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#Rowing: The Skibbereen/UCC composite won the women’s eights with the final few strokes at the Cork Grand League Regatta today. NUIG led them coming up to the line, but the winners finished faster to win by three tenths of a second. Cork were the best junior 18 eight.

UCD won the men’s eights by holding off NUIG. The finish was close, but UCD had led down the course and refused to yield. Neptune took the junior 18 honours by holding off St Joseph’s of Galway in the B Final.

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

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 UCD (N Farrell, R Thompson, E O’Connor, C O’Riada, E Gleeson, A Griffin, T Doherty, M Murphy; cox: O Reid; senior) 5:51.05, 2 NUIG (sen) 5:51.91, 3 UCD (inter) 6:05.098; 4 Cork (club one) 6:05.46. B Final: 4 Neptune (Jun 18A) 6:13.69.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG (sen) 6:16.41. Four, coxed – Div Two – A Final: 1 Queen’s B (club two) 6:53.69, 2 St Michael’s (jun 18B) 6:56.53; 6 Presentation, Cork (jun 16) 7:33.61.

Sculling,

Quadruple, Div Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 6:43.70; 3 Castleconnell (jun 16) 6:53.53; 4 Shandon (club two) 6:54.67.

Double – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan; sen) 6:25.51, 2 Commercial, UCD (N Beggan, A Goff; sen) 6:27.62, 3 Skibbereen (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll; sen) 6:37.997; 5 Three Castles A (jun 18A) 6:49.76. B Final: St Michael’s (inter) 6:51.20.

Single – Div Two – A Final: 1 Three Castles (A Keogh; jun 16) 7:29.64, 2 Cappoquin (S Landers; club two) 7:35.39; 6 Killorglin (J McCarthy; Jun 18B) 7:52.86.

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen/UCC (O Hayes, F O’Keeffe, A Casey, E McCarthy A Keogh, E Hegarty, N Casey, D Walsh; cox C O’Connell; senior) 6:37.94, 2 NUIG (sen) 6:38.30; 5 NUIG (club one) 6:58.38. B Final: 1 Cork (jun 18A) 7:00.93; 2 Shandon (inter) 7:02.79.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen, UCC (N Casey, E Hegarty, A Keogh, D Walsh; sen) 6:59.0. B Final: Col Iognaid (jun 18A) 7:39.68. Div Two, coxed – A Final: Trinity (club two) 7:41.79.

Sculling, Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Cork (inter) 7:19.591, 2 Lee (jun 18A) 7:23.45. B Final: 2 Carlow (club one) 7:40.31. Div Two – A Final: 1 Neptune (J Poh; club two) 8:40.47, 2 Kenmare (E Crowley; jun 18B) 8:42.76; 3 Neptune (N Clarke; jun 16) 8:46.62.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Coillte and Rowing Ireland have announced that Coillte will sponsor the Grand League regatta series. Coillte is a forestry management company which owns about seven per cent of the land cover of Ireland. It is also involved in renewable energy and panel products.

 The first leg of this year’s Coillte Grand League series is Skibbereen Regatta which is set for this weekend at the National Rowing Centre in Cork. Around 700 crews and 2,000 athletes compete at Skibbereen Grand League Regatta every year, with a six-lane race running every four minutes over two days – if the unpredictable Irish weather permits. It is a mammoth event and takes up to 100 volunteers to run successfully each year.

 Ciarán Fallon, Director of Stewardship and Public Goods at Coillte said: “Coillte is delighted to be supporting Rowing Ireland with this year’s Grand League series ahead of the Rio Olympics in August. Two of the three regattas in this year’s series are taking place at the National Rowing Centre,  located in Coillte’s Farran Forest Park in County Cork, one of our flagship parks, so we are encouraging people to turnout in large numbers to support this fantastic event. We are pleased to be able to extend our existing relationship with Rowing Ireland to be the title sponsor for this exciting series as the athletes prepares for Rio.”

 Hamish Adams, the chief executive of Rowing Ireland, said: “We have a long established and close relationship with Coillte through our location of the National Rowing Centre in Farran Forest Park. The development of further support from Coillte for the Grand League series further endorses our relationship and we welcome all to attend the upcoming events to experience a day of competitive racing in the majestic setting of Farran Forest Park.”

 The 2016 Coillte Grand League will include three regatta events that will each attract up to two thousand rowing competitors as well as five thousand plus spectators each day.

 The Coillte Grand League will take place at the following dates and venues:

9th and 10th April: Skibbereen Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Farran Forest Park, Co. Cork.

28th May: Metropolitan Regatta, Blessington Lake, Co. Wicklow.

25th and 26th June: Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre,  Farran Forest Park, Co. Cork.

