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Displaying items by tag: Paul O'Donovan

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan qualified for the A Final of their fourth major regatta this season when they finished third in their semi-final at the World Cup in Lucerne. They reached the top stage in World Cup regattas in Belgrade and Poznan and at the European Championships.

Italy took the risky strategy of setting off very fast in the hope of leading all the way. It worked, and they won. The Czech Republic, Ireland and Russia were their main rivals until the final quarter, when, as the Russians faded in the hot conditions, the Czechs and Ireland nailed down the second and third spots. Britain’s Jamie Copus and Sam Mottram pushed to pass Ireland but could not.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne – Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls Semi-Finals (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi Final One: 1 France 6:20.57, 2 Belgium 6:24.68, 3 Greece 6:26.92.

Semi Final Two: 1 Italy 6:20.82, 2 Czech Republic 6:22.05, 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.75; 4 Britain 6:25.25, 5 Japan Two 6:27.84, 6 Russia 6:34.33.

Women

Single Sculls Semi-Finals (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi Final One: 1 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:35.06, 2 Germany (A Thiele) 7:35.96, 3 Britain (V Thornley) 7:36.09; 4 Ireland One (S Puspure) 7:36.90; 6 Ireland Two (M Dukarska) 7:55.0.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan won their repechage to qualify for the semi-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne today. The Skibbereen men had not intended to be in the race – run in very hot conditions – but they judged it well, taking out both Russia and Denmark in the final 200 metres.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Pair – Exhibition Race: 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:57.32, 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:59.26, 3 Brazil 6:59.29.

Lightweight Double Sculls (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 France 6:27.36, 2 Britain One 6:30.70. Heat Two: 1 Greece 6:25.88, 2 Czech Republic 6:26.39; 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:28.63. Heat Three: 1 Italy 6:29.15, 2 Belgium 6:32.44.

Repechage One (First Three to A/B Semi-Final; rest to C Final): 1 Ireland 6:44.33, 2 Denmark 6:45.71, 3 Russia 6:45.91.

Women

Single Sculls (Three to Quarter-Finals; rest to quarters or E Final) – Heat Three: 1 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:46.97, 2 Ireland Two (M Dukarska) 7:51.44, 3 Latvia (E Gulbe) 8:02.20.

Heat Five: 1 Britain (V Thornley) 7:45.65, 2 Ireland One (S Puspure) 7:47.84, 3 Finland (E Karppinen) 7:58.04.

Quarter-Finals (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals): QF One: 1 Ireland (Puspure) 7:52.50, 2 United States (F Mueller) 7:53.39,

3 Belarus (E Karsten) 7:59.13.

QF Three: 1 Canada (C Zeeman) 7:57.04, 2 Germany (A Thiele) 8:01.51, 3 Ireland (Dukarska) 8:03.64.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan finished third in their heat and must come through a repechage if they are to qualify for the semi-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne.

Just two crews qualified directly and the Ireland crew trailed Greece and the Czech Republic through the four quarters of the race. With 250 metres to go the men in green looked set to take out at least one of the two, but both powered on and Ireland, stuck in third, faded back coming up to the line.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 France 6:27.36, 2 Britain One 6:30.70.

Heat Two: 1 Greece 6:25.88, 2 Czech Republic 6:26.39; 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:28.63.

Heat Three: 1 Italy 6:29.15, 2 Belgium 6:32.44.

Women

Single Sculls (Three to Quarter-Finals; rest to quarters or E Final) – Heat Three: 1 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:46.97, 2 Ireland Two (M Dukarska) 7:51.44, 3 Latvia (E Gulbe) 8:02.20.

Heat Five: 1 Britain (V Thornley) 7:45.65, 2 Ireland One (S Puspure) 7:47.84, 3 Finland (E Karppinen) 7:58.04.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan set a new personal best as a  single sculler at Cork Regatta today. The Skibbereen sculler won the Division One A Final in six minutes 50.819 seconds. Gary O’Donovan was 13 seconds further back in sunny conditions with a cross-tailwind.

Sanita Puspure pulled out of the women’s single sculls final, but she had already won the heat, beating Monika Dukarska by six seconds. Dukarska won the final.

Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll beat Shane Mulvaney and David O’Malley by 3.4 seconds after a good race in the men’s pair.

Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Div Two – A Final: 1 UCD B (club two) 6:22.449, 2 Shandon (jun 16) 6:36.97; 4 Trinity (nov) 6:41.7.

