ROW | Schweinbenz Named Head Coach of 2021 Canada Summer Games Team
- From Row Ontario-
Row Ontario announced on Monday that Dr. Amanda Schweinbenz has been selected as head coach of Ontario's 2021 Canada Summer Games rowing team following a province-wide search.
Schweinbenz returns as head coach of the Canada Summer Games team after successfully filling the same role for the Team Ontario rowing squad in 2017.
"I am very pleased that we have been able to secure Amanda as our head coach for the 2021 Canada
Summer Games," said Chris Marshall, High Performance Director of Row Ontario. "After a lengthy selection and vetting process, I am excited to see her take control of our program and I look forward to working collaboratively over the next 19 months to plan, design and execute a 'Best Ever Summer
Games' strategy. Her experience and passion, specifically with athletes in the development age groups, will benefit the team and athletes alike in our pursuit of excellence for Niagara 2021. Her hiring marks the real kick off to our 2021 campaign and I'm looking forward to watching our program, our coaches and our athletes work together to create opportunities for success."
Schweinbenz brings a wealth of coaching experience to the team from many different levels of the sport. The Sudbury, Ont. resident was the founder of the Laurentian Voyageurs rowing team and has served as head coach since 2006, winning the OUA women's coach of the year award in 2011. She has also been head coach of the Sudbury Rowing Club since 2011 and has worked with both Row Ontario and Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) in a number of different coaching roles.
At the provincial level, she was most recently lead coach of Row Ontario's U17 and U19 men's rowing teams in 2019. She has been a mentor coach with the Row Ontario Remote Coach Network since 2017 and also coached with the Row Ontario Row to Podium Satellite Centre from 2014-17. Her national experience includes a stint as coach with RCA's under-23 lightweight men's double sculls world championship team in 2017 and she led the LTA Mix4+ team to a bronze medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships. She also coached with the LM4-, M2-, and M2x teams at the 2015 FISU World University Games.
Schweinbenz is looking forward to coaching again at the Canada Summer Games and views the event as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all the athletes and coaches involved.
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to be part of Ontario's 2021 Canada Summer Games team," said Schweinbenz. "The Canada Summer Games are often the first experience under-21 athletes have at a multi-sport event and as such, this provides a unique opportunity to create memories and learning experiences that these athletes will have for the rest of their lives. I look forward to working with the incredible athletes and coaches from across this province as we prepare to race for Ontario at Niagara
2021."
Schweinbenz is a graduate of Western University, where she obtained both a bachelor's degree and masters in Kinesiology. She also completed her Ph.D in Kinesiology from the University of British
Columbia and is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Human Kinetics at Laurentian
University.
The Canada Summer Games are a major sporting event in Canada and serve as a steppingstone for rowers and all athletes towards representing Canada in sporting events on the international stage. At previous editions of the event, Ontario athletes have been a dominate force and rowers specifically have played a large role in Team Ontario's overall success at the Games. In 2017, Ontario led the overall medal standings with 210 medals (86 gold, 65 silver, 59 bronze) while Ontario rowers brought home a total of ten medals (7 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) in 14 total events. Their seven gold medals were the most in the nation.