 The Grand League regatta series was established by Rowing Ireland in 2010 and has since become the premier domestic rowing league in Ireland, contributing to the development of numerous athletes at both junior and senior level. The series provides rowers at all levels with the opportunity to perform and develop their racing prowess in a fair and competitive environment.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Gráinne Mhaol/NUIG were pushed hard by UCD, but came away with the Division One eights title at Cork Grand League Regatta at the National Rowing Centre. NUIG came in third, despite having to do without the services of Kevin Neville, who had fallen ill during the heats. The experienced Gráinne Mhaol crew of Dave Mannion, Alan Martin, Cormac Folan and James Wall won the Division One four, while Skibbereen won the women’s four.

Andy Harrington of UCC won the Division One single sculls from Eimantas Grigalius of Three Castles and Fergus Fauvel, a New Zealander studying in Galway. Fauvel also rowed at number four for the winning eight.

Catríona Jennings of Commercial, who only took up rowing in the past two years after competing as a runner at the Olympic Games, won the Division One single sculls.

The timing system at the regatta, a bugbear at a number of Grand League events, caused some difficulties.  

Published in Rowing

ROWING: Queen’s Regatta has been cancelled. The Grand League Regatta was scheduled for May 17th at Castlewellan Forest Park in Co Down but redevelopment work at the venue has forced the abandonment of the event. The board meeting of Rowing Ireland this Saturday will consider whether the Grand League slot now left open could be filled by another regatta.

The Irish University Championships, originally scheduled for Blessington in June, have been switched to the National Rowing Centre in Cork and will be held on April 11th. Skibbereen’s two-day Grand League Regatta will be held on April 12th and 13th at the NRC.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: SKIBBEREEN REGATTA: Skibbereen’s young stars burned brightly in the second finals session of their own eFlow Grand League regatta the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. A gusting tailwind may have caused the abandonment of junior 14 and junior 15 races, but the Skibbereen quadruple scull of Padraig Murphy, Aodhan Burns, Shane O’Driscoll and Gary O’Donovan mastered the conditions to set a good time of 5 minutes 56.31. O’Driscoll and O’Donovan, who will compete for Ireland at the World Under-23 Championships in three weeks’ time, also won the double impressively.

St Michael’s also continued their good run. They added wins in the women’s four and men’s pair to their earlier win in the women’s eight, and Sinead Jennings was by an impressive margin the fastest women’s single sculler home, though she will not be credited as winner: she had entered as a lightweight but then chose not to weigh in as one.

The women’s pairs title went to Cork Boat Club. The last race of the day, the men’s Division One eights, was won by NUIG’s intermediate crew, though their one rival in the race, UCC, did not finish.

Skibbereen eFlow Grand League Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 NUIG (inter) 5:52.01, UCC did not finish. Division Two – A Final: 1 UCC (nov) 6:12.96, 2 UCD (nov) 6:15.12, 3 Cork (jun 18B) 6:20.05;

Four, coxed – Divsion One – A Final: 1 UCC (inter) 6:29.66, 2 NUIG (inter) 6:32.9, 3 Trinity (inter) 6:33.60; 4 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 6:45.78. B Final: NUIG (inter) 6:42.18. Division Two – A Final: 1 Athlunkard (jun 18B) 6:54.06, 2 UCC (nov) 6:56.06, 3 NUIG (nov) 6:56.65.

Pair – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s B (K O’Connor, M O’Brien; sen) 6:52.69, 2 St Michael’s C (sen) 6:55.62, 3 Clonmel (jun 18A) 6:55.97. B Final: St Joseph’s (jun 18A) 7:14.02; 4 Commercial (inter) 7:35.29. C Final: Blackrock College (jun 18A) 7:39.55.

Sculling, Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (sen) 5:56.31, 2 Skibbereen (sen) 6:06.99, 3 Carlow (sen) 6:08.43; 4 Lee (jun 18) 6:13.32. B Final: Carlow/Three Castles (sen) 6:27.75. Division Two, coxed – A Final: Cork (jun 16) 6:50.15, 2 Killorglin (jun 16) 7:02.41, 3 UCD (nov) 7:10.71; 5 Shandon (jun 18B) 7:19.98. B Final: Cappoquin (nov) 7:10.77.

Double, Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (S O’Driscoll, G O’Donovan; sen) 6:35.67, 2 Three Castles (sen) 6:40.66, 3 Shandon (jun 18A) 6:51.27; 5 Skibbereen (inter) 6:59.08. B Final: Garda (inter) 6:58.12. C Final: Athlone (jun 18A) 7:08.38. Division Two: Waterford (jun 18B) 7:14.89, 2 Shandon (jun 16) 7:17.91, 3 Lee (jun 18B) 7:24.85. B Final: Skibbereen (jun 16) 7:59.45.

