Matthew Buie competes at Pan Am, Olympics in sight
Duntroon native Matthew Buie is among rowers nominated to represent Canada at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.
Buie, 27, will compete in men’s quadruple sculls and men’s double sculls at the rowing regatta, taking place in St. Catharines from July 11 to 15.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Rowing Canada Aviron announced the 26-member national rowing team on June 2.
“This season is an important one for me for two reasons,” Buie told The Echo. “First, I have a rare chance to represent my country in Canada, which is a big honour. It will be great to show everyone that supports me what I do and the level of competition I am in. Secondly, this is the qualifying year for the Olympics. We have to place top eight at the world rowing championships to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. I believe we have trained hard for the last three years that this is a very attainable goal.”
The national rowing team is competing at the World Rowing Cup races in Europe in preparation for the World Rowing Championships in France at the end of the summer, which will serve as the primary Olympic qualifying competition for Rio 2016.
A Collingwood Collegiate Institute graduate, Buie was first introduced to rowing while studying architecture at Ryerson University. After graduation in 2011 he moved to St. Catharines to row for the St. Catharines Rowing Club. In 2012, Buie began training for Canadian development team and placed second at the Canadian Rowing Championships that same year. He was then invited to train on the national rowing team at the Victoria Training Centre.
The Pan Am Games regatta will mark the first time in 16 years that the Senior National Rowing Team will compete internationally on home turf.
“We are looking forward to this great and rare opportunity to compete on home water,” said Peter Cookson, High Performance Director for Rowing Canada Aviron. “We will be fielding a strong team in all 14 boat classes as we use this regatta as part of our preparation for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.”
A golf tournament is being organized to help Buie raise funds to cover training costs. The second annual Matthew Buie Golf tournament takes place at Duntroon Highlands Golf Club on Saturday, Sept. 12.
To register, visit www.rowmattbuie.com. Registration deadline is August 31.
