But the tall pines must grow from saplings.
Much of it starts from school events such as this weekend鈥檚 43rd Brentwood College Regatta in Mill Bay and the sa国际传媒 high school rugby sevens championships at UBC.
The regatta, which begins today and runs through Sunday afternoon, is a massive undertaking with more than 4,000 people expected over the Malahat, including 1,700 rowers and coaches from high school and club crews all over sa国际传媒, the U.S., Mexico and Australia.
鈥淎ll the students and everyone on the teaching staff has volunteer jobs for the weekend,鈥� said Debbie Sage, Brentwood College鈥檚 director of rowing.
The total of 169 races go every eight minutes on the 1,500-metre course over three days.
鈥淭he crews use this regatta as a measure of their speed in preparation for their national championships,鈥� added Sage.
Don鈥檛 be surprised if the hosts are among the top finishers in many events, along with the likes of Victoria City Rowing Club and Sammamish of Washington state. A total of 23 Brentwood College alumni have competed for sa国际传媒 in the Summer Olympics, many in rowing such as gold-medallists Malcolm Howard, Darren Barber, Blair Horn and silver-medallists Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about building tradition and this is a great alumni weekend for us with our Olympians and other top past rowers returning to present medals,鈥� said Sage.
Meanwhile, national team selectors with an eye to unearthing potential future Olympians in the dizzyingly-paced sevens version of rugby, will have the Rugby sa国际传媒 Speed Zone set up at the sa国际传媒 high school sevens championships at UBC. The NFL-style combine will measure speed in sprint trials and also leaping ability in jumping drills.
The girls鈥� provincial sevens tournament opens today and runs through the final Saturday. The qualifiers from the Island are G.P. Vanier, Shawnigan Lake, Brentood College and Cowichan. The defending sa国际传媒 girls champions are Abbotsford Collegiate.
On the boys鈥� side, which runs Saturday and Sunday at UBC, the two-time defending sevens champion Shawnigan Lake Stags, also all-conquering in the XVs provincial high school championships the last four years, are the consensus favourites, with St. George鈥檚 expected to give spirited chase. The other Island boys teams to have qualified are Oak Bay, St. Michaels, Brentwood College and G.P. Vanier.
