Hilary Schaap is hoping her "worker's tan" won't be obvious in her strapless dress for McMath secondary school's graduation dinner and dance on Saturday night. Such is one of the worries when you happen to be one of the top up-and-coming rowers in the province.
If being student council president and preparing for final exams wasn't enough on Schaap's plate, she somehow found the time to compete at last week's Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Championships in St.
Catherines, ON.
Schaap continued her outstanding season by placing third in the junior women's singles event. She also attended a three-day national junior team selection camp - an invitation she had earned based on her previous results including trials held in B.C. this spring.
Her transition into an elite junior rower is an impressive one. She didn't take up the sport until two summers ago.
"What Hilary has accomplished is not typical," explained Garret Bouhuyzen-Wegner, head coach of the Delta Deas Rowing Club (DDRC). Once every two or three years we are maybe sending one or two of our rowers to nationals. She was an exceptional athlete before she came to us.
A lot of kids who are successful have that already."
Schaap excelled in other sports when she decided to give rowing a try and signed-up for DDRC's learn-to-row program.
Soon after, she was on a plane to England to watch her brother Colin compete for Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championships. He is now part of the powerhouse program at Northeastern University in Boston where he was a member of the Open Four crew that recently placed second at Nationals.
"Watching him (compete at Junior Worlds) just inspired me," said Schaap prior to one of her five-times-a-week training sessions on the Deas Slough. "I'm so proud of everything he has done.
When I got back home, I really got into it.
"What I like about rowing is it's a team sport but, at the same time, you get as much out of it as you put into it. I was excited just to get an invite to the national junior camp. We'll see what happens (with selections) but realistically my goal is competing for B.C. at the Canada Summer Games."
What wasn't in Schaap's favour at the junior camp is her size.
She is technically a lightweight rower and there is no classification for team selection. But that didn't stop her from dominating her race at last month's prestigious Brentwood Regatta, then repeating the performance a week later at DDRC's own scholastic event.
"The biggest thing Hilary has going for her is her drive," added Bouhuyzen-Wenger. "She is fiercely competitive and driven to be ahead of everyone. It's evident she has always been a competitive athlete."
Western University has taken notice. The London, ON school has one of the top rowing programs in the country and that's where Schaap will be continuing her education this fall - studying Business Management and Organizational Studies. The Mustangs train on Fanshawe Lake which also happens to home of the national women's team program. If her plans go accordingly, Schaap will report for training camp soon after representing B.C. at the Summer Games in Quebec.
"I got to tour their boathouse last summer and to be where the national team trains is pretty exciting," she said."
