Rowing ColumnFermoy Rowing Club has been around for over a century, but club secretary Jim Hackett believes it is now fighting for its very existence. A plan to lower the weir in the Cork town "would be the end of us", according to the long-serving clubman.
According to a report commissioned by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the weir, which backs up the water for the rowing club, is hindering salmon and other species from migrating, and should be lowered.
Under a 1959 Act the Department has the power to do this and local sources say the work on this weir and one further downstream was to begin within days.
The report to the department suggests these alterations should leave enough water for the rowing club to operate, but Hackett, who says he "never heard from or met" the engineer who prepared the report, is adamant that any lowering of the weir would scuttle the vibrant club. In the recent dry spell the water level was barely sufficient.
Fermoy, the club of top Irish oarsman Gearóid Towey, last weekend staged their popular autumn regatta for juniors.
Today is the deadline for entries for the initial international selection event of the year, the first Leinster Time Trial, from which athletes who competed at the World Championships are exempted. The event will be held on Blessington Lake on October 7th, starting at noon.
The diverging ways of the domestic and elite athletes were all but set in stone at last weekend's agm of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union - the National Championships (July 13th and 14th) are directly opposite the final World Cup event of the year in Lucerne in Switzerland.
The award of the Ulster Branch of the union, which was not presented on Saturday, goes to Kevin Duddy of City of Derry.
Rowing 2007Calendar
DOMESTIC EVENTS (Subject to finalisation)
January 27th: St.Michael's Head of the River.
February 3rd: Dublin Head of the River; Lagan Scullers Head of the River. 17th: Lagan Head of the River. 24th: New Ross Head of the River. 25th: New Ross Time Trial.
March 2nd: National Time Trials. 3rd: Erne Head of the River; Cork Head of the River. 10th: Newry Head of the River. 17th: Tribesmen Head of the River. 24th: Sligo Head of the River. 25th: Skibbereen Head of the River. 30th: First National 2000m Trials.
April 14th: Neptune Regatta. 15th: Commercial Regatta. 20th: University Championships, Castlewellan. 21st: Queen's University Regatta. 27th: Second National 2,000m Trials; Senior Selection Trials. 28th: Trinity Regatta.
May 5th: Limerick Regatta; Portadown Regatta. 6th: Bantry Regatta. 19th: Portora Regatta. 26th: Belfast Sprints; Cork Regatta. 27th: Fermoy Regatta.
June 2nd: Dublin Metropolitan Regatta. 3rd: Carlow Regatta. 9th: Castleconnell Sprint Regatta. 16th: Athlone Regatta. 17th: Galway Regatta. 30th: Monkstown Regatta.
July 13th and 14th: National Championships. 21st: Home International, Inniscarra.
August 5th: Carrick-on-Shannon Sprints. 25th: Belfast Boat Club Sprints.
September 15th: IARU agm. 16th: Fermoy Autumn Sprints. 22nd: Leinster Sprints.
October 6th: Portadown Marascull. 14th: Athy Head of the River. 20th: Offaly Scullers Head. 27th: NUIG Head of the River. 28th: Ilen Armada - Skibbereen.
November 10th: Neptune Head of the River. 24th: Bann Head of the River.
December 1st: Muckross Head of the River; Belfast Boat Club Head of the River.
INTERNATIONAL SELECTION PROGRAMME (Selected dates)
October/November/December: Regional time trials. December 2nd/3rd: National senior time trials. January 6th/7th and February 3rd/4th: 5km Ergometer tests. February 26th and 27th: 5km Ergometer tests (National selection event). March 3rd/4th: National time trials. March 30th to April 1st: First selection regatta. April 14th: 2,000m Ergometer test. April 27th to 29th: Second selection regatta (Trial squads for Senior A and teams at Under-23 and Junior level to be announced at end of event). April 30th to May 4th: Senior selection trials. June (tba): Selection trials for Coupe de la Jeunesse and Home Internationals.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
World Cups - June 1st to 3rd: Linz-Ottenheim, Austria; June 22nd to 24th: Amsterdam; July 13th to 15th: Lucerne. World Under-23 Championships - July 26th to 29th, Strathclyde Park, Scotland. Coupe de la Jeunesse - July 28th, Varese, Italy. World Championships - August 26th to September 2nd, Munich. World Junior Championships - August 7th to 11th, Beijing. World Masters - September 6th to 9th, Zagreb, Croatia. European Rowing Championships - September 21st to 23rd, Poznan, Poland. Coastal Rowing Championships - October 19th to 21st, Cannes, France.
