ROWING:A NOVEL experiment comes to fruition this weekend with the "small boats" classes being given their own National Championships at the national centre.
Hundreds of athletes, from the proven talents of 34-year-old Sam Lynch and 38-year-old Seán Jacob to rising stars like teenager Turlough Hughes, will get the chance to a win a national title in the unfamiliar territory of late September in an event sponsored by Fáilte Ireland.
Those who ascend the victory podium should cherish the memory: this may be a one-off event.
The reforming zeal of the domestic events committee (DEC) has yielded a revamped season, with the Grand League series here to stay. But while the DEC’s proposed calendar for next year – which goes before tomorrow week’s agm – again splits the championships, it sites both of the events in the more traditional July and August slots.
The aim of lengthening the season remains, but the “Festival of Rowing” suggested for this weekend next year is not a championship but primarily a fun event.
A key factor is cost: staging the two championships and the Home Internationals will leave Rowing Ireland down over €20,000 this year.
And parents and club officers who also had to fork out twice were very conscious of the outlay.
The good news for those who travel to the championships tomorrow and Sunday (proposed time trials today have been shoehorned into tomorrow’s programme) is that there will be enough water. As of last night all six lanes were being prepared for action after a scare in recent weeks that the very low water level could scupper the event.
The grandstand used in July’s “big boat” event will also be in use.
NUIG took the men’s senior eight and senior fours title in July, and they have a chance of adding the quadruple in what should be a fascinating three-boat final.
Skibbereen’s crew features Justin Ryan and Mark O’Donovan, who will be trying to best Niall Kenny in the NUIG boat – their team-mate in the Ireland lightweight quadruple which took silver at the World Under-23 Championships. Jacob and Lynch are part of the other contender, a UCD/St Michael’s composite.
Kenny partners O’Donovan in what should be a winning senior double.
Jacob, now with UCD, looks set to add to his remarkable tally of 14 national titles by taking the senior single scull, but in the senior pair Jacob and NUIG’s Cormac Folan should be tested by Lynch and Kevin O’Connor of St Michael’s.
The most successful Irish senior athlete this year was Tribesmen’s Siobhán McCrohan. The 23-year- old aeronautical engineer devoted herself to the sport full-time for the season and it paid off, with three A final appearances at big international events.
However, this is no guarantee of victory in the single scull, where she faces heavyweight opponents in Sanita Puspure and Monika Dukarska, both awaiting Ireland passports and with London 2012 as their aim. The Latvian and the Pole are part of a fine quadruple scull, but McCrohan and Tribesmen clubmate Lisa Dilleen look good tips for the senior double scull.
Commercial have a small entry. The departure of coach Mick Desmond has led to major changes at the club, with Fran O’Toole coming in as head coach and one of the legends of Irish rowing, Niall O’Toole, becoming part of a big backroom team.
These are certainly interesting times in rowing: among the DEC’s suggestions for the agm is that “The board of Rowing Ireland should have ownership of three heads, four regattas, three championships and one Festival – (in) total 11 events.”
There will certainly be no shortage of talking points in Cork.
