"... You will have national championships here," Pearce said. "You will have provincial championships here."
Liz Chisholm found out about the channel after the head coach for University of the Fraser Valley rowing was asked about coming out to see if it could be useful to the school. The school and Trinity Western University teamed up to use the site for their rowing teams.
"What a jewel this place is," said Chisholm, who is also with the Fort Langley Rowing Club.
She expects Bedford Channel, because of its natural qualities, to become the permanent home of the annual Western Canadian university championships which after this year become a qualifier for the Canadian University Rowing Championships.
"The water itself is rarely affected by wind, which is the bane of rowing events," Chisholm noted. "Rowing BC has been very supportive. They are desperately looking for a regional-type training centre."
Rowing BC eyes the channel as an important training venue for current and future rowers, vital for athletes to make it to elite competitions such as the Olympics and Paralympics.
Now Pearce and Chisholm are looking for volunteers to help with the autumn events in such areas as runners and attendants.
"We need volunteers, who have their pleasure boat operators licence, to operate safety boats," she added.
Chisholm is at 604-858-3449 while Pearce can be reached at 604-247-2627.