April has marked the beginning of our offshore and flatwater regatta season, with Courtmacsherry Regatta, Neptune Regatta and Commercial regatta kicking it off. Upcoming April events include University Championships, Skibbereen 1k regatta, Kilmacsimon offshore head and Limerick regatta.
The season will see a variety of events return from participant focussed events at a school level (Grand Canal Splash n Dash event in May), to recreational rowing tours which are extending their locations around the country, to competitive Grand League regattas, qualification events for international representation, our new Classic 1k event and of course Championship events.
The role of the event officer on the core team in Rowing Ireland is to support development of our events. Specifically key elements such as safety, volunteer management, venue operations, stakeholder engagement, racing experiences, tracker support and working hand-in-hand with regatta committee’s where support is requested and the domestic events committee so racing experiences can be progressed and shared. The more we share our best practices and enhance our protocols, the better everyone’s events will be. Promoting these events on our website and across social media is also an important part of this role as it increases the visibility of the events taking place by clubs around the country. Regatta’s are the culmination for many clubs and committees and we are here to support and enhance them whilst making them efficient and safe. A key part of what we have worked hard on is the delivery of new events and a recreational rowing calendar in addition to the return of the #Blitzit series on and off the water to grow and underpin our clubs and membership.
Whilst the aim of all our events is to enjoy rowing in all its glory and for its many health benefits, two things that are of core importance at all these events are safety and volunteer management. Below you will find two ‘cheatsheets’ that can be used by organisers to maximise the safety and enjoyment of their events for all participants and supporters. In the next feature of events in ‘focus on’ there will be a further two event topics focussed on. In the meantime, if you or any of your club members have a query regarding event organisation they can contact events@rowingireland.ie at any time for ideas, support and information.
These cheatsheets can also be found on the events section of the Rowing Ireland website under the heading ‘Event guidelines’.
