Champs Promises Best Racing of the Season This Weekend  

Ireland’s rowing season culminates this weekend at the Irish Rowing Championships. Racing will take place on July 10, 11, and 12 at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Woods, beginning at 7:30 each morning and continuing until early evening. 

Every meter pulled on the erg. Every weight lifted in the gym. Every match-up on our waterways big and small throughout the year. They have all been for this weekend, these races, these achievements. 

The 114th annual Irish Rowing Championships will see more than 1,400 athletes race 1,018 boats in 67 races over the weekend. 61 rowing clubs will arrive from all over Ireland to take part. Racing will take place across six lanes on the 2,000 metre course. 

While every race will be exciting in its own right for the athletes and their coaches and families, those that are traditionally the hardest fought and draw the biggest crowds are “The Eights”—the biggest, fastest boats on the water, with 8 athletes and a coxswain. Those finals are scheduled as follows, according to the event timetable (see link below): 

FRIDAY: Womens Novice 8+ (10.45am), Women’s Inter 8+ (3:55pm), Men’s Inter 8+ (4:05pm),

SATURDAY: Men’s J18 8+ (5:20pm), Women’s Club 2 8+ (5:10pm) 

SUNDAY: Women’s J18 8+ (11:10am), Men’s Club 2 8+ (11:20am), Mens Novice 8+ (4.20pm) , Women’s Senior 8+ (4:30pm), Men’s Senior 8+ (5:10pm),

Equally exciting will be the chance to see some of Ireland’s high performance squad racing with their home clubs.  

The racing days will be organized as a series of time trials and/or heats, and then finals. For races with time trials, the fastest 12 go into 2 semi-finals. For semi-finals, with only a few exceptions, the fastest 3 boats secure their spot in the final. Upwards of 20 finals will take place each day of the event with medals awarded for first, second, and third place in J16 races and medals for second and third, and “pots” for first place for J18, novice, senior, and inter categories. 

The Rowing Ireland Commentary Team will bring the on-the-water battles to life throughout the weekend from the National Rowing Center, where a huge screen in the enclosure will broadcast live drone and video footage from the races on the river. The event will be broadcast live on YouTube, accessible at this link: https://www.youtube.com/@rowingireland922/streams.  

The weather forecast as it is now looks spectacular with very rowable winds. The temperature and sun, however, will be hot and strong. Suncream, water, and shade will be the order of the weekend for athletes and spectators alike. 

Rowing Ireland is grateful for the support of our corporate sponsors: MG, Powerhouse Sport, Kinetica, F4 Energy, Coillte, Swift Racing, and ROWfit. We are also grateful to our Event Partners Cork County Council and Fáilte Ireland. 

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION 

Champs is open to the public and will take place within the bounds of Farran Woods. Parking will be at a premium, so carpooling is encouraged. Motorists will pay €5, by card only, to park. Accessible portaloos will be available, as will the accessible toilets in the National Rowing Centre itself. Many food vendors will be on site for the weekend, and Cork County Council will be providing water refill trucks, so visitors are encouraged to bring their own water bottles. Rowing Ireland merchandise will be available for purchase as well from 9am until 5pm each day. 

Visitors are asked to be considerate of our neighbors when driving to the NRC.  

LINKS 

The provisional timetable can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1h7ZhIoke0A4gl0LLzkzevgzve7h6B1eWsfpSk-50tiE/edit?usp=sharing