Club regattas back to the fore

ROWING:Clubs take centre stage again this weekend as Limerick and Portadown stage big regattas tomorrow.

If the superb weather holds, athletes may be grateful for the cooler conditions of the early start (8.50) and late finish (7.0) of Limerick regatta, which is a full-status event and stages finals in 35 classes. Portadown is a semi-status regatta, with a strong junior component.

In keeping with the recent trend, both events draw strongly from their regions. And the senior eight final at Limerick has a small entry: St Michael's and a composite of Shannon and Commercial.

On the international front, Diarmaid Mac Colgáin has lodged an objection with the Irish Amateur Rowing Union concerning his non-selection at last weekend's selection regatta. His grounds are understood to include: the failure to trial him in a lightweight double scull with Liam Molloy, the winner of the single scull final (Mac Colgáin finished second); and his non-selection as a lightweight single sculler and reserve for the lightweight four while an athlete who finished behind him was chosen.

The response of national coach Harald Jahrling is likely to highlight that this second trial followed the first selection regatta, where the top senior lightweight single scullers, who were considerably ahead of those trialled last weekend, were streamed to the priority boat, the lightweight four. The lightweight single scull final on Friday last was thus not of the best in this class and, Jahrling is likely to contend, teaming up the first two finishers was not going to yield a world-class crew.

While Paul Griffin does not fall into the category of one of the best lightweight single scullers in Ireland, he is chosen in the premier boat because he makes it go faster. Similarly, Jahrling said last weekend it is his professional judgment that the reserve chosen for the lightweight four, Cathal Moynihan, is the most suitable for the role.