The Irish Sports Council have approved three overseas camps for the Rowing Ireland international programme for the coming season.
Ireland had a very good 2014, despite two years without overseas camps, but the season ahead is a crucial one as crews can qualify for Rio 2016 if they place well at the World Championships.
“This is great news for us. I had been a little worried going into Olympic Qualification year,” said Rowing Ireland performance director, Morten Espersen.
There will be two camps in Italy early in the year and one which has yet to be finalised before the World Championships, which are in late August/early September in Aiguebelette in France.
Espersen was upbeat as he reviewed his programme in the run-up to the next Ireland trial, which will be held at the National Rowing Centre the weekend before Christmas. Women's rowing
The obvious strength lies in women’s rowing: three Ireland women’s crews finished the season in positions which would secure Rio qualification if reproduced in Aiguebelette.
“It cannot just be a women’s programme,” Espersen said.
He pointed out that the heavyweight men’s programme under James Mangan has drawn good numbers and he picked out the combination of Turlough Hughes and Dave Neale.
“They are squeezing on. It is going to be interesting to see what they can do in a double.”
World class lightweight single sculler Paul O’Donovan and his elder brother Gary have been training together in the lightweight double.
“We try to give them a chance,” said Espersen, though he added that they will have to go through the trials process.
The other project at this level is a lightweight four.
“There are some decent ones coming along,” Espersen says, name checking Micheál Bailey, Niall Duncan and Alan Prendergast, who may complement more established internationals. There are ongoing camps at the National Rowing Centre – coaches John Holland and Dave Mannion are due there this weekend – and there will be a meeting before Christmas with athletes.
"We will give it a shot," Espersen says. Indoor rowing Espersen is a proponent of indoor rowing, and has made the Irish Indoor Championships in January a part of the assessment process.
Ireland hopefuls also have to submit verified ergometer (rowing machine) scores for this month, and many already have, with Siobhán McCrohan setting a new Irish record for a lightweight woman in competition at the Irish Provincial Championships in Limerick.
Another chance to post personal bests comes at the Ulster Indoor Rowing Championships at Queen’s University, Belfast, on Saturday. Names to watch out for in men’s competition include Tiernan Oliver, Adam Boreham and Sam McKeown of Portadown, while amongst the women, Sarah Quinn and Erin Barry of Bann at under-18 level could also impress. The event incorporates a round of the BUCS (British University) indoor series.
Well-attended Rowing Ireland provincial forums have been held in Connacht, Leinster and Ulster, with the Munster one due this Wednesday, December 3rd, in Cork.
