ROWING:THE RIVER Shannon at O'Brien's Bridge in Co Clare will thrum with life tomorrow as Limerick regatta draws hundreds of rowers to the venue. "We're running races from 8.30am to 7.30pm and it's a jam-packed schedule," said Kieran Kerr of St Michael's yesterday.
Kerr says the organisers are “absolutely delighted” with the entry for the event, which has four lanes running over 1,500 metres but is a full status event.
In the men’s senior eight, there is a strong western entry, with favourites Gráinne Mhaol/NUIG set to take on St Michael’s of Limerick, Galway Rowing Club and St Joseph’s of Galway.
The entry stretches south and north, however, with Skibbereen of Cork and Portora from Enniskillen sending some of the best young athletes in the country.
The women’s senior single scull should be a good race, with Monika Dukarska, Alice O’Sullivan and Orla Hayes among the seven-strong entry.
The recent meeting to plan out the domestic season for 2012 and 2013 drew a big number of event organisers, and was “a very positive” development, according to the president of Rowing Ireland, Anthony Dooley.
However, there is more work to be done. Some of the delegates to the Munster branch meeting on Wednesday night were critical of the process and said that the dates proposed were not suitable.
The proposal to form provincial squads has yet to capture the imagination of rowers. Dooley said recently that he was generally in favour of the proposal.
“On the face of it I think it is a good idea. The plan for it does not interfere with the High Performance (programme). It’s new and I suppose people will have to get their heads around (the idea) and be happy it is the right thing for our sport.”
Dooley’s club, Carlow, are sending rowers to Limerick, but have also despatched junior crews to England for tomorrow’s Wallingford Regatta at the Dorney Lake course – the site for the Olympics next year.
One woman who would hope to be competing at Dorney Lake come July and August of next year is Siobhán McCrohan. The Galway lightweight won the single sculls final at this year’s national trial and has been named the Afloat Rower of the Month for April.
She will compete in the lightweight single scull at the Huegel Regatta in Essen in Germany next weekend.
IRELAND SQUAD (for Huegel Regatta, Essen): Saturday, May 7th – Men – Under-23 Lightweight Double: J Ryan, P Hanily; J Mitchell, S O’Driscoll. Lightweight Single Scull: M O’Donovan; M Maher. Under-23 lightweight single: N Kenny. Women – Double Scull: L Dilleen, E Moran. Lightweight Double Scull: C Lambe, D Walsh. Single Scull: S Puspure. Lightweight Single Scull: S McCrohan. Under-23 Lightweight Single Scull: Sinead Dolan.
Sunday, May 8th – Men – Lightweight Quadruple Scull: O’Driscoll, Hanily, Kenny, Ryan. Lightweight Double Scull: O’Donovan, Maher. Under-23 Lightweight Double Scull: Kenny, Ryan; Hanily, Mitchell. Under-23 Lightweight Single Scull: O’Driscoll. Women – Lightweight Quadruple: Lambe, McCrohan, Dolan, Walsh. Double Scull: Moran, Puspure. Under-23 Lightweight Double Scull: Walsh, Dolan. Lightweight Single Scull: McCrohan. Under-23 Single Scull: Dilleen. Under-23 Lightweight Single Scull: Lambe.
