Theodore Roosevelt High School Rowing Team

St. Catharine’s, Ontario direction and information

May 28, 2007

For any families that are planning on attending the Canadian Schoolboy Regatta in St. Catharine?’s, Ontario the weekend of June 1-3, I have compiled some helpful information:

The racecourse is located on Martindale Pond at Henley Island. The island is the location that the crews will spend the majority of their time, where their boats and tents will be set up and from where they will launch for their events. Parking is often limited at the Island and they usually restrict on street parking during regattas. Be aware of posted no parking signs on the streets, I know people who have had their cars towed here; they just love out of town plates.
The best place to view the races from is the Grandstand area which is located on the way to the island if you go through Port Dalhousie. They do charge admission to the Grand stand and they charge for heat sheets also. It is smack dab in the middle of a residential area, so you can pass it easily without noticing. In the past, the site has offered shuttle services from Henley Island to the Grandstand area. You can usually pick the shuttle up in front of the boathouses on the island and on the street in front of the grandstand area.

There is very little shade on the island and limited bathroom facilities. Make sure that you encourage your child to have plenty of sun block and a few extra changes of cloths. It is really just a large sandlot and if it rains, it turns into a mud lot. It is a good idea to have your child pack plenty of plastic Ziploc bags or something similar for muddy cloths to be brought home in and rain boots if they will wear them. (The mud has been known to eat unsuspecting peoples?’ shoes to be lost forever) If you plan on traveling to the island, it is good to know in advance.

Before you enter the residential area on the way to Henley Island, there is a place called Port Dalhousie and there are restaurants, shops and public parking located there. It is only a few blocks from there to the Grand stand area so that is the best place to park if you are able to walk a bit. There is also a public park in Port Dalhousie that allows viewing access to the race course and finish line, you are just on the opposite side of the race course and there is no provided seating. You should see this area on your left shortly after you cross the bridge into Port Dalhousie if you are coming from the Niagara direction.

Here are the directions to the race course coming from both Toronto and Niagara:

FROM TORONTO:
QEW towards Niagara Falls
Exit at 7th Street
Head North to Lakeshore Rd. W. .
Turn right onto Lakeshore
Lakeshore to Henley Island Dr.
Follow signs onto Henley Island

FROM NIAGARA:
QEW towards Toronto
Exit at Martindale Rd.
North on Martindale to Main St
Turn right onto Main St.
Main St. to Henley Island Dr.
Follow signs onto Henley Island

This is an excellent web site set up with additional maps and information: www.cssrarowing.ca
If you click on events, and then scroll to event location you can see the lay out of the island and viewing areas.

Hope you find this information useful. If so, I will continue to compile these for each of the travel regattas next year.

Andrea Schmidt