ROWING: The national trials were a revelation last year - big regattas run with precision on home waters and open to every ambitious rower. The good vibes continued through the season, not least because one of the crews created in the trials process, the men's heavyweight four, went on to win a World Cup medal.

Coach Harald Jahrling takes charge again at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today for this year's first national selection regatta, which runs until Sunday, hoping his luck with the weather in his adopted country will continue. The second, definitive selection event is in four weeks.

Jahrling has pared down the entry this year, but one of the big talking points has been the large group of heavyweight men he chose for the recent training camp. This prompted some speculation that he might be trying to create a heavyweight men's eight for the World Cup series and the World Championships in England in August.

The German says it is "unlikely" an Ireland eight will take to the water in anger this year, but he is frustrated by the limitations of the equipment available to him.

"We have one real problem. I want to develop heavyweight men's rowing, but I need an eight (the boat) - and we don't have an eight. At the moment we are rowing in a boat that is far too small. If it gets rough that boat is going to be like a submarine."

It is not possible, Jahrling says, to acquire the right craft in Ireland, but he hopes a sponsor might see the opportunity for some good publicity and provide funds to buy the boat, which would cost in the region of €30,000.

"We are trying to keep the heavyweight men's group dynamic and to keep them together and get some more of a performance out of the group, but it is hard when you don't have the boat that actually caters for that," Jahrling adds. He says naming rights could be part of the deal.

Skibbereen's head of the river has returned to its west Cork home from the NRC. The 90 entries in Sunday's programme feature a strong junior 16 and junior 14 contingent.

The proposed St Michael's Veteran Head in Limerick on Sunday has been called off because the entry was not big enough.