2010-11 NEWS RELEASES

UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Monday, May 10, 2010

Ridgebacks rowing coach ready to say goodbye

OSHAWA, Ont. - After leading the Ridgebacks for four seasons, Rob Millikin is retiring as head coach of UOIT's rowing program.

“I would really like to thank UOIT for giving me the opportunity to coach at the University level, especially at the senior age which I had reached,” said Millikin. “I have met a great group of students over the past four years, and they have taught me a lot and left great memories to take into retirement. Their generation, I am sure, will be a credit to our nation.”

Millikin was instrumental in the process of bringing a rowing team to UOIT, which was one of the inaugural programs the athletic department launched in 2006.

“We would like to thank Rob for all of his hard work and dedication that he brought to our program,” said Ken Babcock, UOIT Athletic Director. “Rob made a remarkable impact on the sport of rowing over the years and we are proud that it involved our University rowing program from it’s’ inception.”

“Rob was a great coach,” said Jason Klein-Horsman, UOIT rowing captain and a member of the inaugural rowing team. “Rob was inspiring. He has always had a plan as to what the UOIT rowing team would look like one day, and he has been working hard for that plan to become a reality.”

Being involved with rowing for over 56 years, with a hiatus of 30 years in the middle when he worked as an air traffic controller, and he and his wife raised a family, Millikin has done it all in the sport of rowing.

Millikin began rowing with the Leander Boat Club in 1953. In 1989, he was one of the founders of the Durham Rowing Club (DRC), which is located and still running in Port Perry, Ont. As a member of the DRC, he served as president for two terms, most recently from 2004 to 2006. He also served on various committees and has coached at the DRC since the opening of the club.

He also served on the board of the Ontario Rowing Association, as vice-president from 1992-1996 and secretary from 1996-1998.

In 2006, Millikin made another big impact in the Durham Region rowing community as he was named the inaugural head coach of the rowing program at the UOIT. Under the guidance of Millikin, the varsity program continues to grow after its fourth year of competition as a member of the OUA and CURA.

Millikin has received a number of awards for his contribution to rowing. In 1999, he was awarded the Province of Ontario's Special Achievement Award (now the Syl Apps Award). In 2003, he was the named the Ontario Rowing Association official of the year, Rowing Canada's Official of the year in 2004, and in 2006, he was Rowing Canada's volunteer of the year.

In Vancouver this past December, Millikin received one of Rowing Canada's highest honours as he was presented with the Rowing Canada Aviron Centennial Medal of Merit for his contributions to the sport.

Individuals can only receive the Centennial Medal of Merit through one of two ways: 1) winning of a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games or the World Championships or 2) through their contribution to the as an athlete and as a volunteer, based on an accumulation of points.

He will now turn his attention to the development of a venue for a top-class flat-water regatta course on Lake Scugog with the potential to groom world-class athletes and draw thousands of tourists to the Scugog area.

The Ridgebacks will begin the search for Millikin's replacement leading into the 2010/11 varsity season.

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ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS:
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca