Something special in the water in Brome Lake

Aviron Knowlton Rowing Club (AKR) had cause to celebrate Sunday as two rowers who trained at the club competed on Team Canada at the final World Cup held in Rotterdam, Netherlands over the weekend. Gabrielle Smith, who trained at AKR, won the bronze medal in the Women’s Double Sculls with partner Andrea Proske. Another AKR rower, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, was a member of the Women’s Coxed Eight, which also won bronze at the competition.
“You go where the best training is,” AKR club secretary Rob Paterson said, explaining how the two women ended up in Brome Lake. In May of 2017, rowing coach Gavin McKay, originally from B.C. brought elite training to Brome Lake. “He’s here to put rowing on the map in Quebec,” Paterson said. Now in its third season, the elite training branch of the club boasts not only the two recent medalists Gabrielle Smith and Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, but also two junior rowers Anna Burnotte and Marilou Duvernay Tardif, who are competing in the Under 23 category on the Canadian World Championship team.
According to Paterson, Brome Lake has the potential to become a hub for Canadian rowing. See full story in the July 16 edition of the Brome County News.