Single – Division One – A Final: 1 Lee Valley (J Keohane, sen) 7:12.18, 2 Three Castles (Grigalius, sen) 7:20.89, 3 Skibbereen (Ryan, jun 18A) 7:21.59; 4 Skibbereen (Burns, u23) 7:22.59; 6 Clonmel (Prendergast, inter) 7:23.44. B Final: Portadown (McKeown, inter) 7:31.83. C Final: 1 Three Castles (Corcoran, inter) 7:42.87; 2 Clonmel (Channon, lwt) 7:45.65. D Final: Skibbereen (Barry, inter) 7:57.57. Division Two – A Final: 1 Castleconnell (E Whittle, jun 16) 7:38.19, 2 Lee (White, jun 18B) 7:40.50, 3 Shandon (Begley, jun 18B) 7:43.82; 5 Univ of Limerick (Koyayashi; nov) 7:39.35. B Final: Waterford (Goff, jun 16) 7:41.25. C Final: Skibbereen (McCarthy, nov) 7:53.80. D Final: UCD (Toland, nov) 8:05.52.

Women

Eights – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s (sen) 6:32.25, 2 UCD (sen) 6:34.32, 3 Skibbereen (sen) 6:38.68. B Final: 1 Cork (jun 18B) 6:51.83, 2 Commercial (inter) 6:52.26. Division Two – A Final: 1 Trinity (nov) 7:04.35, 2 Shannon (nov) 7:16.68, 3 Garda (nov) 7:40.33; 4 Shandon (jun 18B) 7:55.26.

Four, coxed – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s (sen) 7:16.4, 2 UCC (inter) 7:26.04, 3 UCD (inter) 7:37.30.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s (u23) 7:02.51 UCD 7:07.05, 3 Cork BC (jun 18A) 7:12.39 B Final: Skibbereen (sen) 7:17.44. Division Two – A Final: 1 Shannon (nov) 7:39.91, 2 Trinity (nov) 7:46.61, 3 Commercial (nov) 7:48.44; 4 Shandon (jun 16) 8:22.77.

Pairs – Division One – A Final: 1 Cork (sen) 7:49.94, 2 NUIG (inter) 8:01.08, 3 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 8:24.34. B Final: Trinity (u23) 8:12.81.

Sculling

Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (Jun 18A) 7:01.73, 2 Skibbereen (sen) 7:05.47, 3 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 7:20.57. Division Two (coxed) – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (nov) 7:39.92, 2 Killorglin (jun 16) 7:53.61, 3 St Michael’s (jun 16) 8:07.04.

Double – Division One – A Final: 1 Three Castles (H Walshe, E Moran, sen) 7:13.57, 2 St Michaels (sen) 7:27.81, 3 NUIG (inter) 7:38.38; 4 Castleconnell (jun 18A) 8:02.90. Division Two – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 8:04.89, 2 Lee (jun 18B) 8:13.12, 3 Lee (jun 16) 8:17.70. B Final: Graiguenamanagh (jun 18B) 8:29.09. C Final: Tralee (jun 18B) 8:47.99.

Single, Division One – A Final: S Jennings (timing only) 7:50.11; 1 St Michael’s (S Clavin; lwt) 7:59.46, 2 Three Castles (B Quinn; lwt) 8:04.89, 3 Cork (M O’Neill, sen) 8:07.75. B Final: 1 Shandon (Horgan, lwt) 8:17.53, 2 Lee Valley (Corcoran-O’Hare; inter) 8:20.80. C Final: 1 UCC (O’Mahony, inter) 8:30.14; 2 Fermoy (Sohun, jun 18A) 8:31.03. Division Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (Hegarty; nov) 8:25.21, 2 St Michael’s (Murphy, jun 16) 8:29.40, 3 Killorglin (Ryan, nov) 8:50.30; 4 Lee (McGrath; jun 18B) 8:57.62. B Final: Cappoquin (Laughlin; jun 16) 9:00.90. C Final: Fermoy (Bouanane; jun 18B) 9:25.66.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING CORK REGATTA: Timing problems gave the organizers difficulties on Friday, the first day of the Cork City Regatta at the National Rowing Centre, but races ran to schedule today and there were some very competitive times in good conditions. There was general agreement that the  complexity of the timing system at the Grand League regattas will have to be looked at as the series progresses.

Cork eFlow Grand League Regatta, Selected Results

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 Grainne Mhaol/NUIG (sen) 5:46.5, 2 NUIG (inter) 5:51.4, 3 St Michael’s 5:54.8; 5 St Joseph’s Col (jun 18A) 5:58.4. B Final: Trinity (inter) 6:12.8.

Division Two – A Final: 1 UCC (nov) 6:05.2, 2 Trinity (nov) 6:06.4, 3 UCD (nov) 6:06.9; 4 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 6:21.8. B Final: Neptune (jun 18B) 6:53.6.  

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:03.6, 2 Grainne Mhaol/NUIG (sen) 6:08.9, 3 St Michael’s (sen) 6:09.7; 4 Presentation, Cork/St Joseph’s (sen – trialling) 6:25.3.

Four, coxed – Division One - A Final: 1 Trinity (sen) 6:21.2, 2 NUIG (inter) 6:21.8, 3 Skibbereen (sen) 6:32.2; 4 St Joseph’s (jun 18A) 6:40.0. Division Two – A Final: 1 Univ of Limerick (nov) 6:43.1, 2 UCD (nov) 6:44.8, 3 Athlunkard (jun 18B) 6:55.2. B Final: 1 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 6:55.1. C Final: Trinity (nov) 7:05.1.

