The premier event of the domestic rowing season, the Irish Rowing Championship, takes place in Cork this weekend.
Over 1,200 rowers will compete over two days of racing on Friday and Saturday, 16 and 17 July. The event takes place from 8am to 5pm each day at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood, Iniscarra, Co Cork.
The highlight of the event is the Senior Eight, or ‘Big Pot’, race on Saturday afternoon.
This year the championship is split into two events in July and September. The July championship features the big boats, the eights and fours, while the singles, doubles and quads will be held in September.
‘This is the first year of the new format and it is designed to allow crews to focus on two events. It will also encourage rowing in smaller boats over the summer months which should help raise standards,’ said Rowing Ireland CEO Martin Corcoran.
He added: ‘The events for this weekend are eights and fours for men and women in junior, novice, intermediate and senior. There are also sculling and quad events for the under 14, 15 and 16 rowers.’
But it is the premier trophy event, the Senior Eight, which the top clubs vie for.
This year’s Senior Eight form clubs are NUIG, Queen’s Belfast, Muckross Killarney, St Michael’s Limerick, and a UCD/Commercial composite crew. The composite crew will include the UCD four who won at Henley, together with Olympian Sean Jacob and Commercial’s Colm Dowling, Dan Murphy and Frank Folan.
Last year’s race produced a close finish with reigning champions NUIG - whose crew this year includes Beijing Olympian Cormac Folan along with Alan Martin and James Wall - winning by a mere canvas ahead of Queen’s University.
Queen’s University have had a great season: they are unbeaten in Ireland and have also won the British University Championship.
Another form crew are Muckross of Killarney who beat NUIG in the eights at the Metro Regatta last month.
The fours race has a similar line up with the addition of Cork BC and a Commercial/Skibbereen composite. NUIG are reigning champions while Commercial have beaten them this year and UCD won at Henley.
The women’s senior eights race has an interesting composite crew consisting of seven clubs - St Michael’s, University of Limerick, Carrick-on-Shannon, Killorglin, City of Derry, Skibbereen and Cork BC.
The crew includes a serious line-up of single scullers who were part of the international team trials and includes Dympna Kelly (Carrick), Sheila Clavin (St Michael’s), Orla Hayes (Skibbereen) and Monika Dukarska (Killorglin).
There is a massive entry for Junior 14, 15 and 16 boys and girls with 32 scullers entered in the boys’ under-16 race.
Over 300 crews will compete over two days in a range of categories.
