Jamie Fleming '76 (Champlain College)

There’s a group of alumni rowers from the mid-late 1970s, who continue to return to Trent every two to three years to reunite, reminisce, and row!
Rod Matheson ’76 (Champlain College) and I met on our first day as students at Trent, and we quickly became good friends. We had both rowed in high school, so naturally we rowed together at Trent. Several years after graduating, we returned to Trent to watch the Head of the Trent regatta and that was when we decided it would be fun to get the old crew together - so, calls were made and emails sent! The next year, 1989, was about 10 years since we had last rowed together as Trent students, so the now older crew members raced in the alumni division. The crew has now had 12 reunion rows and each time, is almost entirely comprised of those who rowed together in the 1978 varsity eight: Mark Flatman ’77 (Peter Robinson College), Duncan Roberson ’76 (Champlain College), Dan Coholan ’77 (Traill College), Tom Steele ’76 (Champlain College), Jan Olsson ’77(Otonabee College), Joe van Ruyven ’77 (Otonabee College), Rod Matheson ’76 (Champlain College), Jamie Fleming ’76 (Champlain College), Brian Holland ’78 (Julian Blackburn College), and Steve Huff ’78 (Otonabee College).
Our racing days are behind us now, so the last couple reunion rows have taken place on Friday, immediately before the HOTT regatta. We don’t row as fast or as far as we used to but enjoy the experience of getting out on the water with former crewmates, just as much as we did during our student days.