#ROWING: Trinity won the senior men’s and women’s races at the Lagan Construction University Boat Races in Belfast today. Queen’s closed fast on Trinity coming up to the line in the men’s race and lost by a narrow margin. The senior women’s race was a more decisive win for the visitors, who had a strong senior crew. There was a strong headwind for the 11^th annual running of the event.

Lagan Construction University Boat Races, Belfast

Men

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s, canvas

Fresher: Queen’s bt Trinity

Junior 18, Ulster Schools: Portora bt Bann.

Junior 16 (Craig Cup): Portora bt Methodist College

Alumni: Queen’s bt Trinity, 1 ft

Women

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s

Fresher: Trinity bt Queen’s, disq

Junior 18 (Bobby Platt Cup); Bann bt Portora

#ROWING: Lagan Scullers’ Head of the River, scheduled for Saturday in Belfast, has been cancelled. “The forecast was bad and getting worse,” said race director Gordon Reid this afternoon. The weather system could have made the course dangerous. Cork Head, however, is set to go ahead at the Marina on Saturday, with an entry of 280 crews. The high water levels on the Corrib have led to the early cancellation of Galway Head, which was set for St Patrick’s weekend.

# ROWING: A collision before the start between the Queen’s University senior eight and the Portadown intermediate four took both crews out of the reckoning at the second head of the day at Lagan Head of the River in Belfast on Saturday. One of the Portadown crew had to be treated in hospital. In the absence of Queen’s, Neptune’s junior 18 eight ruled the waters: they took pennants as fastest crew; fastest junior crew and fastest junior 18 eight. The Belfast Boat Club/RBAI senior crew was the fastest four and Trinity's top women’s senior eight placed well.

# ROWING: Neptune Rowing Club had a good day at the Lagan Head of the River in Belfast on Saturday. Men’s junior quadruple sculls from the Dublin club placed first and second in Head One. Rory O’Connor of Queen’s University was the fastest senior single sculler.

There are 148 crews over the three races starting with pairs and sculls, then doubles and fours and finishing in the afternoon with eights and quads. The third race features 35 eights and 26 quads.

The big race of the day, the men's senior eights, which starts at 3.45 pm, will feature a high intensity race between the two Queen's University eights.  The A Queen's crew, with new strokeman, Mike Ewing, have been relatively the same crew for the last three years. This is the crew which mounted serious challenges to the victorious NUIG team at the Irish Rowing Championships, narrowly missing out on a national senior eight by a mere few feet on two occasions.  The A team's Ewing won a Wyfold cup (men's coxless four) at Henley last year.

The women's intermediate eights should prove interesting with a crew entered from St Andrews in Scotland who will be up against Queen's University Ladies and St Michael's, Limerick.

The men's junior 16 eights sees all the Ulster crews up against each other whilst the men's junior 18 quads sees Blackrock College, Dublin, Shandon ,Limerick and Offaly Rowing Club take on the Ulster schools.

Eight crews will contest the men's Master's pennant (over 28s) with Galway, Bann and Athlone pushing the Belfast-based masters crews, Belfast Boat Club, Belfast Rowing Club and the Lady Victoria Boat Club, all the way. The former Queen's ladies rower ,Frenchwoman Solange Garrais is bringing a men's Masters and a women's Masters quad from Aviron Grenoblois, France to compete.

The 10.45 am and 13.15 pm races start at the Albert Bridge in Belfast and finish at Queen's boathouse at Stranmillis. The 15.45 pm race starts at the Odyssey building in Belfast Harbour and finishes at Queen's boathouse at Stranmillis. There are viewing points along the full length of each race.

The official start to the regatta season takes place on Saturday 2nd April with the Neptune regatta at Islandbridge, Dublin.

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