Rowing Ireland will host the first water trial of the 2026–27 season on the weekend of 3rd-4th October at the National Rowing Centre, Cork.

Entries must be made through Rowing Ireland’s Tracker System by 7pm on Thursday, 24th September.

  • Distance: 2km (1900m Time Trial)
  • Entry Fee: €10 per seat (to be paid via the payments section of the Rowing Ireland website before racing begins)
  • Event Categories:
U19U23SeniorPara
1x1x1xPR1 1x
2-LW 1xLW 1xPR2 1x
 2-2-PR3 1x
   PR3 2x

Any athlete unable to compete but wishing to remain in consideration for selection must provide a valid medical certificate or exemption letter. A cert does not guarantee progression to the next trial; this will be at the discretion of the HPD with previous results and the October erg testing being taken into consideration.

This is the only open water trial; all subsequent trials will be by invitation only.

This trial forms part of the selection process for the following squads:

  • Senior, U23 and U19 Worlds/ Europeans and Coupe de la Jeunesse.

Coaches are encouraged to nominate athletes they believe meet the required standard for these events. Places for the Home International team will be allocated at Cork Regatta in June 2027, however, the results from this trial will be taken into consideration for the selection of the para team for Homes.

Athletes that competed at the following events are exempt from this trial and will trial at the Elite Invitational Trial on the weekend of October 31st.

  • 2024 Olympic/Paralympic Games, Paris
  • 2025 World Rowing Championships, Shanghai
  • 2026 World Rowing Championships, Amsterdam

Athletes that competed at the 2026 U23 European Championships in Kruszwica are also exempt from this trial and will be invited to the November Invitational Trial (October erg testing is still required).

The morning session of both days will be a 1900m time trial with the afternoon session being side by side 2km racing, seeded from the time trial results. Men’s singles, women’s pairs and para crews will race on Saturday, women’s singles and men’s pairs will race on Sunday. This allows clubs to share boats across their men’s and women’s squads if required.

Athletes are encouraged to “double up” and race in both categories if they wish to be considered across multiple disciplines. Composite crews are accepted but must be entered as a senior pair. If a junior or U23 crew is racing as a composite, please notify Clara after entries are submitted so they can be scheduled in the correct category.

Provisional Race Schedule

Friday

  • NRC open 9am–5pm for boat rigging.
  • After 5pm, trailers may enter the centre, but the compound will be closed.
  • Please contact Clara (clara.obrien@rowingireland.ie) if your trailer will arrive after 5pm.
  • The course will be closed on Friday; no training is permitted.

Saturday

  • Safety briefing: one hour before the first race, outside the boat bays.
  • AM (approx. 9am): 1900m time trial (M1x’s, W2-’s and para)
  • PM (approx. 1:30pm): 2km finals (seeded from AM racing)
  • The course will reopen for one hour after the final time trial for training in pairs.

Sunday

  • Safety briefing: one hour before the first race, outside the boat bays.
  • AM (approx. 9am): 1900m time trial (W1x’s and M2-’s)
  • PM (approx. 1:30pm): 2km finals (seeded from AM racing)

Further Information

  • Athlete eligibility
    • U19 & Coupe: A rower may compete in an Under 19 event until 31st of December of the year in which they reach the age of 18.
    • U23: A rower may compete in an Under 23 event until 31st of December of the year in which they reach the age of 22.
  • Please ensure that your athletes are eligible for their respective events. If there is a junior crew with one athlete who is over the U19 threshold, they will need to be entered as U23 and ranked with the U23 boats. Similarly, if a U23 pair has one athlete over the U23 threshold, they will need to be entered as senior and ranked with the senior boats.
  • Athletes must race in club colours and, where possible, club blades.
  • Lightweight athletes do not need to meet a specific weight, but a weight check will be carried out before the safety briefing.
  • To run the trial, approximately 30 volunteers are required. Each participating club should provide at least one volunteer. Please email Clara (clara.obrien@rowingireland.ie) with the name and contact details of your club’s volunteer(s) by Wednesday, 30th September.
  • A WhatsApp group will be used for event communications throughout the trial. An email with updates will be distributed to participating clubs ahead of the trial and will include a link to join the group.
  • If weather conditions are poor, a final decision will be made by 12pm on the Thursday before racing.
  • If it is only possible to race on one day, all singles and para crews will time trial in the morning session, with the pairs taking place in the afternoon session. Doubling up will still be possible, but clubs should be aware when sharing boats that this will be the structure of the trial.
  • If the entire weekend is looking poor, the trial will be postponed to the following weekend, October 10th and 11th.
  • Invitations to the November Trial will be based on the results of this trial and the October 2k erg testing and will be published in early November.

For all queries, please contact Clara O’Brien at clara.obrien@rowingireland.ie