Coaches Symposium

Row Nova Scotia is excited to announce the 2025 Coaches Symposium, a remarkable opportunity to inspire and empower our coaching community. This year, we will gather at the new Kiwanis Club venue in the beautiful Grahams Grove on Saturday, February 8th, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

This will be a great opportunity for our maritime rowing community to come together in a fun and relaxed learning event.

We are privileged to welcome several presenters with extensive international experience in coaching and athlete support, who will share their valuable knowledge and expertise in guiding the development of athletes at all levels.

Carol Love will be sharing her experiences in developing and supporting athletes in Learn to Row programs, all the way to senior national teams. This includes looking at the challenges both athletes and coaches face as they progress along the pathway.

Maksym Kepskyy will examine stroke development from a biomechanical perspective and understand the data for effective use.

Tricia McBride will discuss ways to support athletes during injuries and methods to reduce injury risk. Tricia will show and walk us through key exercises that all rowers need to know.

This year’s attendance fee will be;
Nova Scotia-based coaches – $50.00
Out of province based coaches – $75.00
Athletes and community members are welcome to attend the symposium for the same fees.

Fees are payable to Row NS by way of E-transfer to rowing@rowns.ca or cheque made payable to Row Nova Scotia

Register Here for the 2025 Row NS Coaches Symposium.

Presenter Bios

Carol Love is a seasoned coach with decades of experience within the Canadian rowing community. Throughout her career, she has been deeply committed to athlete development, playing a pivotal role in guiding numerous athletes to achieve remarkable success on the international stage. Her coaching expertise spans across various levels, from Junior and U23 athletes to senior competitors, and she has contributed to Canada’s performance at all levels of the World Championships and Olympic Games. A career highlight came in 2022 when she helped the Women’s 8 in winning an Olympic Gold Medal.

Carol’s coaching journey has seen her as a valued member of multiple coaching teams, where she has helped shape athletes who have gone on to excel at the highest levels of competition. In addition to her work with national and international teams, Carol has also been an integral part of the Ontario Row to Podium initiative, where she has supported the development of emerging talent and contributed to building a pathway for athletes to reach their full potential.

Her unwavering dedication to fostering both athletic and personal growth in her athletes, combined with her wealth of experience, makes Carol a highly respected figure in the Canadian rowing community. Her impact extends far beyond the training sessions, as she continues to inspire and mentor the next generation of rowers.

Maksym Kepskyy is an accomplished coach with a strong background in elite rowing and athlete development. Until this year, Maksym served as the Senior Men’s Coach for Rowing Canada, where he played a pivotal role in developing the men’s rowing program. Under his leadership, the team came incredibly close to qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a testament to his strategic approach and commitment to excellence.

Maksym is particularly passionate about biomechanics and its application in rowing. He firmly believes in harnessing the power of biomechanics to optimize athlete performance, using data-driven techniques to refine techniques and improve efficiency. By integrating cutting-edge biomechanical analysis into training, Maksym has helped athletes achieve breakthroughs in both performance and injury prevention.

In addition to his technical expertise, Maksym is deeply committed to athlete development, focusing on building strong foundations for long-term success. His approach is rooted in a deep understanding of the sport, combined with a keen interest in advancing the science of performance. Whether working with individual athletes or coaching at the team level, Maksym strives to bring out the best in each rower, always pushing for greater achievements through personalized coaching strategies.

Tricia McBride is a physiotherapist originally from New Brunswick. She has worked internationally and across Canada, most recently in British Columbia, and is excited to be back on the East Coast. With a passion for both sports and science, she completed her Bachelor of Kinesiology at Acadia University, a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy at Dalhousie University, and a Master of Clinical Science at Western University.

Tricia has achieved numerous postgraduate credentials, including the highest level of orthopedic training (Fellow of the Canadian Association of Manual Physiotherapy) and sports credentialing (Registered International Sports Physical Therapist), along with Gunn IMS needling certification.

Throughout her career, Tricia has worked in several multidisciplinary sports medicine clinics with university, provincial, national, and professional athletes and teams. She has had the privilege of serving as a team physiotherapist for Soccer Canada’s women’s program and Hockey Canada’s women’s program, and spent the last five years as the Lead Physiotherapist for Rowing Canada Aviron, overseeing both men’s and women’s programs, as well as para-athletes. Collaborating with members of multidisciplinary teams has allowed Tricia to expand her knowledge in sports, exercise, and rehabilitation, enabling her to develop efficient rehabilitation programs, create return-to-sport plans, and implement strategies for injury prevention and performance optimization.