An interview with Edward Winchester on his successful rowing career
By Rosalie Hanlon
For the Rothesay Living Museum

Like most people who find great success in life, Ed Winchester downplayed his role in finding that success. From speaking with him on the phone, from his mother's house in East Riverside-Kingshurst, one would think his rowing career was a walk in the park.

Luckily for the historian we have the articles to prove that statement incorrect in our archives.

Ed Winchester's interest in rowing was sparked in 1985 after the success of Wayne MacFarlane and Chris Flood at the Canada Summer Games. That year the Canada Games couldn't have been closer to home for the "to-be rowing star." Saint John was the host city and the rowing races took place literally down the street from where Ed was living.

It was a result of the local success and encouragement from his friends, which led Ed Winchester to rowing.

When asked what tied him to the sport for so long he replied "I kept progressing and felt like I could do more, I wanted to be involved at the highest level."

Ed began rowing in 1986 out of the Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club (K.R.C.C.). His first big success was in 1988 at the Canadian High School Championships. He claimed that after that race he had more confidence in his rowing ability.

In 1996 he joined Canada's National Rowing Team and began rowing at World Championships. The summer of 1996 was also an important time for the K.R.C.C. because it was one hundred and twenty-five years after the "Great Race" between the Paris Crew and the crew from England that was led by James Renforth, whom the village is named after. Ed returned home, after a bronze medal win in Paris, to race with two of the men who had helped inspire him to take up the sport, Chris Flood and Wayne MacFarlane, against a British crew. The race was the highlight of a week's celebrations in the Kennebecasis Valley. The other man in the winning local boat was Sean Moore.

Every oarsman and woman must endure hours of excruciating pain on and off the water in preparation for a race. The higher you go in the sport the more training is required. Ed Winchester gave his insight on the preparation schedule for any athlete, "(You have to) train your body and your mind."

He also spoke about the effects such training has on your performance, mentioning the physical stamina, the ability to visualize a race, and the fact that "once you've prepared for it there's nothing more you can do."

His preparation paid off big time in 2000 at the World Championship in Croatia.

"It eclipsed everything ten-fold. I always smile when I think about it, which is about everyday," a half laughing nostalgic Winchester told me while I ate a cookie in his mother's living room.

Rowing was, and still is, Mr. Wichester's life. For fourteen years he rowed towards the title of World Champion so what, you may ask, is he doing now?

"Still rowing, rowed tonight."

He is also using his journalism degrees writing about the sport for a magazine, it is his first "real" full time job. This is only a sneak peak at the amount of sacrifice Winchester has made for his sport. Yet, after everything he's been through, such as surgery that normally ends an oarsman's career, he claims, "it wasn't a sacrifice at all, it was a privilege."

The highlight of his career, so he claims, was not a particular event but the experiences, memories, friends, and the many laughs.

When asked if he had any advice for the up and coming rowers he said, "If you really like something stay with it, never give up."

It was very insightful, my chat with Ed Winchester, World Champion oarsman. After having read about his career it was nice to see he was a real, normal person after all.