Sculling

Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (sen) 6:07.7, 2 Shandon (jun 18A) 6:12.0, 3 UCC (sen) 6:12.7. B Final: Neptune (jun 18A) 6:22.6.

Double – Division Two – A Final: 1 Lee (jun 18B) 6:54.4, 2 Cork (jun 18B) 7:01.3, 3 Skibbereen (nov) 7:03.7; 5 Shandon (jun 16) 7:40.6. B Final: Trinity (nov) 7:20.6, 2 Clonmel (jun 16) 7:27.1. C Final: Col Chiarain (jun 16) 7:35.3. D Final: Blackrock Col (jun 18B) 7:53.4.

Single – Division Two – A Final: 1 Cork (Higgins) 7:29.8, 2 Sligo (Patterson) 7:37.3, 3 University of Limerick (Kobayashi) 7:40.8. B Final: Cork (Higgins) 7:47.8. C Final: Lee (Turner) 7:56.0. D Final: Skibbereen (McCarthy) 8:05.1

Women

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 Trinity (sen) 6:39.1, 2 UCD (under-23) 6:40.7, 3 Shannon (jun 18) 7:05.7; 4 Queen’s (inter) 7:06.3. Division Two – A Final: 1 Trinity (nov) 7:05.8, 2 Commercial (nov) 7:08.3, 3 Athlunkard (nov) 7:19.3; 4 Shannon (jun 16) 7:31.6. B Final: NUIG (nov) 7:24.3.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 NUIG/St Michael’s (u23) 6:45.3, 2 St Michael’s (u23) 7:00.4, 3 UCD (sen) 7:02.0. B Final: Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:13.8.

Four, coxed – Division One – A Final: 1 UCD (inter) 7:22.3, 2 NUIG (inter) 7:24.0, 3 UCD (inter) 7:29.5. B Final: Trinity (inter) 7:38.0. Division Two – B Final: 1 Shannon (nov) 7:38.3, 2 Galway (nov) 7:38.5, 3 NUIG (nov) 7:46.9. B Final: Shandon (jun 16) 7:55.4.

Sculling, Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (sen) 6:59.0, 2 Cork (jun 18A) 7:04.8, 3 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 7:07.1. B Final: Col Iognaid (jun 18A) 7:33.3. Division Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (nov) 7:34.6, 2 Killorglin (jun 16) 7:38.7, 3 Neptune (jun 16) 7:43.8; 4 Commercial (jun 18B) 7:54.1. B Final: Carrick-0n-Shannon 8:20.8.  

Double – Division One – A Final: 1 S Jennings/C Lambe (timing only) 7:02.1, 2 Three Castles (sen) 7:12.6, 3 Skibbereen (sen) 7:27.3; 4 UCC (inter) 7:44.1. B Final: 1 St Michael’s (u23) 7:40.9, 2 Castleconnell (jun 18A) 7:56.1; 4 Col Iognaid (jun 18A) 8:50.9.

Division Two – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:46.3, 2 Skibbereen (jun 16) 7:59.6, 3 Lee (jun 18B) 8:04.6; 4 Skibbereen (nov) 8:05.2. B Final: St Michael’s (jun 18B) 8:21.8. C Final: Cork (nov) 8:33.9.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING CORK REGATTA: Grainne Mhaol/NUIG dominated the final race of the day, the A Final of the men’s eight at Cork Regatta today, with NUIG’s intermediate eight second. Grainne Mhaol had also won the men’s four.

Trinity also had a good day, winning the women’s eight and shading the men’s coxed four – they had .6 of a second to spare over NUIG. Skibbereen were strong in the sculling events, with wins in the men’s and women’s quadruple sculls and the men’s double – the Ireland under-23 crew of Gary O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll.

The men’s junior four which was trialling for a place at the Coupe de la Jeunesse (Kevin Fallon and Jack Smyth of St Joseph’s, and twin brothers David and Brian Keohane of Presentation, Cork) landed their places. The women’s four which hopes to represent Ireland at the World Under-23 Championships (Lisa Dilleen, Aifric Keogh, Ailish Sheehan and Emily Tormey) also won their final.

Sinead Jennings and Claire Lambe impressed when they teamed up in a double scull, winning well and setting a good time of seven minutes 2.1 seconds.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Young crews took full advantage of the absence of some of the big guns at Queen’s Regatta at Castlewellan today. The women’s Division One eights of the first eFlow Grand League regatta of the season gave Galway Rowing Club the chance to showcase their ambitious tyros – all but cox Aifric O’Regan are juniors – and they won from UCD’s intermediates and Portora’s junior eight. The men’s Division One single sculls was won by 18 year old Andy Harrington from clubmate Jack Casey, who is just 17. The two later teamed up to win the Division One double sculls’ title.

