Proud Papa Update - Schoolboy - Updated Sunday

One big problem with being out here in Vancouver for the IABC conference is that I'm not in St. Catherines watching Kelly compete in the Canadian Schoolboy Rowing Championships this weekend.

It's her last high school regatta and it's tearing me up that I'm not there.

But there's good news today. Kelly has advanced to tomorrow's finals in both the Senior Women's Double and the Single!

It's a terrific accomplishment and I'm really proud of her. I just got off the phone with her after her single race and she was so pumped up she could hardly talk. She was facing really tough competition and only three boats would qualify. But she said that while she was fourth at 1500 metres, she had an "amazing finish" and ended up getting third place, with open water over the other boat! It was a "Kelly Traynor Finish" that we hadn't seen much last year, as she struggled with some breathing problems. But that's all in the past now.

Good luck tomorrow Kelly.

UPDATE ON SUNDAY -- Kelly racked up a fifth-place in the Double and a fourth in the Single - which are both great results. I just got off the phone with her and while she says she hates to come in fourth, it was probably her best race ever. She was in sixth place well into the second half of the race, but found that special finishing kick to get up to fourth and nearly third!

Thanks to cell phones, I was able to listen to Kelly's Mom, Heather, call the race. She was in the grandstand at the Henley course, and I could hear all the shouting and screaming in the background. In fact, that's about all I could hear most of the time. What a thrill!

It was amazing how emotional Heather and I were on the phone. We were both so choked up we could hardly talk - but it was fantastic to be a part of the scene, even if I was 5000 km away!

We are both so proud of our youngest daughter. It's a great way for her to end her high school career -- and after the race, her coach pulled her aside and told her she had also won the Most Valuable Player award for Rowing for the year - another great finish to the year.

And as one chapter ends, another begins. Tonight, Heather, Kelly and the coaches from the University of Louisville are all going out to dinner. Again, I sure wish I was there. Louisville will be home for Kelly for the next four years, thanks to her receiving a rowing scholarship from them. It should be an exciting four years - and I look forward to plenty of more exciting finishes ahead.

Tags: Proud Papa, rowing