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Displaying items by tag: Irish Schools' Regatta

#Rowing: Methodist College, Belfast, beat Colaiste Iognaid in a thrilling first final at the Irish Schols’ Regatta at Lough Rinn this morning. The junior 16 boys eight became a battle between the two crews in the final 200 metres, with the Belfast boys finishing well to hold off ‘the Jes’ from Galway. The junior 15 women's eight was won by Coleraine Grammar School, while the women's junior 16 coxed four went to Colaiste Iognaid The windy conditions and choppy water saw the organisers decide to ask the pairs, doubles and singles to hold off on launching, though the programme had started. The University Championships was going ahead, with UCC's women's senior four starting their day with a win, and UCD winning the men's senior four. UCD also took the men's novice eight. Racing was then suspended.
Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Galway’s Coláiste Iognáid won the prize as the top school at the Irish Schools’ Regatta at O’Brien’s Bridge today. There were 11 hours of competition on a sunny, cool day. St Brigid’s, Killarney, which won the women’s under-23 eight, were second overall – Coláiste Iognáid had won the equivalent men’s race and the Junior 16 men’s eight.

 Coleraine Grammar School had a good day. They won the women’s junior 16 eight and Molly Curry won the women’s under-23 single, though she is still a teenager. Jack Dorney, competing for St Francis, was the top men’s under-23 sculler. Tristan Orlic of St Vincent's took the honours at junior 16 level. 

Irish Schools’ Regatta, O’Brien’s Bridge, Sunday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Under-23: Col Iognáid. Jun 16: Col Iognáid.

Four – Under-23, coxed: CBC, Cork B. Junior 16, coxed: Pres, Cork.

Pair – Under-23: CRCC.

Sculling, Quadruple – U-23: CRCC. Jun 16, coxed: Skibbereen CS.

Double – U-23: St Francis. Jun 16: St Coleman’s.

Single – Under-23: St Francis (J Dorney). U-16: St Vincent’s (T Orlic)

Women

Eight – U-23: St Brigid’s, Killarney. Jun 16: Coleraine GS.

Four – U-23: Regina Mundi. Jun 16, coxed: Coleraine GS.

Pair – U-23: Col Iognáid.

Sculling, Quadruple – U-23: St Brigid’s. Jun 16, coxed: Laurel Hill A.

Double – U-23: St Brigid’s B. Jun 16: St Leo’s.

Single – U-23: Coleraine GS (M Curry) 6:25. Jun 16: Laurel Hill (N Kiely).

Published in Rowing

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U