The top prize on the day, the Division One men’s eights, was taken by the Queen’s University senior crew, but they got quite a battle from the junior eight from St Joseph’s of Galway.   

Queen’s Regatta, Castlewellan, Co Down (1500 m), Saturday (Selected Results: Division One comprises senior (open, under-23 and lightweight), intermediate and junior 18A grades; Division Two comprises novice, junior 18 B and junior 16 grades.

Men

Eight, Division One – A Final: 1 Queen’s (sen) 4:54.68, 2 St Joseph’s (jun 18) 4:58.83, 3 Portora (jun 18) 5:11.50; 5 Queen’s (u23) 5:29.67. Division Two – A Final: 1 UCC (nov) 4:46.02, 2 Queen’s (nov) 4:47.92, 3 Belfast (nov) 4:53.10; 4 Portora (jun 16) 4:54.56; 6 Coleraine AI (jun 18B) 5:10.46. B Final: RBAI (jun 18B) 5:00.66.

Four, coxed, Division One – A Final: 1 Queen’s (sen) 5:01.13, 2 UCC (inter) 5:06.40, 3 Galway (jun) 5:10.30. B Final: Commercial (inter) 5:23.13. Masters: 1 Belfast BC/Belfast RC 5:48.15, 2 Bann 5:54.23, 3 Portadown 6:33.67. Division Two – A Final: 1 UCC (nov) 5:47.67, 2 Queen’s (nov) 5:57.21, 3 Blackrock (jun 18B) 6:01.14; 4 Methodist (jun 16) 6:06.18. B Final: Queen’s (nov) 6:03.00. C Final: Belfast RC (nov) 6:02.89.

Pair, Division One – A Final: 1 Queen’s (u23) 5:24.30, 2 Queen’s (sen) 5:27.59, 3 Queen’s (sen) 5:31.41. B Final: 1 Commercial (sen) 5:38.89; 2 Shandon (jun 18) 5:40.43; 5 Neptune (inter) 5:57.68. C Final: Portora (inter) 5:44.35. D Final: Commercial (sen) 5:47.30.

Sculling,

Quadruple, Division One – A Final: 1 Commercial (sen) 5:09.64, 2 Lee (jun 18) 5:14.69, 3 Garda (inter) 5:23.44. B Final: Neptune (jun 18) 5:27.68.

Division Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Cork (jun 16) 5:30.30, 2 Commercial (jun 18B) 5:33.79, 3 Lee (jun 18B) 5:34.68. B Final: RBAI (jun 18B) 5:53.44. C Final: 1 Portadown (jun 18B) 6:20.67; 2 Sliog (nov) 6:25.96.

Double, Division One – A Final: 1 Shandon (jun 18) 5:28.89, 2 UCC (sen) 5:39.42, 3 Queen’s/Skibbereen (sen) 5:40.43; 4 Garda (inter) 5:50.04. B Final: Commercial (inter) 5:55.04. Division Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (nov) 6:00.22, 2 Cork (jun 18B) 6:00.81, 3 Lee (jun 18B) 6:05.43. B Final: UCD (nov) 6:02.19; 5 Galway (jun 16) 6:55.56. C Final: Commercial (jun 16) 6:31.34. D Final: Belfast RC (jun 18B) 6:55.86.

Single, Division One – A Final: 1 Shandon (A Harrington, jun 18) 5:39.79, 2 Shandon (Casey, jun 18) 5:41.78, 3 Lee (Mitchell, jun 18) 5:43.58; 5 Skibbereen (Murphy, sen) 5:45.40. B Final: Lee (Buckley, jun 18) 5:45.19; 3 Commercial (McKenna, inter) 5:52.13. C Final: Commercial (Dowling, sen) 5:40.29; 6 UCC (Griffin, lwt) 6:05.03. D Final UCC (O’Leary, lwt) 5:56.23. E Final: Carrick-on-Shannon (Cox, inter) 6:01.09.

Division Two – A Final: 1 Sligo (Patterson, nov) 5:50.62, 2 UCC (Stanton, nov) 5:51.69, 3 Lee (White, jun 18B) 5:58.15; 5 Cork (O’Connell, jun 16) 6:01.16. B Final: Cork (Dennehy, jun 18B) 5:56.0. C Final: Portadown (McKeown, nov) 5:50.70. D Final: Skibbereen (McCarthy, jun 16) 6:00.19. E Final: Lee (Larkin, nov) 6:02.12. F Final: Commercial (Meade, nov) 6:18.68. G Final: Cappoquin (Buckley, jun 16) 6:09.72.  

Women

Eight, Division One – A Final: 1 Galway (u23) 5:16.95, 2 UCD (inter) 5:18.53, 3 Portora (jun 18) 5:19.02; 5 Queen’s (inter) 5:31.06. Division Two – A Final: 1 Queen’s (nov) 5:50.98, 2 Portora (jun 16) 5:55.82, 3 UCD (nov) 6:01.23. B Final: Commercial (jun 18B) 6:21.01.

