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Displaying items by tag: World Pairs Angling Championship

#Angling - 2016’s runners-up Michael Buchwalder and Rod Scott scooped the €10,000 prize and the prestigious title at the Lakelands & Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championships

They were among 55 angling pairs competing in the cross-border event staged on inland waterways over the counties Leitrim, Fermanagh and Cavan from 4-8 September, showcasing some of the best wild fishing Ireland has to offer.

The increased number of participants from Europe — with anglers from Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, USA, UK and Ireland — enjoyed a week full of hybrids, perch, roach and bream in Ireland’s north west.

Irish festival regulars Michael and Rod, having moved into the lead on day two, held their position all week as they showed their world-class fishing skills.

Rod, who was introduced to Irish match fishing at an early age by his father Mal, who created a series of popular festivals in Northern Ireland, said there are just two matches for him: the Waterways Classic and the World Pairs.

He added that it was “the best feeling ever” to have won the latter. He complimented his partner Michael, as he described how it’s all the duo talk about, and they were “over the moon” to have won the title having come so close last year.

Elsewhere in the competition, consistent fishing throughout the week from Dean Barlow, and then a top match weight of 29.500kg of bream and skimmers on the feeder from Steve Fleming, saw the Drennan-backed duo move into the top ten on day four. They held on to finish as runners-up, taking home the €5,000 prize.

German regulars Thorsten Beil and Rudiger Hansen finished in third place and collected €2,500 in a sensational conclusion to the competition.

Fishing for a prize pot of €20,650, the annual competition is played out in the Lakelands region in a selected one-hour zone from Killadeas to the north onLower Lough Erne, following through to Lough Scur on the Shannon-Erne Waterway in Leitrim in the south.

The five-day event, which sees anglers fish a different venue every day, has renewed interest in the natural fishing available in Ireland by showcasing the challenging angling available among fabulous scenery.

This has contributed to a reported increase in the numbers on the Irish match scene, through a massive social media following in Europe.

This is wild angling, and in order to reach the best that Cavan, Leitrim and Fermanagh have to offer, transport is provided to bring anglers to their pegs over rough terrain, or on boats seeking island stretches in the mighty loughs.

Running the event across the border is an important feature of the competition for title sponsors Lakelands & Inland Waterways, the tourism brand owned by Féilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland.

While the event attracts the world’s elite pole and feeder anglers fishing in pairs, it’s also a match for anglers of all abilities thanks to the inclusion of the Daiwa Cup and £10,000 sponsorship in tackle and vouchers from Daiwa Sports UK.

This year’s holder of the Daiwa Cup is Michael Buchwalder, with a solo weight of 73.060kg over the five days. Michael takes home the prestigious Daiwa Cup along with £1,000 prize money and a tackle voucher to the value of £1,500.

To ensure everyone gets a look-in, a tackle voucher prize of €300 was awarded to those with the best weight by rotation, but who had not made the top ten of the Daiwa Cup. This helps to gives a good share of winnings all round.

Staff from Daera Inland Fisheries Group provided on-the-ground support throughout the competition, with Inland Fisheries Ireland assisting with the draws to help run the event at a high level of professionalism. This ensures that everything runs smoothly for the visiting angler.

The event this year shared a buzz across the counties, with the opening taking place in Drumcoura City, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, and closing at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Ennsikillen, Co Fermanagh.

The organisers thank all who took park, the fisheries for their services throughout the week, Ballinamore Tourism Group who provided stewarding services on the Leitrim venues, Leitrim Council and Fermanagh & Omagh District Council for their sponsorship, and all the landowners who kindly give access to the water with support of the boat, tractor and quad drivers.

Next year’s World Pairs Angling Championship will take place from Monday 3 to Friday 7 September 2018.

World Pairs Result

1: Michael Buchwalder and Rod Scott, 142.900 kg

2: Steve Fleming and Dean Barlow 114.200 kg

3: Thorsten Beil and Rudiger Hansen, 104.825 kg

4: Steve Ringer and Phil Ringer, 103.425 kg

5: Adam Wakelin and Felix Scheuermann, 102.840 kg

6: Rob Wootton and Lee Kerry, 101.090 kg

7: Hadrian Whittle and Martin Greene, 99.255 kg

8: Will Freeman and Andy Leathers, 98.650 kg

9: Mark Pollard and Derek Willan, 96.975 kg

10: Jamie Harrison and Richie Hull, 96.870 kg

Daiwa Cup Individual Results

1: Michael Buchwalder, 73.060 kg

2: Rod Scott, 69.840 kg

3: Jamie Harrison, 67.320 kg

4: Steve Ringer, 64.000 kg

5: Dean Barlow, 59.690 kg

6: Hadrian Whittle, 59.320 kg

7: Rob Wootton, 58.990 kg

8: Tom Sexton, 56.520 kg

9: Will Freeman, 54.800 kg

10: Stephen McCaveny, 54.680 kg

Rotation Winners:

1: Steve Fleming, 54.510 kg

2: Felix Scheuermann, 51.940 kg

3: Lee Giles, 49.700 kg

4: Steve Wheeldon, 43.950 kg

5: Thorsten Beil, 54.270 kg

Published in Angling

#ANGLING - The cross-border team of Phil Jackson and Cathal Hughes took the top prize at the Lakelands & Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championship earlier this month, as The Irish Times reports.

The pair - from Craigavon and Galway respectively - received a cheque for more than €37,000 and a set of Daiwa tackle for their efforts in snagging a total catch of 117.560kg over the five days of fishing across the lakes and waterways of Monaghan, Leitrim. Cavan and Fermanagh - described as the world's richest coarse angling competition.

Close behind in the winners' table were the team of Derek Willan and Mark Pollard, whose 112.990kg total earned them second place and a cheque for more than €12,500.

"The fishing that has taken place over the last five days will be a significant turning point in how angling in Ireland is viewed all over the world," said Fáilte Ireland's Colm Breheny at the conclusion of the contest.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Angling

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