Bourk (Ventin), Sandra ’89 - Rowing

It’s been a few decades since she’s skimmed its surface, but just the sight of the Henley Island rowing course still brings a smile to Sandra’s face. As both swimmer and rower, she spent a good part of her Ridley career either on or in the water, but Sandra’s time off the water was just as foundational. Speed weight circuits in the basement, monthly erg tests and doing pullups over a sawhorse while being challenged to “hit the board and make it sing,” helped her make the connection that national results require hard work.

That realization served her well in the years that followed. Sandra was the stroke of the McGill University Lightweight 8 crew, bringing home a gold medal in her final school year. Following university, she rowed with the Toronto Argonaut Club’s Lightweight Women, earning medals at both the Henley and Head of the Charles Regattas. From there, she earned a place on the Canadian National Rowing team’s Women’s Lightweight 4, winning Gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and placing 5th at the 1994 World Rowing Championships.

“Ridley rowing gave me a level of fitness, skill and passion for the sport that helped me prepare for the Canadian National Rowing team.”

P.O. Box 3013, 2 Ridley Road St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7C3 Canada 905 684 1889

With more than 700 students from 60 countries, the largest boarding programme in Ontario and the third largest in Canada, Ridley College is a truly international, co-educational, day and boarding school of the world that prepares students for the world. It has provided enriching learning and life-shaping experiences focused on the arts, academics, and athletics since 1889. Ridley’s Lower School offers JK-Grade 8, its Upper School consists of Grade 9-PG, and Ridley graduates attend some of the top universities and colleges around the world. Ridley is the only co-ed independent boarding school in Canada and one of only three in North America authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum programme.