ROWING:QUALITY NOT quantity will be the keynote of Irish international rowing in the season ahead, and Ireland may not field any heavyweight men's crews at the very top level in the 2011 season.
The stark message emerged as the proposed development camp for this weekend at the National Rowing Centre was abandoned – because too many people wanted to take part.
“It was so oversubscribed we couldn’t run it safely and effectively,” said high performance programme head Martin McElroy. “We had 160 entries – and we have never dealt with more than 80. So there was no way we could run it.
“In the end, the area we’re responsible for is the development of high performance. I’d love to think we have 160 high performers. Maybe we don’t.”
Muckross head of the river, scheduled for tomorrow, was also abandoned yesterday because of what club member Maurice Coffey said was an “abysmal” weather forecast: including high winds and below-zero temperatures.
McElroy’s forecast for the immediate future of top-class heavyweight men’s rowing is only a little warmer. While a Queen’s University quadruple finished fifth at the Fours Head of the River in London and UCD and University of Limerick are also improving, the Galway man believes these athletes are still a step below elite international level and “it’s going to take some time” before they reach that standard.
Will any of them wear the green of Ireland? “This year, I doubt it,” McElroy said, although some may “get together and see if they can perform at the next level up”.
“We also have to be realistic as well. We are increasingly closely examined with regard to funding by the Sports Council and so on. We are not looked at, necessarily, as one sport, we are looked at as a sport of four sections: lightweight men, lightweight women; heavyweight men, heavyweight women.
“When you look at it in that light, then actually at the moment we are probably weakest in the heavyweight area.”
Ireland’s cause is not helped by the fact that Martin Walsh, a Boat Race blue this year, has stepped away from the sport, for at least a year.
