the amount of $174,713.
This work would complete the original intent of the building of
the Creekside Community and Recreation Boating Centre as it
was to have designed. Due to budget compromises and design
changes after consultation, there is no dock or boat storage
facility. The project above needs to support a program that
supports the watersport community, in particular a high school
program with several hundred young and developing rowers.
some programming, namely rowing for people with disabilities.
With Vancouver’s proximity to the ocean, the field of play
comes free of charge. Compared to the cost of construction of
ice rinks ($10 million each: Killarney/Trout Lake 2006-2008 Capital Plan) or pool replacements ($19.5 million: Percy Norman
Pool in the same plan) this presents a huge benefit as the remaining costs reflect only the investment in socialization, capital equipment, washroom, and storage spaces. Leveraging the
existing designated or post industrial space will not impact on
other plans for the False Creek area.
Repair and workout space, along with secure safety/coach boat
storage as well as sufficient shower facilities to augment the
ones onshore need to be included in the design. Access for
people with disabilities is important, as is the ability to wash
and maintain equipment to prevent deterioration due to the
salt water. Vertical storage for 13’ oars promotes high ceilings
and the ability to efficiently stack lightweight rowing boats high
upon each other.
Suspected costs are approximately $4.5 million to complete
this project, but the engineering firm has not communicated
with the rowing or sport community as to their needs. South
East False Creek represents the best of all options for the rowing community, followed by North East False Creek.
With respect to North East False Creek, the rowing and paddling centre that has been mandated by City Council in the Official Development Plan (False Creek North) is not listed as a
community amenity and is therefore unable to access municipal funds, although the sole purpose of the facility is to provide
service to all. The dragon boat community has indicated that
they would like to facility share with the rowing community on
Top: Lake Washington Rowing Club
(Seattle, WA) boathouse.
Above: Rowing machines at Pocock
Rowing Centre (Seattle, WA)
Left: UBC Boathouse floating on the
Fraser River in Richmond, BC
Rowing
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Burrard Civic Marina
Currently the western edge of the marina is
home to dragonboats in storage, Outrigger Canoes, kayaks, canoes and rowing boats.
Burrard Civic Marina and the Vanier Park Boat
Launch need several upgrades to bring them up
to a level where they could host events or more
regular participation opportunities.
The immediate need is to upgrade the rowing
launching facilities. Rowing docks can be used by
all paddlers as they float low in the water, but
rowing boat construction prevents use of regular
“high floating” powerboat and sailboat docks.
Equipment storage: concrete shelters under
the area used by the Bard on the Beach
tents, or a replacement of the existing compound with a proper structure would provide an excellent and durable location to
protect delicate rowing and paddling equipment. It must also provide locations for
washrooms/changing rooms/showers/
lockers for watersport users. Additional
space for education and socialization purposes is critical.
Finally, establishing the western terminus of
the False Creek electric streetcar line under
or near the Burrard Street Bridge would
improve public access to this facility.
Clockwise, from top right: examples of rowing specific docks,
current Vanier Park rowing boat
launching, Burrard Civic Marina
dragonboat storage, Burrard
Civic Marina Rowing boat storage, preferred layout of rowing
boat launch floats.
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Creating Opportunities For The Future
Clockwise, starting from top left:
2009 Coastal Rowing Championships,
Plymouth England; Head of the
Charles, Boston MA (2 photos); Girls
8+, Vancouver Rowing Club; Head of
the River, Nicomekl Rowing Club, Surrey BC; Beijing 2008 OIympics, Men’s
8+; Community Rowing boathouse,
Boston MA; Lake Washington, Seattle
WA; 4 men in a boat on the Sunshine
Coast, BC; Winning coxswain going for
a swim, Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Rowing
Vancouver Sport Strategy Page 15
Next Steps
Capital Items
Administrative Process
2011
Designate the rowing and paddling centre indicated in the
False Creek North Official Development Plan as a community
amenity and therefore eligible for Community Amenity Credits
to match the funds raised by the dragonboat community.
Vanier Park
Install rowing docks at Vanier Park suitable for the launching of
rowing boats and for crew loading of outrigger canoes, kayaks
and dragonboats. These docks will be used for day to day use
by existing users and for special events and competitions. The
installation of these docks are not to interfere with existing sail
and power boat use. Approximate cost $100,000
Burrard Civic Marina
Create a strategy to replace and increase the number of indoor
rowing machines in use at community centres while certifying
staff as instructors.
Permit the operation of row boats for public rental on Lost
Lagoon, restoring the service that existed in the 1950’s.
Create changing, washroom, locker, meeting room., workshop
spaces for existing BMX, paddling and rowing community. Approximate cost: $500,000
2012—2014 Capital Plan
Creekside Community & Recreation Centre Boating Facility
Complete the non-motorized human powered boating centre
in such a way that it can support the on water activities of a
rowing community of 1000+ rowers and an unknown number
of paddlers with equipment and storage, and gym/education/
washroom spaces. Approximate cost: $4,500,000
2015—2017 Capital Plan
Vanier Park/Burrard Civic Marina Paddling and Rowing Centre
Create structure for protected storage of paddling and rowing
equipment and socialization, workshop, education and administration space for existing paddling and rowing community in
addition to the changes previously listed. Approximate cost:
$4,500,000
Top: Canadian National Men’s 8+
Team training on Elk Lake in Victoria
BC.
Above: Community Rowing boathouse,
Boston, MA
Left: Rowing machines at Crash B Rowing Machine Competition, Boston MA
Page 16
Vancouver Sport Strategy
Rowing
Strengthened Interaction
Physical Literacy
Active For Life
Enhanced Excellence
Quality Facilities
Sport Hosting
This report has been created by Simon Litherland, Chair of the Facilities Committee for the Vancouver Sports Network with feedback from members of the rowing clubs in Vancouver, Rowing BC, Rowing Canada Aviron, the rowing program at the University of
British Columbia, Brentwood College School, and individuals from rowing programs in the United Kingdom, the United States and
other parts of British Columbia and Canada.
Vancouver Sport Network
The Vancouver Sport Network is an
advisory group funded by a grant
from the City of Vancouver and the
Vancouver Parks Board in order to
provide advice in regards to sports
matters to the City.
The members of the Executive and
other committees are representatives
of the sports associations, clubs and
participants operating within the
City’s boundaries and are supported
by Darren Peterson, Vancouver Parks
Board staff member.
Ajay Patel, Chair
Greg White, Vice Chair
Simon Litherland, Facilities Committee Chair
Michelle Collens, Sport Hosting Committee Chair
Sharon Urton, Physical Literacy Committee Chair
Cheryl Taunton, Enhanced Excellence Committee Chair
Geoff Malmgren, Active for Life Committee Chair
Mark Vuilliamy, Member at Large
Tom Walker, Member at Large
The Vancouver Sports Network Execu- www.vancouversportnetwork.ca
tive Committee is: