Crowds filled Trent’s new stadium to cheer on several Excalibur teams to victory, including Trent’s women’s rugby and men’s lacrosse teams. On the water, Trent rowers performed admirably, placing in several races, notably in the heavyweight single women’s by Jennifer Tuters, and the lightweight men’s double, taken by Karim Pringle and Andrew Harman.

A special moment in Trent’s rowing heritage came on October 3 when Ruth Van Roojen, mother to famous Trent rower Peter Van Roojen, christened a rowing skiff named in honour of her son. Under the elite tutelage of Trent’s renowned rowing coach Carol Love, Mr. Van Roojen went on to win gold at the Canadian University Rowing Championships in the men's single as well as many others in his University career. He also won a gold medal at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Europe stroking the men's eight for Trent. Ms. Van Roojen remains a terrific supporter of Trent Athletics, recruiting athletes from the Brockville area for the University’s varsity program.

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Highlights of this year’s Homecoming festivities included the second annual Trent Family Art Show, featuring select pieces of art created by the Trent community, and the October 4 book launch of Forty Years of Geography at Trent University at Alumni House. New events on the roster for this year were two 40th anniversary celebrations: one for Lady Eaton College and another for Trent’s Geography Department. A series of receptions, family BBQs and displays were planned in honour of these important milestones of the University.

“How fortunate we are in the Alumni Association to have twinned our annual Homecoming with the very special activities of the Head of the Trent Regatta,” said Tony Storey, director of alumni affairs for Trent University. “It is a splendid day for alumni to be back on campus. This year's 40th anniversaries for Lady Eaton College and the department of Geography are a reminder that our relatively young university is now aging, with our 50th anniversary coming in 2014. The Alumni Association also celebrates a milestone with its 40th annual general meeting.”

Founded in 1970, this annual Trent event attracts alumni, students and community members alike for a busy weekend full of activities framed around the exciting Head of the Trent rowing competition, the largest single day event of its kind in North America. More than 50 universities and rowing clubs take part from Ontario, Quebec and the northern United States who race along the Trent-Severn waterway from the Parkhill Bridge to Symons Campus.