ROWING: Serryth Colbert made the point at Henley last year. After rowing in the Leander crew which won the Thames Cup, the Galway man was asked would he consider returning to the Irish system. "What Irish system?" he asked.
Colbert is a heavyweight oarsman, and to be an ambitious Irish heavyweight oarsman was to be a frustrated individual in recent years. Even in recent months, as reports from the newly-constituted lightweight system vie to top each other on sweetness and light, the heavyweights are still awaiting a fully codified system.
In an interesting development, five of the top athletes have struck out on their own. Albert Maher, Seán Jacob and Ciaran Lewis, the backbone of all-conquering Neptune crews, have joined archrivals Commercial. They have been joined as a sculling group by Con Collis and James Mangan of UCD.
The group have put their money where their beliefs are by buying their own boat, a quadruple scull.
Their coach, Mick Desmond yesterday outlined an ambitious programme, which he says will be self-financed. They will go to Banyoles in Spain for a training camp at the end of March, on to Essen Regatta in May and Henley Royal Regatta in July.
This talented group will also compete at the national trials in April, hoping to prove they are worth streamlining towards the World Championships in Milan in August, where finishing in the top 11 in an Olympic event would pre-qualify a boat for Athens 2004.
The national performance director, Richard Parr, praised the efforts of Desmond and his charges but is blunt about the qualification system which will be overseen by him in the trials.
"What people have to understand is that crews don't try out, individuals do," he says.
Parr points out it is unlikely that four athletes who come together in this way would prove the four best in a transparent and fair national trial. "No club in the world can take on an entire nation such as Germany, the United States or whoever," he says.
The Canadian says he will establish a system where an athlete will know his or her performances will yield the place in the structure they deserve, and by September he will, he believes, have a document which codifies the process.
There are two heads of the river on tomorrow: the deferred Cork head at Inniscarra (three starts at 10.30, 12.30 and 2.30) and the Erne head at Enniskillen for fours and eights (2.15). There will be a national camp for juniors at Enniskillen on Sunday.
Meanwhile, there is likely to be an election for the secretary's post at the IARU's a.g.m. on March 29th. Terry McEvoy, the experienced Neptune man, has entered the race. Denis O'Regan of Monkstown and Cork Harbour has already declared his candidacy.