Four, Division One – A Final: 1 Portora (jun 18) 6:18.20, 2 Methodist Col (jun 18) 6:35.28.

Four, coxed, Division One – A Final: 1 UCD (inter) 5:44.98, 2 Commercial (inter) 5:50.63, 3 Commercial B (inter) 5:51.29. B Final: Queen’s B (inter) 5:56.77.

Pair, Division One – A Final: Bann (inter) 6:32.44, 2 Skibbereen (u23) 6:34.73, 3 Shandon (jun 18) 6:40.69; 4 Commercial (inter) 6:41.64. B Final: Cork (sen) 7:00.21.

Sculling, Quadruple, Division One – A Final: 1 Galway (jun 18) 5:31.91, 2 Shandon (inter) 5:34.77, 3 UCD (inter) 5:49.23.

Division Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Galway (jun 18B) 5:52.76, 2 Lee (nov) 6:00.32, 3 Bann (jun 18B) 6:02.19; 4 Methody (jun 16) 6:03.27. B Final: Cork (nov) 6:01.03. C Final: Athlunkard (nov) 6:18.70. D Final: Portadown (jun 16) 6:33.53.

Double, Division Two – A Final: 1 Muckross (jun 18B) 6:02.82, 2 Skibbereen (jun 16) 6:09.52, 3 Lee (jun 18B) 6:20.55; 5 Skibbereen (nov) 6:34.51. B Final: Methody (jun 18B) 6:25.72. C Final: Portadown (jun 16) 7:06.44.

Single, Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (O Hayes, lwt) 6:49.79, 2 Commercial (Dolan, lwt) 6:59.90, 3 Skibbereen (Dinneen, u23) 7:05.76; 5 Skibbereen (Hegarty, jun 18) 7:13.89; 6 Lee Valley (Corcoran-O’Hare, inter) 7:26.55. B Final: Shandon (Horgan, inter) 7:09.86.

Division Two – A Final: 1 Bann (E Barry, jun 16) 6:46.61, 2 Commercial (Foley, nov) 6:48.65, 3 Commercial (Lambe, jun 16) 6:57.22. B Final: Offaly (Mooney, jun 16) 7:04.65. C Final: Belfast BC (Cameron, nov) 7:29.49.

Published in Rowing

UCD stand on top of the Grand League points table after the first regatta of the season. Skibbereen, the hosts of last month's regatta are in second. Trinity, who won the Irish University Championships, have good showing for both their women's club, DULBC, and the men's club.  

Below is the  Grand League Rowing points table. Next up for the Grand League series: Queens Regatta, May 14th, Metro Regatta, May 28th and Cork & Monkstown Regatta, July 2nd.

  
Overall Club Points After Skibbereen Regatta  
1 U.C.D. BC 187
2 Skibbereen RC 119
3 Shandon BC 107
4 St. Michaels Rowing Club 103
5 Dublin University Ladies BC 94
6 Cork BC 92
7 NUI Galway BC 82
8 Commercial RC 72
9 Neptune RC 71
10 Dublin University BC 55
11 Muckross RC 53
12 U.C.C. RC 49
13 University of Limerick RC 47.5
14 Carlow RC 46
15 St. Josephs College RC 43
16 Shannon RC 41
17 Fermoy RC 40
18 Clonmel RC 32
19 Athlunkard BC 29
20 Lee RC 29
21 Galway RC 20
22 Killorglin RC 18.5
23 Cappoquin 17
24 Tralee RC 17
25 Three Castles Rowing Club 15
26 Garda Siochana BC 14
27 Colaiste Chiarain RC 12
28 Lee Valley RC 12
29 Workmens RC 12
30 Old Collegians BC (Walshe) 10
31 Presentation College RC 10
32 Graiguenamanagh BC 9
33 Fossa RC 7
34 Grainne Mhaol RC 4
35 Castleconnell BC 1
 
 
Mens Division 1 After Skibbereen Regatta  
1 U.C.D. BC 74
2 Skibbereen RC 65
3 Neptune RC 39
4 Dublin University BC 30
5 Carlow RC 28
6 Commercial RC 28
7 Lee RC 24
8 Cork BC 22
9 NUI Galway BC 22
10 Muckross RC 21
11 St. Josephs College RC 17
12 University of Limerick RC 17
13 St. Michaels Rowing Club 15
14 Lee Valley RC 12
15 Shandon BC 12
16 Presentation College RC 10
17 Fossa RC 7
18 Garda Siochana BC 6
19 U.C.C. RC 6
20 Workmens RC 5
21 Grainne Mhaol RC 4
22 Three Castles Rowing Club 3
23 Clonmel RC 1
 
