Jessica Klinkenberg
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Two Yellowknife boys have taken the rowing team at a private school in British Columbia by storm.

"It always comes back to 'they're the Yellowknife boys, they're tough Yellowknife boys,'" said Brian Carr, head coach of rowing at Brentwood College, a private preparatory high school on the shores of Vancouver Island.

Rookie rower Alan Harman and veteran Sebastian Kallos, both originally from Yellowknife, are part of Brentwood's rowing team.

Kallos has attended Brentwood since Grade 9, while Harman started in Grade 11.

Carr said that since 1972 the school has won 83 national rowing championships.

Their most recent win came two weeks ago at the Canadian National Secondary School rowing competition held in St. Catharines, Ont.

Both boys were part of a varsity team of eight rowers that took first place and had a chance to hold the Calder Cleland Trophy.

"It's the richest trophy, richer than the Stanley Cup," Carr said. The trophy's value is estimated at $200,000.

Next up for the Yellowknife boys is a regatta in Henley, England for the Princess Elizabeth Cup, which will see them racing against 32 international teams from South Africa, Australia, Canada and England.

Harman began rowing last year for the rookie team.

At the start of this year Carr said Harman made the move to try out for the varsity team.

"He beat out two boys that had been rowing for three or four years," he said.

Carr said the amount of work to make it to that level takes years of experience.

"It's not common at all," he said. "It's a testament to his fortitude, his will."

Carr said that on decision time he asked his rowers who they would like to see rowing with them.

"They all wanted Alan," he said.

Carr said Kallos has shown himself extremely capable as well.

"He will be considered one of the best of the school," he said.

The school has started the competitive careers of 21 Olympic athletes and Carr said that Kallos has shown himself to be as strong a rower as the rest of them.

"Sebastian's won seven of (the national titles) in four years, he has the fifth highest time in the history of the school.," said Carr.