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Displaying items by tag: Hamish Adams

#Rowing: Michelle Carpenter has been chosen as the new chief executive of Rowing Ireland. She will succeed Hamish Adams who recently left the position to take up the role of CEO with Athletics Ireland. 

Carpenter has held a number of significant management positions during her career, including overseeing the development and management of the successful Get Going…Get Rowing programme.

In her early corporate career, Michelle spent eight years working in Europe, firstly at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, before moving to European Central Bank in Frankfurt in 1999 to  be part of the Euro 2002 information campaign.

Originally from Limerick, Michelle was one of the first registered female rowing members of Shannon Rowing Club, rowing in their first winning women’s championship crew of 1988.

Carpenter is currently working with the World Rowing development team on the Olympic Values Education programme. In 2017 she was selected by World Rowing to be a participant at the IOC Women in Leadership forum in Lausanne. 

Commenting on her new role, Carpenter said: “I am honoured to be appointed as CEO of Rowing Ireland it is an exciting time for our sport. Having been involved in Irish rowing for over 30 years, I am looking forward to contributing to the growth and success of the sport across Ireland in the future.

“I am passionate about our sport and supporting our clubs and volunteers for the future will be key to our organisation’s development, together with underpinning our successful High Performance, Get Going…Get Rowing and Coach Education programmes.

“2018 will be a very exciting year for Rowing Ireland with our international ‘Festival of Rowing’ commencing in July with the Irish Championships, leading into the Home Internationals and finishing with the prestigious Coupe de la Jeunesse.” 

Commenting on the new appointment, President of Rowing Ireland, Eamonn Colclough said: “Michelle has emerged from the extremely robust and intensive recruitment process which we conducted to source the best possible candidate. I congratulate her, the first woman to be appointed to the demanding role of CEO of Rowing Ireland. I am confident that she will build on the success we have enjoyed in recent years and provide dynamic leadership to drive further growth and success in the years to come.” 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Rowing Ireland chief executive Hamish Adams is to leave his post to take over as chief executive of Athletics Ireland in May.

 Adams had done the job for five years, arriving after a time of disruption and steadying the ship. The sport expanded domestically and was very successful on the international stage. The New Zealander had been a rugby player and the academy manager of Munster Rugby. He took over the rowing post after serving as acting chief executive and then player services advisor with the Irish Rugby Union Players Association.

 Eamonn Colclough, the president of Rowing Ireland, said: “Hamish has worked tirelessly for our organisation and has delivered incredible success across all our strategic areas. Since joining Rowing Ireland, Hamish has been responsible for overseeing organisational change which has seen Rowing Ireland become one of Ireland’s most eminent sporting bodies. We are committed to ensuring further success for all our stakeholders and we will now undertake a robust recruitment process to find a suitable replacement for Hamish.” 

 Adams said: “While sorry to be leaving Rowing Ireland after five great years with the many great people I’ve had the privilege of working with and for, I’m excited by the new opportunity and challenge of leading Athletics Ireland. I am very proud of all that we have achieved during my tenure both in high performance and participation, from the delivery of an Olympic medal to the establishment of the Get Going…Get Rowing programme and I am confident that with the robust governance structures established, Rowing Ireland will continue to deliver further success.”

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Christian Brothers College and Cork Boat Club today signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding at the College in a signing ceremony which moves the longstanding close relationship between the College and the rowing club to a more formal basis.

This follows the recent decision by Christians Brothers College Board of Management to invest in rowing boats and equipment to enhance the facilities available to its students, and to work closely with Cork Boat Club to take advantage of the excellent coaching and training facilities at the club.

The chief executive of Rowing Ireland, Hamish Adams, attended the signing of the agreement between Christian Brothers College and Cork Boat Club and said “Rowing Ireland is delighted to endorse this joint initiative between Cork Boat Club and Christian Brothers College. Such a positive relationship advancing Schools and Club rowing through one of the most successful Clubs in the country is very innovative and encouraging for the future of our sport.”

Dr. Larry Jordan, Principal of Christian Brothers College, added: “We are delighted to work closely with Cork Boat Club to avail of the excellent equipment, facilities and coaching at the club. Their ethos and ours are very complimentary and the relationship has allowed the college to develop rowing as a sport, as a result of which the College is already competing well at schools competitions both in the UK and Ireland. Many of our past rowers have gone on to row at university level and at the highest levels of rowing both nationally and internationally and are sources of great pride for the College.”

Karen McCarthy, Captain of Cork Boat Club, said: “We are very focused on developing schools rowing, and in fact supported six different schools at the recent Schools Rowing Championships with boats and coaches. The relationship with Christian Brothers College has been a very positive one and we are delighted to now work more closely with the College to develop deep rowing talent in the coming months and years.”

Cork Boat Club is the largest rowing club in Cork City and in 2014 won seven national rowing championships. In 2014 it also had the distinction of being the club with the most rowers selected to represent Ireland in various international competitions.

Published in Rowing

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