ROWING NEWS: "WE MUST run activities which will attract income or secure sponsorship in these difficult times." Brenda Ewing, the chair of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, is speaking of her own provincial bailiwick in her annual report, but it might well be a wake-up call for the whole union as it heads into a crucial period.

The accounts of the IARU went out to the clubs this week in the run-up to next weekend’s agm. They are not pretty. The union deficit for 2008 is €187,418, with around half that due to an allowance for depreciation. The budgeted shortfall for the year, according to honorary secretary Gordon Reid, is a hefty €85,000.

Listed in the secretary’s report as “exceptional items” are four whopping bills: €73,045 for the National Rowing Centre; €52,430 for running the Coupe de la Jeunesse; legal fees for the case involving Sean Jacob of €22,543; an overrun of €12,368 for the National Championships, which were run over two weekends.

Quite why the rising cost of the NRC is exceptional is a moot point.

In addition, the cost to the union of the Home Internationals was €37,153.

Contrary to popular perception in the sport, expenditure on international competition in 2008 was actually down on 2007.

An outstanding factor, as ever, in these accounts is the degree to which the Sports Council funds rowing – 88 per cent of the “activities revenue” came from this source in 2008. Once the “core grant” of €218,386 is added in, the union’s chief executive, Martin Corcoran notes that the ISC gave over a million euro to the IARU in 2008. Corcoran also reports that the IARU will receive €800,000 for completion work at the National Rowing Centre.

In stark contrast to this, competition levies and sponsorship generated came to €95,204 in 2008, down from €176,407 in 2007. Anglo Irish Bank was a generous sponsor of rowing in 2007.

On the international front, the arrival of performance director Martin McElroy has opened a new chapter. The Galway man has sent secretaries of clubs an outline of the season ahead. His long report to the union identifies twin objectives: “success in London 2012 and the building of a sustainable system for long-term successes”.

One Irish crew set for on-the-water action this weekend is the Queen’s University men’s eight which is set to compete at the European Universities Sports Association regatta in Kruszwica in Poland.