Mass club exodus to Belgium event

Rowing Ghent regatta: If you want to see Ireland's top rowers in action - leave the country and go east. The internationals will head for the World Cup series on the continent later this month, but this weekend their club colleagues are heading in droves for the massive KRSG regatta in Ghent, Belgium.

No less than 17 Irish clubs have entered for this event, and the sheer breadth of the exodus is best illustrated by the entry of St Joseph's of Galway of three under-16 eights.

A number of Irish crews will hope to make a big impression, with some testing the value of recent participation in the Irish trials process.

NUIG have entered a strong-looking senior coxless four of Dave Mannion, Paul Giblin, Johnny Naughton and John Forde; Lady Elizabeth a lightweight single scull of Andy Coleman; Neptune a junior women's double of Laura Gannon and Emma Feerick. In the senior A single scull, Martin Campbell of Queen's, who won at his home regatta last weekend, and Ciáran Lewis of Commercial are entered.

Lewis, who took part in the Atlantic Challenge rowing race, would have appreciated the achievement of Bantry Rowing Club in winning the Celtic Challenge at the weekend. The west Cork club crossed the Irish Sea in 14 hours and 43 minutes in a fixed-seat craft designed for coastal rowing and called the All-Ireland one-design.

Arklow, managed by Eamonn Kavanagh, who with his brother Peter (who was part of the crew) has rowed across the Atlantic, finished second in their craft, a Welsh Longboat. They came in close behind the winners, in 15 hours one minute. Fourteen boats, including 10 Welsh entries, started the race from Arklow to Aberystwyth.

The Bantry crew of 12 - with four on the oars at any one time - have a core of accomplished sliding-seat rowers and have won national titles: Merlin Tanner took an intermediate pairs title representing Skibbereen in 2004; Luke O'Donovan, Liam Young and Mike Spillane were part of the UCC crew which won a novice eight title in 2003; and Diarmuid O'Donovan won a novice eight title with Garda in 2002.

Coastal rowing, big on both the east and west coasts, appears to be on an upswing.