A UNIVERSITY LED challenge against the rescheduling of the senior and lightweight national championships now seems unlikely with a majority of the colleges unwilling to use their block vote to overturn the rowing union's choice of September 19th-20th.
The universities have been incensed by the decision - voted through by many non senior clubs - to move the championships from mid July to dates before the start of next year's winter semester. With the colleges arguing that it will not be feasible for a crew to stay together over the summer months, the new university convener Enda Marron is to canvass his members this week on whether they want to present a united front and force an emergency general meeting.
However, while Trinity are still smarting about the change, their captain Mark Pollock says he will wait to take the lead from someone else. "We will have to speak to Neptune and others who are actually involved in the senior championships."
While Trinity have four oarsmen in the frame for next year's under 23 squad, Neptune have become a magnet for international hopefuls from smaller clubs. At the Head of the River at Blessington last Saturday, former Lee and Tribesmen oarsmen Keith Flynn and Paul Flannery crewed with Terry Smith and Denis Crowley in a winning Neptune under 23 lightweight four, and the Dublin club's new depth of talent saw Crowley stroke their senior B eight to a 16 second victory over their A crew. Although opposed to the new senior championship dates, it is understood that Neptune will not push for an immediate change.
Neither will the senior women from UCDL or Trinity. UCDL are now looking at the more competitive British championships - newcomers from UCG and Commercial, Meadhbh Terry and Lisa Dunphy, were on board their winning quad at Blessington - and a Trinity crew may yet row out of London next summer. For the rest of college rowing, the senior titles are of limited interest.
Having just purged their senior squad, UCD and their captain Alan Finlay have come down in favour of a change that was being pushed for by their new head of coaching, John Holland. "We will have a senior crew from the three intermediate eights we have on the water at the moment and the two extra months might be no harm," Finlay said.
Student discontent has nevertheless presented an early test for the IARU's new era of "inclusiveness. The new president, Tom Fennessey urges try and see restraint. "The universities have their own championships; that isn't a consolation and I am concerned that they feel that they are being, marginalised, but the decision is effectively one of all the clubs and I would ask them to leave the senior championships where they are for the time being.
Redressing the focus on domestic rowing is a prime goal for Fennessey, whose promise of a provincial level revival did much to secure him the Leinster vote at an agm that once again saw the Munster clubs effectively mobilised.
After Dermot Henihan's topdown presidency with its focus on international development, Fennessey says that he is ready to delegate more and to widen the union's executive: "The biggest challenge is going to be developing Dermot's structure so it allows, domestic rowing to feed off our international successes.
