Tom Kent is a long-standing coach with the Brock University rowing program, where he has led the lightweight men’s program since 2016. With decades of experience in both coaching and competition, Kent has played a central role in building one of the most successful lightweight programs in Canadian university rowing.
Since joining Brock, Kent has guided the men’s team to multiple Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men’s points banners, including championships in 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. A highlight came in 2023 when the lightweight men won all the lightweight events, earning six gold medals and captured an additional open men’s event to secure the overall banner.
Prior to Brock, Kent coached extensively at the St. Catharines Rowing Club, where he began in 1990 with the junior and senior lightweight programs. He later coached alongside Scott Anderson with the Holy Cross Secondary School men’s program from 1995 to 2000, where they won the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association (CSSRA) men’s points championship twice. Kent returned to the St. Catharines Rowing Club in 2014 to coach the senior/U23 men’s program, contributing to a historic 10 gold medals at the 2023 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.
Kent’s coaching excellence has been widely recognized. He has been named OUA Male Coach of the Year multiple times (2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023), Canadian University Coach of the Year in 2019 and Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) Coach of the Year in 2023. He has also been honoured as Brock University Coach of the Year during the 2022–23 and 2024–25 seasons.
In addition to his coaching career, Kent was a highly accomplished athlete. He competed for 10 years with the St. Catharines Rowing Club, winning 19 Henley medals and was a member of Canada’s National Lightweight Team for seven years. Earlier in his career, he was named Brock Male Oarsman of the Year and St. Catharines Rowing Club Oarsman of the Year.
