Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Irish Championships,

#Coastal Rowing: The inaugural Irish Coastal Rowing Championships will take place this Saturday and Sunday, August 18th and 19th at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood, Cork. Clubs from all four provinces are set to compete.

 Eddie Farr, chair of the Coastal Championships Committee, said: “This is an incredibly proud moment in all our rowing lives, to at last get to row at our national and international rowing venue.”

 The Championships, hosted by Rushbrooke Rowing Club, will see clubs race in over 30 different race categories, ranging from Under 12 to Masters, with race lengths ranging from 800 to 2,300 metres.  Several thousand rowers and spectators are expected to attend the two day Championships.

 The long-standing All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships will also be held this weekend, from Friday to Sunday (August 17th to 19th) in Wexford. There will be an array of races in one-design Celtic boats, Currachs, East coast Skiffs, Wexford cots, Kerry four-oars, Donegal skiffs and Seine boats.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: NUIG overtook Commercial and won the men's senior four at the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork today. The other senior title on offer in the second session of finals at the National Rowing Centre went to Mark O'Donovan in the single sculls. The 26-year-old Skibbereen man, rating much higher than his rivals, established an early lead and was not caught. It was his first senior singles sculls crown.

 Portora also took the lead early and won the junior 18 eights - but the Cork Boat Club challenge was severe. This fine race lasted right to the line and was decided by under half a second.

 Neptune added the women's novice coxed quadruple title to their men's title, won earlier in the day, while UCD won the women's intermediate eight. The Dublin college also took the men's club eight.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Eight - Club: UCD 5:56.392. Junior: 1 Portora 5:59.419, 2 Cork 5:59.84, 3 St Joseph's A 6:10.731.

Four - Senior: 1 NUIG 6:03.081, 2 Commercial 6:05.925, 3 Portora 6:09.284. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG 6:26.811.

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune 6:44.559.

Double - Senior: 1 Skibbereen 6:32.773, 2 UCD 6:34.914, 3 Castleconnell 6:39.727.

Single - Senior: 1 Skibbereen (M O'Donovan) 7:04.162, 2 UCD (T Hughes) 7:10.256, 3 Portadown (S McKeown) 7:12.256. Junior: 1 Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:04.040, 2 Shandon (R Byrne) 7:04.462, 3 Shandon (S O'Sullivan) 7:23.197.

Women

Eight - Intermediate: UCD 6:38.722. Four - Senior: 1 UCD 6:54.652, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:58.902, 3 Trinity 7:04.715. Club, coxed: Fermoy 7:16.116.

Four - Junior: 1 Skibbereen 7:05.645, 2 Shandon A 7:13.661, 3 Galway 7:19.145.

Pair - Intermediate: Cork 7:36.488

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune A 7:55.460.

Double - Junior: 1 Skibbereen B 7:19.682, 2 Bann 7:91.995, 3 Neptune 7:33.305.

 

 Skibbereen brought their tally of title for the day to four with a win in the women's junior four.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The entry for the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships has both quantity and quality, with Irish rowers who are set to compete at the Olympic Games in the mix. Gary O’Donovan will compete in lightweight class and Paul O’Donovan in the under-23 lightweight class.

Claire Lambe, who partnered Sinéad Jennings in the Ireland lightweight women’s double crew which qualified the boat for Rio, is also entered. Jennings may do a Wattbike test.

Among the heavyweight men, Philip Doyle, Sam McKeown and Dave Neale will be among those competing to set the top mark, while Sanita Puspure, an Olympian in 2012, should be the fastest woman.

The Championships have a record entry and will be held in Limerick on January 23rd.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Grainne Mhaol/NUIG won an exciting senior eights final at the Irish Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. Queen’s University fought it out with the crew from the Galway college and their old boys’ club, but a Grainne Mhaol/NUIG push in the final 250 metres gave them the big prize in a close finish. The victorious crew dedicated the win to Tom Tuohy, the long-time NUIG coach who died last year in his mid fifties.

Queen’s, in combination with Skibbereen, rowed well to win the women’s senior eights crown, and Portora’s Lloyd Seaman and Henry Millar also impressed as they won the men’s junior pairs title. Amy Bulman of UCD had one of the tightest margins of the three days of the Championships as she beat Karen Corcoran-O’Hare by .34 of a second in the women’s intermediate single sculls final.

UCD won the men’s intermediate double sculls, while Trinity concluded a very good Championships by winning the women’s novice eight. Skibbereen moved their overall total to 136 titles as they won the women’s junior quadruple scull.

