ROWING:HUNDREDS OF Irish athletes plunge into the mainstream of rowing in continental Europe this weekend, with international crews travelling to regattas in Essen and Munich, and club crews taking part in the huge KRSG regatta in Ghent in Belgium.
The first outing for the senior international team this season comes at the Huegel Regatta in Essen. UCD oarsman Anthony English, who was not in the squad named originally, will compete in the lightweight single scull on the Sunday.
The regatta will give pointers as the Ireland team for the World Cup series is chosen, and McElroy yesterday outlined the shape of that season.
Ireland will compete at two of the three World Cup regattas: at Munich (May 27th to 29th) and Lucerne (July 8th to 11th). The weekend of the second World Cup (in Hamburg, June 17th-19th) will be given over to an Olympic familiarisation weekend for the Irish.
A group will stay at Royal Holloway College in Surrey, where Olympic rowers and canoeists will be billeted for the Games, and male athletes will compete at Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake, the Olympic venue, while the Irish women will take part in Women’s Henley.
The World Under-23 Championships in July and the World Junior Championships in August may be important but McElroy says that while he hopes to “maintain the momentum of our under-23 programme” the first priority this year is Olympic qualification.
Ireland could qualify a women’s lightweight double scull and the men’s equivalent at the World Championships in Bled in August/September, and perhaps a women’s heavyweight double.
McElroy said an attempt to qualify a lightweight men’s four, so long the favoured Ireland boat, is “unlikely” this year.
The performance of the big Ireland team at the International Junior Regatta in Munich this weekend will do much to tell whether Ireland will send a team to the World Junior Championships. Joel Cassells and Chris Black, in the men’s pair, and Paul O’Donovan, in the men’s single scull, stood out at the National Trials, but will be in loftier company tomorrow and Sunday.
“We will make a call soon after the weekend on the World Championships,” said coach Derek Holland.
While Ghent continues to boom the Irish entry has declined at least in part because of the booming Grand League series at home. However, Coláiste Iognáid from Galway and Cork Boat Club have large teams entered.
At home, Bantry Regatta, scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled.