 
Mens Division 2 After Skibbereen Regatta
1 St. Michaels Rowing Club 38
2 Cork BC 33
3 Neptune RC 32
4 U.C.D. BC A 27
5 St. Josephs College RC 26
6 Dublin University BC 25
7 Shannon RC 24
8 Shandon BC 23
9 U.C.C. RC 23
10 Fermoy RC 21
11 Athlunkard BC 17
12 Carlow RC 12
13 Cappoquin RC 11
14 University of Limerick RC 11
15 Commercial RC 9
16 Skibbereen RC 9
17 Tralee RC 9
18 Workmens RC 7
19 Clonmel RC 6
20 Graiguenamanagh BC 6
21 NUI Galway BC 6
22 Lee RC 5
23 Colaiste Chiarain RC 4
24 Muckross RC 1
 
 
Womens Division 1 After Skibbereen Regatta  
1 U.C.D. BC 61
2 Dublin University Ladies BC 47
3 Skibbereen RC 45
4 Shandon BC 40
5 St. Michaels Rowing Club 38
6 NUI Galway BC 29
7 Muckross RC 23
8 Killorglin RC 14.5
9 Three Castles Rowing Club 12
10 Old Collegians BC 10
11 University of Limerick RC 9.5
12 Clonmel RC 9
13 Cork BC 9
14 U.C.C. RC 9
15 Athlunkard BC 1
 
 
Womens Division 2 After Skibbereen Regatta  
1 Dublin University Ladies BC 47
2 Commercial 35
3 Shandon BC 33
4 Cork BC 28
5 NUI Galway BC 25
6 U.C.D. BC 25
7 Galway RC 20
8 Fermoy RC 19
9 Shannon RC 17
10 Clonmel RC 16
11 St. Michaels Rowing Club 12
12 Athlunkard BC 11
13 U.C.C. RC 11
14 University of Limerick RC 10
15 Colaiste Chiarain 8
16 Garda Siochana BC 8
17 Muckross RC 8
18 Tralee RC 8
19 Cappoquin 6
20 Carlow RC 6
21 Killorglin RC 4
22 Graiguenamanagh 3
23 Castleconnell BC 1
Published in Rowing

The first Grand League rowing regatta of the season, hosted by Skibbereen at the National Rowing Centre in Cork, came successfully through a bout of fog. The fastest crew on the day were the University of Limerick/Garda senior eight, while John Keohane of Lee Valley and Becky Quinn of Three Castles were the fastest single scullers.

 Skibbereen Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Sunday

Men

Eight – Divison One – A Final: 1 University of Limerick/Garda (senior) 6:01.02, 2 Trinity (under-23/senior) 6:03.05, 3 Neptune (intermediate) 6:04.69; 5 St Joseph’s (junior 18A) 6:12.15. 

Division Two – A Final: 1 Trinity A (novice) 6:29.64, 2 UCC (nov) 6:35.37, 3 Trinity B (nov) 6:45.81; 4 St Michael’s (jun 16) 7:19.31. B Final: 1 UCD B (nov) 6:58.60, 2 St Joseph’s (jun 16) 7:01.38, 3 NUIG (nov) 7:07.41.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 UCD A (senior) 6:22.39, 2 UCD B (sen) 6:29.47, 3 Commercial (sen) 6:34.00.

Four, coxed – Division One - A Final: Trinity (intermediate) 6:39.28, 2 Univ of Limerick (senior) 6:39.96, 3 UCD  B (inter) 6:45.00.  B Final: 1 Neptune (intermediate) 6:57.16, 2 Fossa (inter) 6:58.80, 3 NUIG (inter) 6:59.36); 5 Presentation (jun 18A) 7:21.80. Division Two – A Final: 1 UCC (novice) 6:55.61, 2 Cappoquin (nov) 6:59.11, 3 UCD A (nov) 7:02.33; 5 St Joseph’s A (jun 16) 7:23.49. B Final: 1 Workmen’s (novice) 7:10.14, 2 Clonmel (jun 16) 7:20.88, 3 St Michael’s (jun 16) 7:29.93.

Pair – Division One – A Final: 1 UCD B (senior) 7:07.81, 2 UCD A (sen) 7:11.76, 3 Commercial (sen) 7:19.40; 4 NUIG (inter) 7:25.25; 6 St Joseph’s (jun 18) 7:36.35. B Final: 1 Presentation (jun 18) 7:25.43, 2 St Michael’s (senior) 7:32.99, 3 Lee (jun) 7:33.60. C Final: Commercial/Carlow (u23/sen) 7:33.31.

Sculling, Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (senior) 6:24.80, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 6:27.50, 3 Carlow (jun 18A) 6:27.92. Division Two (coxed) – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:09.09, 2 Neptune (jun 18B) 7:10.97, 3 Cork (jun 16) 7:11.23. B Final: 1 Neptune (jun 16) 7:23.32, 2 Col Chiarain (jun 16) 7:45.88, 3 Fermoy (jun 16) 7:55.38.