Four – Div One, coxed – A Final: 1 NUIG (inter) 6:22.49; 4 UCD B (sen) 6:28.46; 6 Neptune (jun 18A) 6:38.53.

Pair – Div Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (sen) 6:36.43; B Final: 2 Cork (jun 18A) 7:03.17. C Final: 5 Neptune A (club one) 7:16.46.

Sculling,

Quadruple – Div One – A Final: 1 UCC, UCD, Skibbereen (sen) 5:57.88; 2 Three Castles (jun 18A) 6:11.99. B Final: UCC (club one) 6:38.49.

Double – Div Two – A Final: 1 Shandon (jun 18B) 6:57.74; 3 Waterford (club two) 7:04.61; 4 Castleconnell A (jun 16) 7:11.77.

Single – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan; sen) 6:50.82. B Final: 3 Shandon (D Begley; inter) 7:19.11; 4 Castelconnell (J Quinlan; jun 18A)

Women

Eight – Div Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (club two) 6:54.5; 5 Trinity (nov) 7:21.92; 6 St Michael’s (jun 16) 7:26.8.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: 1 Cork (sen) 7:22.85, 2 NUIG (club one) 7:27.0; 4 Shannon (inter) 7:36.13.

Pair – Div One – A Final: UCC/UCD (sen) 7:35.97; 5 Trinity B (inter) 7:53.23. B Final: Lee (jun 18A) 8:00.457. C Final: Belfast BC (club one) 8:08.607.

Sculling, Quadruple Div One - A Final: Lee (Jun 18A) 6:50.22

Div Two – A Final: 1 Shandon (club two) 7:28.86, 2 Castleconnell (jun 16) 7:31.09; 5 Shandon (jun 18B) 7:54.69.

Double – Div Two – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 16) 7:44.19; 5 Graiguenamanagh (jun 18B) 8:17.88; 6 Killorglin (club two) 8:23.69.

Single – Div One – A Final: 1 Killorglin (M Dukarska; sen) 7:40.23; 3 Skibbereen (A Casey; jun 18A) 7:56.17; 4 Skibbereen (O Hayes; lwt) 7:59.73. C Final: 2 Skibbereen (L Heaphy; inter) 8:11.60; 6 Garda (J Ryan; club one) 8:44.57.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan took a silver medal at the World Cup Regatta in Poland this morning. The Ireland lightweight double took second in an exciting race. France led from early on and were never headed. Ireland came from sixth to hold second by 1500 metres – but coming up to the line they came under severe pressure from China and Poland, who took the bronze.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland, Day Three (Selected results; Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 France (P Houin, J Azou) 6:12.40, 2 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:15.33, 3 Poland (J Kowalski, M Janknowski) 6:15.90; 4 China One 6:16.17, 5 Germany 6:17.67, 6 Japan Two 6:17.99.

Women

Pair – B Final: 1 United States 7:22.54, 2 Ireland (A Keogh, A Crowley) 7:30.09.

Single Sculls – B Final: 1 Ireland One (S Puspure) 7:28.79, 2 United States Two (M O’Leary) 7:29.35, 3 Ireland Two (M Dukarska) 7:32.34; 4 Germany Two 7:36.36, 5 United States One 7:37.43, 6 Austria Two 7:40.21.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: On a wonderful day for Irish rowing, Paul and Gary O’Donovan produced a trademark burning finish to take Ireland’s third medal – silver – at the European Championships in Racice in the Czech Republic.

France showed their familiar control to take gold, while the O’Donovans moved through the field to take out Britain, Poland and then win a sprint with Italy for silver.

The day had started with a gold medal for Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll in the lightweight pair and a silve for Denise Walsh in the women's lightweight single.

European Rowing Championships, Day Three (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Pair – A Final: 1 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:32.34, 2 Russia 6:34.74, 3 Italy 6:34.89; 4 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:39.75.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 France 6:17.67, 2 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:20.06, 3 Italy 6:20.36.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – A Final: 1 Sweden (E Fredh) 7:36.24, 2 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:38.00, 3 Switzerland (P Merz) 7:39.94.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan won their repechage to secure a place in the semi-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Racice today. The Irish crew did not start well, but by halfway they were making their move and they led through the second half of the race. As they passed the grandstand, they came under pressure from the Ukraine, but they held firm and won by a length.

