ROWING: Hundreds of rowers around the country will be crossing their fingers that the weather gods smile on Metropolitan regatta at Blessington tomorrow. With the National Championships only six weeks away, tomorrow's huge event will be the first multi-lane regatta of the season for many.

The wind which twice blew off Cork City regatta has deprived crews of the chance of assessing their form.

Some club officials are angry that Cork were given two bites at the cherry. Crews entered for the regatta on May 21st lost their chance of competing because of the wind. They then had to take a chance that if they prioritised competing at the deferred regatta a week later they would be too late to lodge entries for Metropolitan regatta. More than one crew tried to enter tomorrow's event only to be told the closing date had passed.

Kieran Hynes, of the Metropolitan regatta organising committee, believes you should have only one shot at a regatta. "I believe that, when you are given your day, if it gets blown out then it's gone for the year," he said yesterday.

Tomorrow's forecast is reasonably good, Hynes says, and the level of competition looks hot. The men's senior eight features the six most competitive crews of the moment, though national champions Commercial continue to keep their powder dry.

The men's senior coxed four, known as the blue riband, is augmented this year by a competition for coxless fours which, surprisingly, features only three crews. The men's senior single scull has an entry of 13, including the top junior scullers in the country, Paul O'Brien and Rory O'Connor.

On Sunday, Carlow also have a full day's racing - indeed they turned away some of the approximately 240 entries because they thought it better to aspire to a well-run regatta than a chaotic event which would leave young competitors returning home well into the night.

Further south, Gearóid Towey and Ciarán Lewis take part in the Ocean to City race tomorrow as part of the Cork 2005 celebrations. The pair aim to row across the Atlantic later this year in aid of the Irish Cancer Society and Merchant's Quay Ireland. Their site is www.atlanticchallenge.ie