Match Racing Association

A well attended meeting of active match racers was held at Kinsale Yacht Club on the 24th of October 2009. As a result it was agreed to form an Irish Match Racing Association in order to further develop the sport in Ireland.

Richard Morris was appointed as the first Secretary General. He was also given responsibility for the north and north east. 2009 saw three new match racing events established and it was hoped to expand these again for 2010 in order to consolidate the position of the Match Racing Tour of Ireland amongst the premier events on the Irish sailing calendar. The following appointments were made to manage the events in the relevant areas:

Tom Fitzpatrick – Midlands

John Sheehy – East and South East

George Kingston – South and South West

Michael O’Conner was appointed to continue his work as international liaison and in race officer and umpire development. With match racing now an Olympic discipline, Mary O’Loughlin was appointed to represent the interests of womens match racing.

In addition the meeting saw the urgent need to provide those with an interest in giving the discipline a go an opportunity to compete and learn in a cheaper and less pressured environment than the Tour events provide.

Development of a performance pathway to bring sailors through from team racing and onto the international match racing circuit was also viewed as a key objective.

With these objectives in mind Andrew Fowler was appointed to look at the model that has been developed in Kinsale by Henry Kingston and to apply it elsewhere in the country.

The ISA has played an important role in developing match racing as a sport in Ireland over the last three years and the association intends to continue a close working relationship with the sports governing body in Ireland. With that in mind Ed Alcock was appointed to provide a link between the two and to provide general advice and guidance.

Match racing shares a number of resource issues with team racing and while no specific appointment was, or will be, made the Irish Match Racing Association intends to work closely with the Irish Team Racing Association on an ongoing basis.

Irish Match Racing Association – IMRA, Richard Morris, Secretary General, North and North East, tel: 085 711 7228