At the start of November, the McGill Rowing Team hosted the Canadian University Rowing Championship (CURC) for the fifth time in program history. The event was held on the team’s home turf at the Montreal Olympic Basin. The course’s unique layout meant fans, volunteers, and the McGill Rowing Junior Varsity (JV) and Novice athletes could bike alongside the racers and cheer them on.
Women’s Rowing Captain Naomi Fandrich, U2 Engineering, alongside her partner, Kaitlin Puddy, U2 Science, placed fourth overall in the Women’s Open double sculls. The women’s team finished off the season ranked tenth overall. Fandrich explained how racing at home with McGill’s full team present at the CURC helped her performance in an interview with The Tribune.
“Usually, [universities] just send selected athletes [to Nationals] […], whereas we got to have the JVs and the Novices helping out,” she said. “It was really a big community thing.”
Fandrich added that McGill having the opportunity to host the CURC also highlighted the collaborative nature of Montreal’s rowing scene. McGill’s team trains at the Basin with other universities from Montreal and the Montreal Rowing Club.
“Even though we were hosting [individually], it felt like a shared effort,” she explained.
As Fandrich emphasized, the weekend was about much more than just rowing and podium finishes—it also reinforced the team’s close dynamic. The program’s supportive atmosphere is what makes the potentially difficult transition from McGill Novice to varsity crew smoother for athletes, Puddy highlighted.
“The transition to […] the varsity team is definitely hard,” she stated, in an interview with The Tribune. “There’s more hours to dedicate. It’s mentally a lot harder, but it’s really uplifting to be on a team. I think my teammates are what’s really most important for me.”
Puddy continued by sharing that her CURC success would not have been possible without support from her teammates.
“This sport really has shown me that you can always do things that you didn’t think you could,” she stated.
Beyond pushing each other on the water and in the weight room, the team also shares several pre-race rituals. The men’s and women’s crews each hold a team dinner the night before competition, reviewing race plans and locking in their focus for the next day. This cohesion shows when they get back on the water.
Jacob Lofaro, U4 Engineering, and teammate Patrice Légaré, U4 Engineering, captured gold for McGill in the men’s double sculls, marking McGill’s first gold in the doubles category since 2012. The pair were also named McGill’s Athletes of the Week.
Lofaro explained in an interview with The Tribune that his and Légaré’s strategy was straightforward: Start strong and take the lead early.
“We made a race plan to get out ahead in the very beginning, just so we could be in control of the race. We could pace it how we wanted, and if people wanted to challenge us, they had to be the ones to make the push,” Lofaro said. “During the race, it was just, ‘Let’s hold on, let’s pray and hope we can hold everyone off.’ And it worked.”
Building off of Lofaro’s remarks, Rowing Head Coach Stéphanie Marchand told The Tribune how proud she was of the team’s performance this season, especially against such strong competition. Looking ahead to next season, she hopes that making finals and earning medals becomes the standard for McGill Rowing—not the exception.
“I’m trying to create a space where it’s competitive, but it’s also incredibly healthy, and people are able to be there for each other and support each other,” Marchand said. “[The team has] so much potential, and we can achieve so many more podiums. Everyone trains, everyone is there, and everyone is year-round, training hard. I really wanted to bring the level of the team up, which we’re seeing. It takes time.”
