Trinity College Dublin’s sailing club has made history as the first university in Ireland to host a sailing event dedicated to increasing women’s participation in competitive sailing, writes Max Cantwell.
The “Women at the Helm” event at the Royal St George in Dun Laoghaire last Sunday 22 February featured 12 teams from universities and clubs across Ireland — including the University of Galway, Royal College of Surgeons, University College Dublin, University College Cork, Dublin City University, Howth Yacht Club and a team of Trinity College alumni.
Teams were organised into two fleets of six boats, with each fleet completing 15 round robin races before semi-finals and a finals series were sailed.
Trinity Sailing treasurer Natacha Byrne (crew) and alumni officer Kirsty Quinn (helm) on the water
The 30 round robin races were sailed in pristine, champagne conditions, with Trinity’s first, second and third teams leading the pack, followed by University College Galway.
After an intense best-of-three semi-final and a riveting best-of-five final race, Trinity’s second team came out victorious. with the first team a close second, University College Galway in third and Trinity’s third team in fourth.
Once the sailing had concluded, everyone headed to the Royal St George clubhouse for a social reception to put a perfect cap on both a marvellous day of sailing and a significant step toward gender equality in sport.
“Today literally could not have gone any better,” said Finn Walker, captain of Trinity Sailing. “Perfect weather, everything running smoothly, I’m absolutely delighted.”
University of Galway’s Rachel Flood celebrating their third-place finish
The event was the brainchild of training captain Tim Norwood and secretary Adam Leddy who, with the help of the Trinity Sailing committee, got it off the ground.
“For us here at Trinity Sailing, we’re going to continue with this event for as long as it takes until it is no longer needed because there is an equal number of men and women helms,” said treasurer Natacha Byrne.
“For many of these girls, this will be their first time helming,” added ents officer Lily Fitzpatrick. “It’s important for us to create an environment where they feel comfortable learning, making mistakes, building confidence and improving.”
