Irish clubs will be hoping to make a big impact at the Head of the Charles in Boston tomorrow and Sunday. The event, run on a time-trial basis, is one of the most famous of rowing occasions, with over 5,000 participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators. Ireland have a particularly big representation in the draw for the club eights today: joining a strong Garda crew, who will go 66th are Clonmel (61st) - who have been training since August - University of Limerick (40th) and Neptune (44th). In the club fours Garda will go off 49th and Fermoy 51st.

In the lightweight four the Irish interest will be in the crew drawn 20th and entered as Leander - despite the fact that a Canadian, a Dane and two Irishmen will power it. The Irishmen are John Forde of UCG and Neptune's Tony O'Connor, recent bronze medallist in the lightweight pairs in the World Championships.

In two women's events tomorrow, Neptune are drawn 41st in the club fours and in the double scull Tribesmen (17th) and Colaiste Iognaid (24th) are scheduled to take part.

This weekend also brings what is essentially the beginning of the run-up to the new season with trials in Inniscarra today.

The recent athletes meeting and the international review will no doubt feed into the ideas expressed at the a.g.m. of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union next Saturday. It has been set for Trinity College at noon, with the annual awards dinner in the Commercial Rowing Club that night.

E-mail: lgorman@irish-times.ie The website for the Head of the Charles can be found at www.hocr.org