All Sections All Sections Winnipeg Free Press Subscribe
Articles Read Your Balance +tax

April 16, 2021

Winnipeg
10° C, A few clouds

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The StarNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Canstar Community News
  • The Herald
  • The Lance
  • The Sou'wester
  • The Metro
  • The Times
  • The Headliner
  • Sports
  • Correspondents
  • Columns
  • Contact Us
  • Publications
  • Building Unity: Our Community Centres

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

New coach brings international experience to rowing club

By: Avi Saper
Posted: 4:52 AM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2011

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

The average Winnipegger may not know it, but the little rowing club tucked away near the Norwood Bridge has a big-time international reputation.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/3/2011 (3677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The average Winnipegger may not know it, but the little rowing club tucked away near the Norwood Bridge has a big-time international reputation.


That’s why Brent Figg jumped at the chance last fall to move his family here from Cincinnati to take over as the Winnipeg Rowing Club’s director of coaching.

Brent Figg is making himself at home at the Winnipeg Rowing Club, where he has taken over as director of coaching.

PHOTO BY AVI SAPER

Brent Figg is making himself at home at the Winnipeg Rowing Club, where he has taken over as director of coaching.


"There’s a really strong tradition here," said Figg, who had been in charge of the rowing program at the University of Cincinnati, where he first got into the sport competitively while on a soccer scholarship.
"It’s been around since 1881. The club has a really incredible history of success, and there’s a great community surrounding the club, which is something you can’t buy."


Considering Winnipeg’s geographical location, Figg said the list of rowers who have gone on to international success from the WRC — Janine Hanson, Jeff Powell, Meghan Montgomery — is phenomenal.


One of his main focuses beginning this year — once the club has weathered any potential flooding problems — will be to develop a future crop of high-performance rowers while also ensuring that the club will always be welcoming to people more interested in rowing as a purely recreational pursuit.


Rowing is a rare sport in which the majority of elite athletes don’t begin competing until their late teens or early 20s. With that said, Figg is always looking for talented athletes from other sports who are looking for a change.


"Our club can offer opportunities to a lot of different types of people," said Figg, an Osborne Village resident. "Maybe they’ve suffered a concussion or another injury. We’re seeing a lot of recruitment of athletes who are saying there are no other opportunities for me in my sport, and rowing has a late-blooming period."


At the younger end of the spectrum, the club is planning two-week summer camps for kids in Grades 6 to 8 that will be as much about river awareness and safety as basic rowing skills.


Figg’s path from college in Cincinnati to coaching in Winnipeg was anything but a direct route.


In 2003, wanting to expand his knowledge of the sport, he phoned a boat manufacturer in Adelaide, Australia, and asked if he could intern to learn how shells are produced. In Australia he lived with a national team rower with high-level coaching experience.


Two years later, while studying German in Frankfurt, he made a few extra Euros by working at a local rowing club.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up


"To interact with the worldwide community of rowers is one of the amazing things about the sport," Figg said.


Rowing has even taken Figg to Asia, where he coached the U.S. boys’ quad team at the 2007 junior world championship in Beijing.


"You’re starting to see more and more diversity in the sport," he said. "Traditionally it’s been strong in Europe and North America, but I think we’re seeing it branch out to different places."


Now that Winnipeg is his home, Figg has big plans for the WRC. The club’s current membership is between 200 and 300, but he doesn’t see any reason why that can’t be much greater.


"Six hundred to 700 would be fantastic four or five years down the road," he said. "People should find out how good it is to experience Winnipeg from the water."

avi.saper@canstarnews.com

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top