IARU take time out to reflect and plan

ROWING: It is a time of reflection for Irish rowing. The president and the chief executive of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union (IARU), Frank Durkin and Martin Corcoran, are to meet John Treacy of the Sports Council, the union's Strategic Plan is to be delivered to the clubs and the process of appointing an international coach must soon be undertaken.

The tenure of Thor Nilsen as head of the international coaching regime ends at the end of the month, and his final report on Athens 2004 will be awaited with some interest. Nilsen's assistant, Tony O'Connor (who marries this weekend), is also leaving the scene.

While the veteran Norwegian has been speaking as if his link with Ireland is coming to an end, his long-term guidance of such athletes as Sam Lynch may continue.

Nilsen has joked that his "dominant" personality was not always appreciated by others, and his professional relationships with the high performance director of Irish rowing, Richard Parr, sometimes seemed like a choreographed dance in which both parties tried to avoid treading on the other's toes.

Parr has recently devised a demanding programme for aspiring international athletes which begins with an assessment weekend built around the Tribesmen head of the river four weeks from tomorrow and culminates in a selection regatta in March.

The Canadian says participation is compulsory for athletes outside the Athens Olympic group who wish to be part of the international carding system.

He stresses the importance of the other part of the picture: "The most important thing we need to do now is to get coaching structures in place at domestic and international level."

At a broader level, the need to bring in sponsorship to the sport as a whole is widely touted as crucial. New IARU chief executive Corcoran comes from a sales and marketing background, and says he is working towards a position where big companies will see backing the sport as beneficial.