Double – Division One – A Final: 1 Muckross (senior) 6:46.41, 2 Skibbereen (sen) 6:55.41, 3 Cork/Neptune 7:04.47; 4 Lee (intermediate one) 7:06.39; 5 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:16.16. B Final: 1 UCC (intermediate) 7:09.84, 2 Neptune (jun 18A) 7:11.74, 3 Lee (jun 18A) 7:21.59. Division Two – A Final: 1 Cork (jun 16) 7:18.41, 2 Univ of Limerick (novice) 7:19.23, 3 Shannon (jun 16) 7:22.42; 5 Athlunkard (jun 18B) 7:40.98. B Final: 1 Graiguenamanagh (jun 18B) 7:41.55, 2 Lee (jun 16) 7:43.06, 3 Tralee (jun 18B) 7:48.74.

Single – Division One – A Final: 1 Lee Valley (Keohane; senior) 7:16.01, 2 Carlow (Brady; inter) 7:27.80, 3 Skibbereen (Murphy; sen) 7:29.58. B Final: 1 Skibbereen (O’Donovan; jun 18A) 7:25.42, 2 Grainne Mhaol (Mannion; senior) 7:32.01, 3 Three Castles (Folan; inter) 7:36.08. C Final: Clonmel (Prendergast; inter) 7:42.81. D Final: Univ of Limerick (Sheehan; inter) 8:00.00. E Final: Skibbereen (Murphy; inter) 8:18.69.

Division Two – A Final: 1 Neptune (Griffin; novice) 7:56.42, 2 Shandon (Casey; jun 16) 8:13.04, 3 Shannon (Radic; jun 18) 8:18.06. B Final: 1 Shandon (Harrington; jun 16) 8:16.11, 2 Shandon (Coffey; jun 18) 8:27.98, 3 Shannon (O’Carroll; novice) 8:28.98. 

Women

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 6:50.43, 2 Trinity (senior) 6:54.23, 3 NUIG (intermediate) 6:57.04; 5 Trinity (u23/senior) 7:06.39. Division Two – A Final: 1 NUIG (novice) 7:13.61, 2 UCC (nov) 7:14.07, 3 UCD (nov) 7:16.71; 5 Cork (jun 16) 7:23.04; 6 Commercial (jun 18B) 7:25.69. B Final: 1 Trinity C (novice) 7:22.23, 2 Killorglin (jun 16) 7:33.24, 3 Trinity B (nov) 7:34.28; 7 Athlone (jun 16) 10:00.83.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 Muckross (senior) 7:23.62, 2 UCD (senior) 7:29.41, 3 Trinity (senior) 7:31.83; 4 Clonmel (junior 18A) 7:59.65.

Four, coxed – Division One – A Final: 1 Trinity (inter) 7:45.79, 2 NUIG (inter)  7:50.28, 3 UCD (inter) 8:01.89. Division Two – A Final: 1 Trinity (novice) 7:51.33, 2 NUIG (nov) 7:57.33, 3 Galway (jun 16) 8:01.52; 6 Clonmel (jun 18B) 8:18.28. B Final: 1 UCD B (nov) 8:06.59, 2 Trinity B (nov) 8:15.39, 3 Fermony (jun 18B) 8:30.62.

Pair – Division One – A Final: 1 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 8:13.64, 2 UCD (u23/senior) 8:18.20.

Sculling

Quadruple – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (u23/sen) 7:23.48, 2 UCD (senior) 7:33.75, 3 Shandon (junior) 7:46.03. Division Two – A Final: 1 Cork (jun 16) 8:01.23, 2 Commercial (jun 16) 8:12.81, 3 Galway (jun 16) 8:21.32. B Final: 1 Cappoquin (jun 16) 8:40.69; 3 Commercial (nov) 8:59.23. C Final: Cork (novice) 8:39.28.

Double – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (u23/sen) 7:48.93, 2 Univ of Limerick/Killorglin (senior) 8:01.02, 3 Skibbereen (jun 18) 8:06.83. B Final: 1 Shandon (jun 18A) 8:25.22, 2 St Michael’s (inter) 8:27.17, 3 UCC (inter) 8:52.65.  Division Two – A Final: 1 Fermoy (jun 16) 8:17.80, 2 Shannon (novice) 8:22.14, 3 Univ of Limerick (nov) 8:26.38; 7 Carlow (jun 18B) 9:04.96. B Final: 1 St Michael’s (jun 16) 8:39.32, 2 Commercial (jun 16) 8:41.44, 3 Shandon (jun 18B) 8:59.64.

Single – Division One – A Final: 1 Three Castles (Quinn; lightweight) 8:17.41, 2 Skibbereen (Fitzgerald; inter one) 8:21.39, 3 Old Collegians (Walshe; senior) 8:27.23. B Final: 1 Trinity (Dolan; u23/senior) 8:21.16, 2 St Michael’s (O’Brien; jun 18A) 8:33.33, 3 Univ of Limerick (O’Sullivan; senior) 8:38.31.

Division Two – A Final: 1 Shandon (Mertz; jun 18B) 8:52.83, 2 Athlunkard (Green; jun 18B) 9:00.19, 3 Trinity (Dowling; novice) 9:16.15; 5 Tralee (Deady; jun 16) 9:46.58.

Published in Rowing
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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