Irish Rowing Championships, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Grainne Mhaol/NUIG 5:38.47, 2 Queen’s 5:40.25, 3 Trinity 5:53.82, 4 St Michael’s 5:57.31.

Four, coxed - Novice: 1 Queen’s 6:32.18, 2 UCC 6:37.29, 3 UCD 6:41.37.

Pair – Intermediate: 1 NUIG 6:50.70, 2 UCD 6:53.88, 3 Lee Valley 6:58.90. Junior: 1 Portora 6:54.35, 2 Commercial 7:01.33, 3 St Joseph’s 7:13.00.

Sculling,

Double – Intermediate: 1 UCD 6:35.90, 2 Neptune 6:38,37, 3 Skibbereen 6:45.99. Junior: 1 Shandon 6:54.84, 2 Skibbereen 6:46.49, 3 Lee 6:48.16.

Single – Senior: 1 Lee Valley (J Keohane) 7:00.30, 2 UCC (N Kenny) 7:03.51, 3 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 7:10.09, 4 Offaly (O’Donoghue) 7:26.29, 5 Carlow (Bolger) 7:27.10. UCD (Neale) Dnf.  

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 Queen’s LBC/Skibbereen 6:25.48, 2 UCD 6:30.19, 3 Trinity 6:30.40, 4 St Michael’s 6:40.28, 5 NUIG 6:41.79. Novice: 1 Trinity 6:51.68, 2 UCD 6:54.72, 3 NUIG 6:57.71.

Four, coxed – Intermediate: 1 St Michael’s 7:11.00, 2 UCD 7:23.15, 3 NUIG 7:27.26.

Pair – Junior: 1 Bann 7:44.22, 2 Muckross 7:45.21, 3 Cork BC 7:54.81.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Skibbereen 6:55.31, 2 Cork 7:02.99, 3 Shandon 7:04.47.

Single – Senior: 1 Three Castles (H Walshe) 7:42.45, 2 Killorglin (M Dukarska) 7:42.85, 3 Three Castles (E Moran) 7:55.91, 4 Belfast BC (B Jacques) 7:59.48, 5 Three Castles (B Quinn) 8:06.22, 6 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:08.54. Intermediate: 1 UCD (A Bulman) 8:04.33, 2 Shandon (K Corcoran-O’Hare) 8:04.67, 3 Trinity (S Dolan) 8:16.55.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: For the second year in succession, the final of the women’s senior single scull produced a dramatic finish at the Irish Rowing Championships. Last year Monika Dukarska of Killorglin fell in when within metres of a win, and this year she seemed certain to make amends as she passed Helen Walshe of Three Castles and drove for the line at the National Rowing Centre. But Walshe, who won in 2004 and 2006 for UCD, mounted her own charge and won by .4 of a second.

John Keohane of Lee Valley won the men’s senior single with plenty to spare and there were emphatic wins for Queen’s (in the men’s novice coxed four); NUIG (men’s intermediate pair) and St Michael’s (women’s intermediate coxed four).

Shandon had to hold off a late push by Skibbereen in the men’s junior double scull and the women’s junior pair was also a tremendously close race, with Bann coming out on top in a battle with Muckross.

Irish Rowing Championships, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Four, coxed - Novice: 1 Queen’s 6:32.18, 2 UCC 6:37.29, 3 UCD 6:41.37.

Pair – Intermediate: 1 NUIG 6:50.70, 2 UCD 6:53.88, 3 Lee Valley 6:58.90.

Sculling,

Double – Junior: 1 Shandon 6:54.84, 2 Skibbereen 6:46.49, 3 Lee 6:48.16.

Single – Senior: 1 Lee Valley (J Keohane) 7:00.30, 2 UCC (N Kenny) 7:03.51, 3 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 7:10.09, 4 Offaly (O’Donoghue) 7:26.29, 5 Carlow (Bolger) 7:27.10. UCD (Neale) Dnf.  

Women

Four, coxed – Intermediate: 1 St Michael’s 7:11.00, 2 UCD 7:23.15, 3 NUIG 7:27.26.

Pair – Junior: 1 Bann 7:44.22, 2 Muckross 7:45.21, 3 Cork BC 7:54.81.

