SPECULATION that the approaching university boat race will be one of the most evenly matched for some years has been bolstered by the decision from both Trinity and UCD camps to avoid a direct confrontation at the Erne Head of the River in Enniskillen.
The four-mile time trial has become a reliable guide to how the eventual Gannon Cup crews perform later in April. However, today's starting order is without senior eight entries from either college. Instead, Trinity will split their crew into two Open fours, while UCD have opted to enter two eights in the intermediate division.
According to club captain Alan Finlay, the UCD crew's undoubted fitness - both Con Collis and Tony Browne have recorded Olympic standard times around the 16-minute mark in 5,000 metre ergo tests - still has to be proven on the water.
"The problem is that ergos don't float, and Laganside showed the difficulty in translating strength into boat speed," he said.
With preparations for the Gannon Cup effectively extending their season by an extra month, both Trinity and UCD will have been relieved with the Rowing Union's vote to restore the national championships to their traditional date in July.
Speaking last week, Commercial's captain, Mark Kelly, warned that an earlier decision to stage the senior championships in September threatened the future of the sport. At an emergency general meeting, held at the Garda Boat Club, his motion to move the dates back to July 18th-19th was passed by 21 votes to 20.