European Championships, Racice, Czech Republic, Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Pair – Exhibition (Race for Lanes): 1 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:57.77, 2 Italy 6:59.82, 3 Russia 7:01.75, 4 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 7:03.39.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heats (Winner to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages) – Heat One: 1 France (P Houin, J Azou) 6:26.97. Heat Two: Germany (L Schaefer, J Osborne) 6:37.53.

Heat Three: 1 Poland 6:25.93, 2 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:32.15, 3 Russia 6:36.38, 4 Switzerland 6:40.60, 5 Austria. Heat Four: 1 Italy 6:30.77.

Repechage Three (First two to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 Ireland 6:34.33, 2 Ukraine 6:36.51; 3 Portugal 6:40.75, 4 Sweden 7:05.89.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat One (First Three to Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:44.85, 2 Denmark (A Runge Holmegaard) 7:49.49, 3 Poland (J Dorociak) 7:49.90; 4 Czech Republic 8:05.07, 5 Portugal 8:08.19. Heat Two: 1 Switzerland 7:42.510. Heat Three: 1 Sweden 7:39.52.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan took fourth place in the A Final of the lightweight double sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade today. The British crew of Peter Chambers and Will Fletcher took the race on from the start and led by a length at half way.

They come under pressure from the Czech Republic and Ireland in the second half, but in a scrambling finish the British held on for gold, with the Czechs second and Poland holding off Ireland for bronze.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade (Selected results; Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Pair – Final: 1 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:46.65, 2 Russia 6:47.67, 3 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:48.40.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 Britain (P Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:25.67, 2 Czech Republic 6:26.27, 3 Poland 6:26.63; 4 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:27.12, 5 Netherlands One 6:32.83, 6 Spain 6:38.41.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – A Final: 1 Switzerland (P Merz) 7:52.30, 2 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:56.24, 3 Poland (J Dorociak) 7:59.22.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland lightweight double scull of Paul and Gary O’Donovan won their semi-final at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade today. In a race run in rainy conditions, the crews were closely-packed in the early part of the race, with Ireland taking a marginal lead by halfway. But then the O’Donovans moved and the race from there was about who would take second and third and join Ireland in the A Final. The Netherlands and Spain did the business to stay in the hunt for medals.

Britain’s Will Fletcher and Peter Chambers won the other semi-final in a fast time.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair, Exhibition Race (Contest for Lanes): 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:39.30, 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:41.61, 3 Russia 6:43.42, 4 Hungary 7:06.15.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final). Semi-Final One: 1 Britain (P Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:23.98, 2 Poland 6:25.85, 3 Czech Republic 6:26.34.

Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:30.70, 2 Netherlands 6:32.26, 3 Spain 6:33.89.

Women

Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (V Thornley) 7:39.32, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:42.17; 3 Belarus Three 7:46.28, 4 Belarus Two 7:28.26, 5 Czech Republic 7:52.49.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan won their heat and qualified directly for the A/B Semi-Finals at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade this morning. As they often do, the UCD/Skibbereen duo won it in a sprint finish, overtaking the Czech Republic coming up to the line to win by six hundredths of a second. The Czechs and the Netherlands One had disputed the lead through the race, but the O’Donovans tracked them and drew on their remarkable finishing speed to win in six minutes 29.03 seconds.

Peter Chambers and Will Fletcher of Britain won the second heat in a time of six minutes 35.22 seconds.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade Serbia, Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Britain 6:42.81, Netherlands 6:46.34, 3 Spain 6:50.69; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:53.50.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:29.03, 2 Czech Republic 6:29.09; 3 Netherlands One 6:38.69

Heat Two: 1 Britain (P Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:35.22.

Women

Single Sculls – Heat Two (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:49.47; 2 Belarus (E Karsten) 7:51.74, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:53.20.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Two (First Two to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:07.51, 2 Poland (J Dorociak) 8:08.22; 3 Switzerland Two 8:11.65.

Published in Rowing
Page 8 of 12

Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020

Irish Sailing Performance Head Quarters

Irish Sailing's base for the exclusive use of its own teams are located on the grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Irish Sailing Performance HQ houses the senior Irish sailing teams such as Olympic Silver Medalist Annalise Murphy

The HQ plans were announced in May 2018 and opened in March 2019.

The HQ comprises a number of three converted shipping containers and a floating slipway and pontoon

The HQ aim is to improve both training and educational opportunities for them, thereby creating systematic medal potential.

The Performance HQ is entirely mobile and has space for briefings and athlete education, a gym, gear storage and a boat maintenance area.

The athlete briefing room can then be shipped directly to international competitions such as the Olympics Regatta and provide a base for athletes overseas.