Like a lot of people from the region, Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Peter '17 and Sara Labbe '19 spent a lot of time on the water this summer.
The Labbes, though, weren't relaxing, fishing or tubing on any boats – they were competing.
The brother and sister team went to two of the biggest summer regattas in North America, first heading to Ohio for the Club National Championships before gathering in St. Catherine, Canada, for the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, which included clubs from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Zimbabwe.
"Those are the two farthest distances I've gone for regattas," Peter said. "It was 12 hours to Ohio and six hours to Canada."
"I hadn't competed in regattas that big," Sara added. "I've been to one to watch with the team, but going and entering into regattas that big was a really good experience. Going to Ohio was cool, and also rowing on a lake instead of a river. Going a few weeks later to an even bigger regatta was great because it was in a major area."
Peter competed in a U19 double at the national meet, narrowly missing the semifinal round when his boat placed 33rd in a field of 70 in a time trial. Peter was in three events at the 140th annual Henley, racing in a U19 double, U23 lightweight and single.
From early June to mid-August, Peter trained twice a day Monday-Friday with the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club. He hopes to race in college.
"It's really a pursuit and desire to reach the next level," Peter explained. "There's such a wide range of performance levels in the sport. Last year the club made a big shift to be more competitive. We out-matched the level of competition so the club started to go to a regional and national scale. Now we're seeing how good we can get. The team enjoys working with each other and competing."
Sara, meanwhile, served as a coxswain. Like her brother, her first experience with rowing came her freshman year with the WMA Crew team. Her U19 four-person boat advanced to a semifinal at the national regatta. She also raced in a U17 boat.
"I hadn't done many smaller regattas, but the ones I went to were nice," Sara said. "The bigger regattas, we got to see teams from all over – the inner city and international teams - and we got to compete against them."