To commemorate Black History Month, University of Toronto Varsity Blues are celebrating the achievements of Black varsity athletes, highlighting their stories and showcasing their impact in shaping the history of U of T.
When Kubet Weston was approached to join the Varsity Blues rowing team in 1994, she had no idea that it would spark an international career and that she would become a pioneer and advocate for diversity in the sport.
"The conversation went something like, 'Hi. You're tall and you look fit. Do you want to try rowing?'" Weston recalls.
Weston remembers being approached by a very friendly girl who asked if she would like to try rowing. She had rowed a little for her high school in her hometown of Tillsonburg, Ont., while awaiting knee reconstruction surgery on a torn ACL. It was an injury that sidelined her dream of becoming an Olympic track & field athlete; however, it did set her on a course for earning a direct entry from high school into the physiotherapy program at the University of Toronto. 
Weston, standing, second from the right, and the Varsity Blues rowing team at Spring training camp in Tampa Bay, Florida (image courtesy of Kubet Weston)
"Rowing was not even on my radar that day at the Athletic Centre, but joining the U of T rowing program was a life-changing moment," she said.
Weston was no stranger to U of T as her parents met as students and got married on campus in 1971. Her father was born in Nigeria and completed his PhD at U of T, while her mother was raised in Tillsonburg and studied home economics. After they married at the Newman Centre on St. George Campus, they moved to Nigeria, where Weston was born.
"Returning to U of T to study and row had so many layers of positive experiences for me," she said. "I recall being one of only two or three BIPOC student-athletes on the rowing team. Certainly, there were no other Black female athletes involved in rowing. I did not ever feel marginalized and had fantastic teammates and coaches who supported and included me as part of the program."
Weston's parents on their wedding day in 1971 (image courtesy of Kubet Weston)
Weston admits that her positive experience on the rowing team may come from a comparable upbringing in Tillsonburg.
"Growing up in a small town in Ontario, my siblings and I were the only Black children there for most of my childhood," she added. "Growing up racially different from all of my peers, teachers, and community and navigating the world through that lens was normal. It was an enormous change for me to be amongst so many BIPOC students on the U of T campus, BIPOC athletes at Hart House and the Athletic Centre, and racially diverse people within the City of Toronto."
Weston's first race at the historic Dad Vail Regatta, along with winning the OUAA women's title in 1994, are two of the highlights from her career at U of T (1994-96). By 1995, Weston and several of her teammates caught the attention of Canadian national rowing coach Al Morrow and, in addition to her physiotherapy studies, there were regular visits to London, Ont., for a demanding training schedule.
Her first time representing Canada was in the women's 4+ in Boston in 1995. In the winter of 1997, Weston moved to London to finish her final clinical placements for her physiotherapy degree, while trying out for the national rowing team.
Competing for Canada from 1997-2000 and 2002, Weston won the national trials for four years, while claiming one silver and two bronze medals at the world championships from 1997-99.
She recalls her first world championship medal ceremony as particularly special.
"It was a great honour for me to be presented with a world silver medal by Anita DeFranz, captain of the 1976 US women's rowing team, who was the first African-American and the first woman to serve on the International Olympic Committee."
Weston's rowing memories framed in her home in London, Ontario (image courtesy of Kubet Weston)
Following her retirement from the sport, Weston put her physiotherapy degree to work for several years with the national rowing team before starting her own practice, Skye Health. She is now continuing her career in rowing as a member of the newly-created Diversity and Inclusion Committee with Row Ontario.
"Encouraging diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility to rowing will hopefully allow more BIPOC athletes the chance to experience the sport, put more BIPOC heroes on the international stage, and more racially diverse leaders involved in all aspects of the sport," she said. "As a physiotherapist, I am acutely aware of the importance of physical health and sport, and the glaring racial inequalities in health in Canada."
Weston admits that it's still very unusual to see BIPOC athletes rowing in Canada and has admired the work of U of T's newly founded BIPOC Varsity Association (BVA).
"Rowing is historically a sport of white privilege, and in addition to very few athletes, there were little to no coaches, staff, officials, umpires, sponsors, donors, media or marketing that was racially diverse during all my years in the sport," she said. "I think the purpose of the BVA, to listen to BIPOC student-athletes and alumni, address issues of racism and systemic racism, and have accountability within the U of T Varsity program, is so important at this time."