An all Vikes rowing pair is set to represent Canada at the World Rowing U23 Championships (WRU23CH) in what could be a significant stepping stone in their already decorated young rowing careers. 

Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk are heading to Racice, Czech Republic, from July 7 to 11, 2021, to compete alongside seven other crews representing Canada this summer. While this won't be the first time Edwards and Cronk have raced internationally for Canada, it will be their first time rowing the women's pair together. 

The University of Victoria teammates rowed as members of the women's four for the national under-21 development team at the Trans-Tasman U21 Regatta in New Zealand two years ago. At the time, Cronk had only been rowing for a few months.

Cronk grew up a competitive athlete and a sought-after high school recruit receiving a volleyball scholarship to the University of Toronto. After spending her rookie season training relentlessly to crack the starting line-up and feeling burned out and frustrated with the politics of the sport, Cronk made the difficult decision to walk away from varsity athletics. 

That break was short-lived when a couple of months later, at the U of T clubs day, she entered an erg test in hopes of winning a t-shirt. She won a lot more than a t-shirt, immediately turning heads and gaining an invite to join the novice rowing team. 

Early on, the 6'0" tall Ontarion possessed some natural abilities in the sport, evidenced by an impressive performance during her first RADAR week. RADAR week is a week of standardized testing set out by Rowing Canada, providing rowers and coaches with information to assess athlete's progress on the high-performance pathway. With a notable performance on the 2000m time trial, Cronk was now on the radar. 

"I had been training hard for volleyball, and I was already fit, so I had a good base going in. I'm also tall, so that helps. When my coach told me that my 2000m time would rank me high, I thought he was joking and laughed," said Cronk.
 
Cronk dove headfirst into the sport, getting attention from Rowing Canada's NextGen program designed to focus on rowers trending five to eight years from an Olympic/Paralympic podium performance. A rookie to the sport, she attended an RBC Training Ground event, kick-starting a career that now has her training in Victoria and attending a world championship. Current Vikes teammates and Olympians Cailiegh Filmer and Avalon Wasteneys who are heading to Tokyo this summer, followed a similar path. 

For the Vikes fourth-year veteran Edwards, it wasn't until university that she had even considered rowing for Canada. Getting her start six years ago with Port Moody's Inlet Rowing Club, a smaller junior crew, Edwards says it was the club's environment, which led her to fall in love with the sport.

"Coming to Elk Lake and seeing the national team practicing on the same water was a spark of inspiration for me. In the beginning, it almost seemed like a far-fetched daydream, said Edwards.

"Through university, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself. This meant being okay with risking failure because of the strides that came along with success. I've learned to set bigger goals like making the Canadian U23 team, and I back myself on the road to get there."

Unlike the selection for traditional world championship teams, due to COVID-19, the pair did not attend open tryouts but submitted a series of erg tests. They were among a group of athletes selected to complete a number of time trials testing in different boats, which led to selecting the fastest crews to represent Canada. 

The Vikes pair and former roommates are now looking forward to competing against the best in the world in Racice, CZ. The duo faces stiff competition coming up against the European champions from Greece and an experienced Romanian pair. 

"I'm just excited to be competing again. The fact that it's on the world stage gives an added level of meaning. It's been a long couple of seasons without competition, and now is our chance to show what we've been training for," said Edwards.

The under-23 events are a development pathway for younger athletes on their way to the senior level. This regatta is also a test race for the 2022 World Championships. 

"I'm most looking forward to gaining more international experience. The U23's is a pretty big deal as many of the women representing Canada right now started there," said Cronk. 

Edwards and Cronk take-off Sunday June 27. Stay tuned for an upcoming Instagram takeover as they show us around a day in the Czech Republic.

Rowing Canada Aviron also named Vikes men's rowers Haydn Thomas and Connor Attridge as non-travelling spares—a valuable experience coming into the 2021-22 season. 

Racing will be live-streamed on www.worldrowing.com.

In support of the U23 athletes, RCA has launched a fundraising campaign to reduce fees associated with international competition and ensure that athletes do not face financial barriers to representing Canada on the world stage. To make a contribution and help Canada's rowers focus on giving their all on the water, please visit fundrazr.com/2021RCAU23.