New Ukrainian rowers taking on distinctly St. John’s tradition

A team made up of six Ukrainian newcomers to Newfoundland will compete in this year’s Royal St. John’s Regatta. (Garrett Barry/CTV News)

A group of six Ukrainian newcomers to Newfoundland and Labrador are trying their hand at a distinctly St. John’s sport: fixed-seat rowing.

The team, organized by the Ukrainian National Federation group in St. John’s, have trained all week for the upcoming Royal St. John’s Regatta, that will be held Wednesday if wind conditions are favourable.

“It’s about traditions, because, for us, it’s really hard now,” said Irina Pegasina, one of the driving forces behind the team. “We live in (a) new country, we start trying to integrate in this country, and we want to be involved in this tradition.”

“It’s easy to watch, but when you start rowing, it’s a little bit hard,” added Viktor Shavliuk, one of the six brand-new rowers who make up the team.

The team and the Ukrainian National Federation group believe it’s the first time an all-Ukrainian contingent has raced on a team in the St. John’s regatta.

The group is led by coxswain and coach Megan Willette. They’ve been practicing, on average, five times a week since the beginning of June.

The St. John’s Regatta is fairly unique: It’s one of the relatively few fixed-seat competitions in the rowing world.

But it’s notoriety mostly stems from for the moveable, shops-closing public holiday that travels with the rowing races. Whenever the Regatta is a “go,” a holiday is declared — giving a lot of power to the closed-door committee that meets the morning before the regatta is held to examine the weather forecasts.

Pegasina said her team has gotten used to checking the windy weather in St. John’s that, all too often, interferes with her practice schedule.

“Every day we do this, because every day we check the (boathouse conditions flag),” she said. “We green, red, green, red, yellow… it’s really fun every day to check it.”

Pegasina said she set her heart on rowing in the regatta the first time she saw it, arriving in Newfoundland from Ukraine after the war broke out in her home country.

“I think it’s really good for us,” she said. “I just want to be involved, as Ukrainians, in the Canadian and in the St. John’s community.”

Willette signed on to coach the team in the spring, as it just started to form. They’ve had an awfully quick introduction into the sport: while most teams competing in the Royal St. John’s Regatta hit the water in May, this group didn’t start practicing until June.

“The first time they got in the boat, they could barely pull two strokes together. And they were getting compliments on their turn in the time trials for the rest of the evening, so they’ve been very good,” she said.

“I think they surprised a lot of people too.”

The team will compete in a brand new “open crew” division, which will debut this year. It marks the first time the regatta has hosted teams not segregated into men’s and women’s categories.

“I just want them to have a really good race, and to be proud of themselves when they’re finished,” Willete said.

Pegasina has her own goal: make a few connections, maybe friends, and become regulars around the boathouse in the years to come.

“I hope we will have this team year by year,” she said. “We know all these people, and I hope they will be our friends.”