Athlone regatta at Coosan Point on Saturday is a big event: 125 races run at five-minute intervals on a five-lane course. Junior races make up the bulk of the programme, and there is quality there, especially amongst the junior women. Ireland international Molly Curry is entered in the junior single sculls. She recently won the Championship event (the Internationals Cup) at the National Schools Regatta in England.
Curry is set to race in what could be the battle of the day. She strokes the Coleraine GS junior 18 eight as they take on Enniskillen and Coleraine’s hometown rivals Bann.
Galway Regatta on Sunday is a smaller event, with masters and junior 15 rowers prominent.
The Kenmare offshore regatta will be held on Saturday. Coastal rowers are having a busy time. David Hussey has just joined the board of Rowing Ireland as an independent director with the offshore/coastal brief, and the Irish Coastal Championships will be held at the NRC on August 23rd and 24th.
Rival body the Irish Coastal Rowing Federation will hold its championships in Dingle the weekend before.
A mediation process might have moved the situation along so that there would have been just one championships for coastal rowing, but it has not. “There has been progress but not as much as we would have liked,” said Paul McDermott of Sport Ireland.
Entries for Henley Royal Regatta have to be in by Monday. Trinity will miss it, opting to prioritise the Irish Championships. However, there should be strong Irish entrants, including fours from UCD and Commercial.
UCD were the overall and men’s winners at the University Championships, with Trinity taking the Bank of Ireland trophy for women.
The 150th anniversary of Metropolitan Regatta will be celebrated at a dinner in Dublin on Friday, June 28th.