Sculling, Single – Senior: 1 Three Castles (H Walshe) 7:42.45, 2 Killorglin (M Dukarska) 7:42.85, 3 Three Castles (E Moran) 7:55.91, 4 Belfast BC (B Jacques) 7:59.48, 5 Three Castles (B Quinn) 8:06.22, 6 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:08.54.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: The second session of finals on the second day of the Irish Rowing Championships produced two cracking races. Galway Rowing Club won the women’s junior 18 eight final by overhauling Muckross stroke by stroke and then holding off their battling yellow-clad rivals until the line. The men’s senior quadruple sculls produced a surprise victory for the University of Limerick/Castleconnell crew after a similarly gutsy drive which saw them take on and beat Queen’s University.

The final four races were all won by big margins. Claire McIlwaine and Alex Greene gave Queen’s an immediate fillip when they won the women’s senior pair, and Brooke Edgar of Bann in the women’s novice single, Dave Neale of UCD in the intermediate single and Skibbereen in the men’s junior quadruple were all well in charge of their races.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork. Day Two (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:11.27, 2 NUIG 6:15.32, 3 UCD 6:15.42.

Four – Junior, coxed: 1 Portora 6:58.48, 2 Bann 7:02.24, 3 St Joseph’s A 7:02.36.

Pair – Senior: 1 Bann (C Black, J Cassells) 6:52.02, 2 Queen’s (P Gilanders, T Oliver) 6:57.09, 3 St Michael’s A (A McEvoy, M O’Brien) 6:59.86

Sculling, Quadruple – Senior: 1 University of Limerick/Castleconnell (L Rice, S Penny, A Sheehan, D Quinlan) 6:03.59, 2 Queen’s 6:04.28, 3 Carlow 6:04.99. Junior: 1 Skibbereen 6:15.17, 2 Shannon 6:26.55, 3 Cork 6:27.76.

Single – Intermediate: 1 UCD (D Neale) 7:12.01, 2 Portora (Monteith) 7:20.31, 3 Castleconnell (Pidgeon) 7:25.16. Novice: 1 Skibbereen (R O’Neill) 7:54.04, 2 Cappoquin (Landers), 3 Clonmel (Murphy) 7:54.39.

Women

Eight - Junior: 1 Galway RC 6:43.41, 2 Muckross 6:46.40, 3 St Michael’s 7:00.20.

Pair – Senior: 1 Queen’s (C McIwaine, A Greene) 7:29.70, 2 St Michael’s 7:40.64, 3 Cork 7:52.04.

Sculling

Double – Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen (L Connolly, E Cialis) 7:46.82, 2 NUIG 7:49.05, 3 Neptune 7:54.38.

Single – Novice: 1 Bann (Edgar) 8:19.22, 2 Commercial (Foley) 8:31.85, 3 Castleconnell (Donegan) 8:43.83. Junior: 1 Fermoy (H Shinnick) 8:12.60, 2 St Michael’s (K O’Brien) 8:14.64, 3 Portora (Cromie) 8:17.35.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: The junior pair which will represent Ireland at the World Championships next month today won the senior pairs title at the Irish Rowing Championships. Bann’s Chris Black and Joel Cassells are an excellent crew and they showed it by taking a lead at the National Rowing Centre after 500 metres and never relinquishing it despite pressure from St Michael’s of Limerick.

Hilary Shinnick also held off St Michael’s, represented by Kate O’Brien, to win the junior single sculls’ title. Shinnick is just 17, but it was her second successive title. Shinnick will be part of a junior quadruple at the Worlds, while O'Brien will compete in a single scull.

The junior men’s coxed fours went to Portora of Enniskillen, while Skibbereen conitinued to notch up titles – Rory O’Neill took the novice single sculls crown, while Laura Connolly and Ella Cialis took the women’s intermediate double scull.

Trinity continued their good form with a win in the men’s intermediate eights.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork. Day Two, First Session (Selected Results)

Men,

Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:11.27, 2 NUIG 6:15.32, 3 UCD 6:15.42.

Four – Junior, coxed: 1 Portora 6:58.48, 2 Bann 7:02.24, 3 St Joseph’s A 7:02.36.

Pair – Senior: 1 Bann (C Black, J Cassells) 6:52.02, 2 Queen’s (P Gilanders, T Oliver) 6:57.09, 3 St Michael’s A (A McEvoy, M O’Brien) 6:59.86

Sculling, Single – Novice: 1 Skibbereen (R O’Neill) 7:54.04, 2 Cappoquin (Landers), 3 Clonmel (Murphy) 7:54.39.

Women

Sculling, Double – Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen (L Connolly, E Cialis) 7:46.82, 2 NUIG 7:49.05, 3 Neptune 7:54.38.

Single – Junior: 1 Fermoy (H Shinnick) 8:12.60, 2 St Michael’s (K O’Brien) 8:14.64, 3 Portora (Cromie) 8:17.35.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Grainne Mhaol had a surprisingly easy win the men’s senior four final at the Irish Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork. The crew of Dave Mannion, Alan Martin, Cormac Folan and James Wall led down the course. St Michael’s were second.

The junior men’s eight title also went to Galway, in the form of St Joseph’s, and the junior women’s four was won impressively by Muckross. Queen’s University took the men’s novice eight crown, and Three Castles had plenty to spare in the women’s senior double. Niall Kenny of UCC is the new Ireland champion in the lightweight single scull.

Irish Rowing Championships, Sponsored by SuperValu – Day One (Selected Results; Finals)

Men, Eight – Novice: 1 Queen’s University, Belfast 6:04.55, 2 UCD 6:10.94, 3 Trinity 6:16.26. Junior: 1 St Joseph’s College, Galway 6:03.87, 2 Methodist College, Belfast 6:10.72, 3 Galway RC 6:15.28.

Four – Senior: 1 Grainne Mhaol (D Mannion, A Martin, C Folan, James Wall) 6:19.06, 2 St Michael’s 6:22.35, 3 Queen’s 6:27.21.

Four, coxed – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:33.15, 2 NUIG A 6:33.74, 3 Bann 6:35.47.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: 1 Galway 6:55.56, 2 Shandon 6:58.56, 3 NUIG 7:57.82.

Double – Senior: 1 Queen’s (C Williamson, R O’Connor) 6:41.29, 2 Carlow 6:43.83, 3 University of Limerick 6:54.88.

Single – Lightweight: 1 UCC (Kenny) 7:20.40, 2 St Michael’s (O’Connor) 7:35.61, 3 Skibbereen (Burns) 7:35.73. Junior: 1 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 7:19.67, 2 Castleconnell (Quinlan), 3 Neptune (Griffin).

Women

Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:44,80, 2 UCD 6:45.0, 3 St Michael’s 6:53.50.

Four - Senior: 1 Skibbereen (G Hosford, C Fitzgerald, D Walsh, S Dineen) 7:01.98, 2 Queen’s 7:11.86, 3 UCD 7:14.21. Junior: 1 Muckross 7:18.76, 2 Bann, 3 Galway.

Four, coxed – Novice: 1 NUIG 7:41.38, 2 Trinity 7:44.07, 3 University of Limerick 7:51.97.

Sculling, Double – Senior: 1 Three Castles (H Walshe, E Moran) 7:13.79, 2 Skibbereen 7:24.60. Junior: 1 Belfast BC (L Litvack, B Jacques) 7:36.55. 2 Neptune 7:50.63, 3 Carrick-on-Shannon 7:59.40.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: The first session of the Irish Rowing Championships, run in almost perfect conditions at the National Rowing Centre in Cork, finished with some terrific finals.

 The closest race was the shootout between NUIG and Trinity in the men’s intermediate coxed four. NUIG had taken over the lead from Trinity and led as the crews charged for the line. But Trinity upped the rate and took the title on the line. Earlier, NUIG had reversed the order as they took the women’s novice coxed four, with Trinity second.

There were a string of impressive wins in senior and junior classes. At senior level the Skibbereen women’s four took their third successive title with ease, and the Queen’s double of Colin Williamson and Rory O’Connor matched the feat. The junior women’s double of Lucie Litvack and Bridget Jacques and single sculler Paul O’Donovan also demonstrated their skills with classy wins.

 

Irish Rowing Championships – Day One (Selected Results; Finals)

Men

Four, coxed – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:33.15, 2 NUIG A 6:33.74, 3 Bann 6:35.47.

Sculling, Double – Senior: 1 Queen’s (C Williamson, R O’Connor) 6:41.29, 2 Carlow 6:43.83, 3 University of Limerick 6:54.88.

Single – Junior: 1 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 7:19.67, 2 Castleconnell (Quinlan), 3 Neptune (Griffin).

Women

Four - Senior: 1 Skibbereen (G Hosford, C Fitzgerald, D Walsh, S Dineen) 7:01.98, 2 Queen’s 7:11.86, 3 UCD 7:14.21.

Four, coxed – Novice: 1 NUIG 7:41.38, 2 Trinity 7:44.07, 3 University of Limerick 7:51.97.

Sculling, Double – Junior: 1 Belfast BC (L Litvack, B Jacques) 7:36.55. 2 Neptune 7:50.63, 3 Carrick-on-Shannon 7:59.40.

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